would you leave your 12 week old to go out for 3 hours?

[Ellax]

12 week old is ebf and we haven’t been separated since they’ve been born.

it would be to go out 10 mins away for 3 hours and I’ll give dh a bottle of breast milk.

Would you do it??

TIA ! X

Yes, totally. DH was as well equipped as me to parent!

Yes, if baby was already used to the bottle. You can always go back easily if you're only 10 mins away if they really do need you back for a feed, surely? Try and feed right before you go out too.

I’m assuming you are asking as part of you doesn’t feel comfortable and that’s ok. I’d say if you are comfortable maybe give it a try. Perhaps have a test run where you are home but perhaps having a bath and then snooze away from baby and partner and see how it goes.
My little one when tiny would take a bottle and nod off but as he got older would then want the breast after and wouldn’t go to sleep without it. Also got to a stage where in the night if it wasn’t me then he would scream and be very distressed and for him the only thing that works in the night is breast so I personally wouldn’t be able to go out after he would be asleep for the night for example.
Also for me at that age he was still feeding alllll the time so I wouldn’t have gone out without taking him with me but you know your baby and what they are like and how you feel about it too so base your decision on that.

If takes a bottle fine. I had to leave my 6 week old with my mum from 7am until 10pm as my other child had to have an operation miles away. She also looked after 5 year old and 2 year old at the same time.

Absolutely, I’m sure DH if perfectly capable of caring for his child after 12 weeks of ‘practice’.

Absolutely! Motherhood is hard and you deserve a break, dads are more than capable !

Definitely!
worst case scenario you come home early.
Baby is more likely to take a bottle if you’re not there too from my experience.
Enjoy your break 😄

I went back to work full time 3 months DS was born as that’s all maternity leave I could have (not in UK when he was born) so yes. You’re leaving them with their parent and it’s only 3 hours.

You've never heard of mums anxious to leave their babies for the first time? No. It's not since the pandemic.

Owner of a 4 month old here, I think I first left him with DH to go to the cinema for a couple of hours when he was about 5 or 6 weeks old. Since then I've had a couple of meals out, more cinema, some KIT time at work. The other Sunday I was out almost all day apart from popping back at lunchtime to feed him myself / pump.

He's breastfed but I express and he happily takes a bottle so no reason at all why DH can't provide everything else he needs.

My only worry as per some PPs is have you already tried a bottle, and will baby happily take it?

What does that have to do with going somewhere for a relatively short amount of time and a very short distance away?

@GoldCat255

lol I take it you’re joking ?

Yes, do it OP.

I went out for dinner with friends for a few hours when my twins were 7 weeks old. They all coped and it did me the world of good.

Of course.

I went back to work full time when mine were 12 weeks. Left them for a few hours for the first time at about 2 weeks.

As long as baby is used to having a bottle, then yes, why not?

I left my 11 week old with my husband for an evening out. I left plenty of expressed milk and they were fine. (I would recommend having more milk available than you think they'll need - mine drank more than anticipated!)

Check they take a bottle. DD never took one at all so she had to come everywhere with me or I couldn't go.

Yes, and I did with 12-week-old DD1. We had an antenatal group meal out! All was fine for everyone. DH managed to look after his own child for a few hours She was happy taking a bottle.

What @jellybe said. At 12 weeks I'd have thought an average breast or bottle fed baby (I.e.no allergies or feeding problems) would be having feeds roughly every 3-4 hours in the day anyway.

Feed or top up feed just before you leave, bottle on standby, feed as soon as you get back. This worked fine for us, enjoy your time away!

As it’s only 10 mins away I guess there isn’t any harm in trying? Def look into paced feeding though as this emulates BFing in terms of amount of milk taken and avoids over feeding/risk of throwing it all back up etc. And remember breast pads !!!

Yes
If you want to
I left my 14 day old with their daddy for a WHOLE day ....yes I missed her but it was great to be out with friends and they were with daddy !!!

I left my EBF 12 week old with his dad for the evening to go to a gig that had been booked since before I was pregnant! He wasn't super keen on bottles but would take enough to get by until I got back. I was nervous but it was fine and so good for my own wellbeing to do something other than look after the baby at that point.

I was utterly exhausted when each of mine were 12 weeks old, and if I had 3 baby-free hours, I slept. There were very few things indeed that would have beaten sleep as an option! So I'm curious to know what you'll be doing OP.

Yes I would. It's good for you to have a break and good for your baby and partner to help develop their confidence.

@kirinm

"It may surprise you but not everyone experiences a newborn in the same way. You may have been back at work for weeks but I was at home with a child who screamed for hours on end and had turned me into an anxious mess. This was pre Covid"

That was what my previous dc was like which is why I went back to work earlier the next time! 😁

If baby will take a bottle, sure.

With my formula fed baby, I'd been away with friends overnight by this stage. Obviously I'd miss her but husband was and to care for her just as much as me and no reason for me to martyr myself.

With my accidentally breastfed baby (long story) she wouldn't take any bottles and was a frequent feeder so I first left her for about 3 hours at 10 months and overnight at just under 2.

Different children, different ways of using milk and different needs