How are we supposed to get out of the house with a newborn?

[imissmascara]

DS is 2.5 weeks old. I had a c section and am starting to be able to go out for a little bit. But I think we are missing something.

There is a craft market on today in the village that we thought we could go to. But…

DS was late to settle last night so we got up at about 9:30am.
Then he needed a change and to get dressed
Then he had a mammoth feed
DH took DS while I had a quick shower. By the time I came out of the shower, DS was asleep.

He’s been asleep since. And we’re not supposed to wake a sleeping baby. He’s grizzling now though so when he wakes up he is going to need to be changed again, then fed to soothe him.

4pm will be here before we know it and it’s another day we haven’t managed to leave the house.

What are we missing?

Just because he’s asleep doesn’t mean you can’t put him in the pram or car seat

You put him in the car seat and go. He might stir but he'd go back to sleep. If you are waiting for a time period when he is fed and awake you'll be waiting some weeks yet.

that said you are 2.5 weeks after major surgery whilst recovering you're looking after a new born so it's perfectly fine not to be getting out of the house much!

Yes, pop him in pram or car seat while asleep. The other thing is, that if you want to be out early, sometimes you have to both get up and ready so you can go as soon as baby is fed and dressed in the morning, as hideous as that is after an unsettled night

You put baby in car seat, pram or sling whilst asleep? So much better they get used to sleeping anywhere from as early as possible.

He doesn’t need to be changed to go out. He wears what he sleeps in and if you take him out just add blankets. Nappy can be changed when he’s awake.
Second babies go out more and earlier! They just have to fit in with whatever is going on.

You just reminded me of the joys of the school run with a new born! That was not a fun few weeks but did force us to be up and out!!

Congratulations on your little boy and take it easy right now, baby is still very new! Time runs away even as children grow up but it gets easier - as feeds get shorter and you get more practised and quicker at doing things for baby.

Have everything ready to leave the house (make sure you have eaten and are dressed, have your shoes and coat ready to go, changing bag packed), sit and feed, change nappy and then pop him straight in the pram/car and leave. I don't mean to be patronising at all with that list - I felt other mums and dads make it look so easy to be out and about with baby but I am still umming and aaahing some days and I have two kids!

I remember this phase. Hoping ‘will this be the day we make it out!’ and at some point you get brave and just go. Plan a small trip first - out for coffee somewhere local. And build your confidence from there.

I feel for you. I know what it is like - there is a sweet point and then you blink and they have done a poo or need a feed. If baby is sleeping I would put him in the car seat/pram and go. You will get the knack

As pp have said, move him into a pram/car seat and go!

I didn't used to plan days out at that age, we just went. Make sure you have everything in a changing bag, and he can eat/sleep/be changed as needed when you're out.

When DD was 6 weeks old, it took me two days to get to the postbox and post a letter. The postbox was opposite my house. I literally had to open the front door, walk a few yards to the front gate, cross the road, post in and go back in. There was a brief moment towards the end of day one when I did get as far as opening the door but it was raining heavily. It took another 36 hours before I got to a stage when the feed/nap/nappy/me being dressed stars aligned and I was able to do that tiny job. In those early days, DH would often come home from work and I'd still be in my PJs as I just hadn't had a moment to get dressed and my breakfast stuff (which he would have brought me before going to work) would still be exactly where I'd put it down. At one point, he was making me sandwiches for lunch too so that I'd be able to eat something other than biscuits.
In your case, I think I would have transferred the baby into the sling or pram once she'd napped for 30 mins or so but I can also understand why you didn't want to.
If you go on to have a second, particularly with an age gap of less than 3 years, it's so odd as the toddler tends to dictate the routine so you suddenly find that you're up, dressed and taking the toddler to nursery and managed to fit in all of the feeds and nappy changes etc.

Nappy bag should be packed and ready to go, at that age they get through a lot of nappies so I'd have 5 in the bag, wipes, a change of clothes, bum cream, bib, dummy (if applicable), travel change mat, blanket, bottle and a ready made milk (if applicable).

Then you just decide when you want to leave and go. If they're asleep then you gently put them in the car seat and hope for the best. If they need a nappy change then you find a baby change room or put the mat down in the boot of your car/back seat and change them, if they need feeding then you stop and feed them.

If you wait for your baby to be awake, fed and be very recently changed then you'll not get out.

I always remember one of my friends had twins and, the first time she took them out by themselves, they were about 3 months and she drove into the local town. Parked, paid for an hour's parking, lifted twin 1 out of the car seat, realised he'd done a poo so changed him in the boot & put him in the pushchair, lifted twin 2, realised she'd done a poo so changed her only to then realise from twin one's face that he was mid-poo and, as she lifted him out of the pushchair to change him realised it was leaking so had to change his entire outfit by which time she was 47 mins into her hour's parking so she put them back into the car and drove home!

You just get on with it OP. The joy of tiny babies is they are so portable.

Be brave, you’ve got this!

2.5 weeks in is very early on. It does get easier! If you have a sling, it can be a lot easier in the early days to po a baby in that to wear around the house. Then you can just leave the house when you want without disturbing them. Get a coat that zips around them and they will stay warm from your body heat. I am assuming as yiu say in the village, the market is close by.

Wow 3 months?? Think I would have gone insane by then! I wouldn't have even lasted 3 days in the house 😂

Keep changing bag packed at all times ready to go (make sure you have a few changes of clothes). Baby will just wear sleepsuits at that age so no need to change their outfit. You can move them into the car seat or pram when they’re asleep. I used to get up quite early and get ready whilst baby napped even if we had a bad night.

It’s actually a good age for them to be portable because they sleep so much. In my experience the older they get the harder it is to enjoy things such as a lunch out as they’re awake more and need entertaining!

Oh and OP yes you just kind of get on with it really. Even if it means having to get up before baby and get yourselves showered and ready so you can then just get baby ready to go as someone said previously. As awful as that can feel if you've had a bad night or whatever and just want a lie in. Doesn't matter if they're sleeping when it's time to leave. If they're fed, changed and dressed (if you want to dress them because a sleepsuit is perfectly fine!) then just pop them in the car seat or pram and off you go. Even easier if you already have their bag packed and pram in the car (if you aren't walking to your location) the night before but obviously not always as simple as that!

You can wake a sleeping baby. Some days it’s more peaceful if you don’t and you might also enjoy a brief nap in the car park of Tesco but most days you need to wake them and just get on with it. They’re so portable at this age and can just go wherever you want, make the most of Itt.

Leaving the house with a newborn, especially if your body has been put through the wringer doesn't have to be on a set time frame. Your baby might be the type that can be scooped up and taken where every you fancy or it might need to be at home to sleep, we're all different. It's trial and error untill you know.
It took me 5 weeks to get out after my first, I was absolutely fucked. I staggered 5 minutes down the road to see another mum from my nct class running a 5km race in fancy dress- she was probably at the other end of the scale of how women recover from birth!

Getting out of the house the first 6 weeks is always a faff and quite often doesn't happen tbh. I definitely recommend getting them out of the house asleep when they're tiny and can sleep through all kinds of things and then they get used it, which makes life so much easier in the long run.

It does take a few weeks to work out everything you need to take and few months to work out your best times, but as I said, times are much more flexible if your baby is used to napping in the pram/buggy.

I personally wouldn't take him out so young and I would still limit your activity.
Besides that life doesn't stop because baby is sleeping. Are you a first time mother?

Aw I totally get it. My kids are older now but newborn stage was hard. It can be really nice to get out in the fresh air but it does feel like a lot of hard work. It'll get a lot easier! x

What?!?! You can pick the baby up, get them in their pram/sling/whatever and just go 😂
At this small age they will not be this portable again until they’re about 3 or 4 so make the most of it.
Don’t go for days on end without leaving the house, it’s not good for either of you, fresh air is wonderful. Obviously if it’s monsoon conditions then rethink this but generally I was out pushing a pram in all weathers.

To be honest I didn't try any trips like this for several weeks probably more like 4 to 6 weeks. It is hard to get out of the house initially but you get used to it, find routines that work, things start to take less time