Newborns and Covid

[milkshake20]

Have tried looking for a recent thread and not been able to find one, if anyone has seen one please can you paste the link?

I'm wondering what to do when LO is here with grandparents etc wanting to visit. PIL are doing childcare for BIL and SIL, BIL being a key worker. I don't know what's reasonable/sensible and what isn't. Right now I don't think I feel comfortable with anyone holding the baby, I'm worried about a second wave. Midwives say they don't have any advice, and it's up to us what we do...it feels so open ended and difficult to know what to do.

I was wondering what others with a newborn, or those due in a few weeks, are planning to do?

[OakleyStreetisnotinChelsea]

Well you shouldn't be having visitors unless they are a single person inside your bubble. Outside seeing people you should still be 2m apart.

So that solves that.

No. You shouldn't be allowing those outside your household to hold your baby. We just don't know enough about covid 19 and newborns.

[Nachonacho]

Hi Op,
My Newborn is a fortnight old today!
We have allowed just my DM so see him as she is now in our Bubble after strictly self isolating alone for over 12 Weeks.
Other Family members have seen him from afar (doorstep!) but I'm not happy for any contact until the risk is a lot smaller. It's a sad situation but still the rules unfortunately.

[Superscientist]

I'm due in August. Our plans are to self isolate for 7 days after getting home in case we have picked up anything in the hospital. Guidelines permitting my partners parents will stay with us for the last couple of days of his paternity leave. They are in a position to isolate prior to visiting.
I'm not sure what to do about my parents. They are closer so it easier for them to come for shorter visits but my dad has to work and my mum is a carer for my grandparents. I don't know how close is sensible to have them. My grandad has copd and prone to pneumonia. I don't want to put my mum at risk of passing anything on to him. Even pre-covid he had a rough time with colds and viruses passed on from snotty great grandchildren!!

Ideally I would keep a 7 day gap between different families visiting to reduce spreading anything from one family to another but I don't know how any of this will work in practice.

[SpacePug]

Same rules apply as usual, no one can hold baby unless is it a single person who has joined your social bubble and is the only family you/they mix with. It's a shame but we have to do what we have to do, it's not going to be forever and hopefully in a few weeks it might change a little

[milkshake20]

I know what the rules are, and (shockingly) am still abiding by them all. But it seems less and less of the population are. A few people I follow on Instagram have had people round holding their babies who are not from single households, and it seems like only a matter of time before the 2m social distancing rule is reduced to 1m.

I kind of feel like what's the point in coming to meet a newborn even 2m away, I'm not sure I trust people not to creep closer etc and am erring on the side of saying no to that. But I don't know if that's exceptionally unreasonable, and I am not brave enough for AIBU! When I think about it I'm not sure a newborn will gain anything from meeting new people, whether close or from afar, in the early weeks. But it's my first and am pretty ignorant I guess in that sense. FWIW I never would have banned people from visiting for the first few weeks so we could do the our little family thing, it is purely covid. DH will back me up whatever, I just worry we are being mean I suppose.