When did you start taking your newborn out into the world?

[missslc]

My son is coming up to 2 weeks old. We have stayed pretty close to home as we have moved to a new country so know very few people to visit/have come visit. I was just wondering when you started taking your baby to public places like cafes/ art galleries/ shops?

The nurses and doc encouraged us to minimise risk-ie avoid shopping malls when they are busy and avoid altogether if possible( they didi not say for how long but i know it takes 12 weeks to build up some immunity)because of the flu virus. ANyway just seeking advice really on what others have done- we have played it safe so far but the cabin fever is creeping in and just wondered how quickly others exposed their newbie to the world out there?

thanks

Okay so we went out to some botanical gardens yesterday which was lovely but he did start screaming when we went to a shop and when we went to change him in the car he managed to urinate all over his car seat so the poor thing had to sit in sodden chair all the way home. Think next time i will take expressed milk in a bottle as you cannot feed when they are atrapped into car seat and the changing thing was difficult with nowhere in sight to change him.
It was good to be out.But we were told to avoid going to public places by the medics.A cultural thing- perhaps!

We are not in UK so it is lovely and warm here.

6 days with dd.
1 or 2 with ds.

6 days - Easter Sunday & wanted to show her off to the biggest possible crowd!

within a couple of days

DS1 was about a week old irrc (I'd had a CS though so that slowed me down

DS2 would have been about 4 or 5 days

DS3 was less than 24hrs old LOL.

DS1 was born at 5pm on the Sunday and at 9am on the Monday we walked to the GP's surgery to take back the pethedin that we didn't use during the homebirth.
We then walked to the village shop and bought a paper.

DS2 we took him out day 2 but had the neighbours in for tea to meet him in the afternoon when he was born at lunchtime.

I took DS shopping on day 5 and to a wedding ceremony on day 7.

DD was taken to both sets of family's houses 3 days after born because it was Xmas day.

As soon as I could. We stopped to "show her off" at DH's work, 3 days after DD was born, on my way home from the hospital. Day or two after we we went to the local restaurant/pub locally for lunch. I went for walks from getting home too - to park, to shops, etc. - as I had had a cs and wanted to do the gentle exercise to get me back on my feet properly.

I never thought of staying home. I'd have got cabin fever; 3 days in hosiptal was bad enough.

dd was about 5 days and we went for a little walk to feed the ducks.
ds was born on the turs night and we went to tesco on the sunday because we ran out of milk.

thanks everyone- i am overseas so 65-80 degrees most days so it is lovely to get out. It was just i had heard this 12 week rule- to avoid places like swimming pools until 12 weeks. A friend of a friend had their second baby out and about very quickly and sadly he contracted meningitis and is now unable to hear which is just an awful thing for a parent to be with- and i know the baby may have got it even if he had not been exposed to the world so quickly but it did make me feel wary somehow. we are now out and about.

thanks

Took him to supermarkey when he was 2 days old, breastfeeding cafe at 3 days.

An old friend of mine was out of hospital the same day as her firstborn arrived. She, her husband, and baby got in the car and went straight to her father's workplace to 'show off baby' to her father's colleagues (her father wasn't even there). They did this before even going home. Am I alone in thinking that this is a bit ?