Leaving a newborn?

[trrk]

We are following the advice about having our newborn (2 weeks old) in the same room as us. Just wondering if it’s OK to leave her (safely sleeping in Moses basket) for short periods while showering or hanging laundry outside? What do others do?

For things like showering, making a cup of tea/quick lunch, laundry etc I left both my DC sleeping but probably not for longer than 10 minutes although I didn’t time it but reckon it was about that long

It is fine to leave her while you grab a shower etc if she is somewhere safe and comfortable. Congratulations on your new daughter.

Congratulations!

I seem to be physically incapable of showing in less than 20 minutes, so I never left her to do that. 🤦 But for quick 5/10 minute jobs, absolutely.

Once DD was about 4 months old, we got a breathing monitor. I wish we'd had it from day 1, as I was a lot more relaxed going to do other things once we had that in place.

Totally fine!

I did.
I knew some people who said they would put the baby in the bathroom if they showered, some even for going to the toilet - their bathrooms must be bigger than mine because I would not have had the room had I been keen to do that! DH works away, he was away for two weeks about 3 weeks after DS was born. If it’s just you and baby all day every day you can’t be in the same room for the whole time, it’s just not practical.

Thanks all for the reassurance! No way would a baby fit in our bathroom either even if I wanted to bring her in there with me.

I don’t recall ever fretting about this when mine were babies! As long as they were safely sleeping in a cot or pram, I was free to have a bath, go to the loo, or whatever took my fancy.
Do you stay awake all night every night to keep an eye on them? No? Then daytime is no different. Relax, OP!

Yep, I've happily left both of mine to do chores, just popping in and out to check on them. DD2 (5 weeks) is asleep right now so I've just loaded dishwasher and stuck a laundry load on while she snoozes in living room. Just use your common sense and it'll be fine!

@Babdoc it's not you staying awake that is important. Studies have shown that babies sleeping in the same room as other people significantly reduces the risks of cot death in the first 6 months. My eldest is nearly 21 and the advice existed at that time, so not exactly new!

OP - leaving them for 10 mins or so will be fine.

I'd leave mine 6 weeks old on the same level in the house (him in the living room when I'm in the kitchen) because I can hear him then. Wouldn't leave him in the bedroom upstairs if I'm downstairs, unless it's just to grab a book or something. Going to the toilet, I keep my door sligtly open to still be able to hear him. When taking a shower however, I have him in the bathroom door/corridor in a bassinet from pram, as noise from shower makes me not hear anything at all. It's mainly because once when I was in the toilet his milk came up (I suspect he has mild reflux) and he started choking on it, and wasn't able to catch his breath, so I'm overprotective now I suppose. In general I feel uneasy when I can't hear him (if no one else is with him).

It's not about watching them, it's about being in the room with them, while they sleep. It's a protective factor against SIDS.

With my first my anxiety was so high that I wouldn't dare leave them alone not even for a quick wee or cuppa 😂
Much more relaxed now and I do take a quick shower, grab something from downstairs etc. But not for long periods of time!

These studies don't tell the full story, every baby will have a baseline risk for true SUIDS, there are then risk factors such as unsafe sleep environments for example sleeping on an adult mattress before age 2, sleeping with loose bedding, blankets, toys etc, bed sharing with adults or other children, being in an environment where caregivers smoke, and physical risk factors such as being premature ie having very low birth weight.
There are also protective factors such as offering a pacifier for every sleep, breastfeeding, following ABCs of safe sleep and room sharing.
Protective factors don't stack though so following ABCs as well as room sharing and breastfeeding provides no more protection than for example following ABCs alone.

So the uptake is that if baby is following ABCs then it is perfectly safe for them to sleep in their own room from birth if that's what parents want.

True SUIDS is incredibly rare, the majority of infant deaths classified as SIDS will actually list things such as adult overlay or suffocation as contributing factors.

I would carry the Moses basket around with me everywhere when she was in it unless I was just popping to make a drink.

Thanks again for all the comments!

@Rakszasa The choking on split up sounds terrifying? Mine is also spitting up a lot after feeds and sometimes at other times. Is this something I need to worried out too?

No. Choking happens when the windpipe is completely blocked, which doesn't happen with liquid. A baby might bring up milk and aspirate a bit, but that isn't true choking.

Oh, I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to add to your worries! I wouldn't say you have to worry about it though, mine does plenty of normal spit ups too x

Great comment, the threat of SIDS seems to be used solely to scare the living shit out of parents, it's disproportionate and unfair when there's already plenty of things we worry about!

Hi Op, totally fine. If you are worried just get a camera, we did. Xx

Its absolutely fine. Seriously, make the most of ott was you won't be able to do this in a years time!