Leaving 6 wk old newborn for 8 hours

Hello,

After some advice, bubs isnt here yet (7 weeks to go!) but DH and I have made plans to go on a social outing when bubs is 6 weeks old. We will be travelling one hour away.

I hope to breastfeed and Im anxious about how I am going to leave bub when she is so little for about 8 hours (this includes travelling time).

Im thinking I express and introduce a bottle once a day for a week beforehand? I really dont want this to interfere with breastfeeding though. Or I could get a babysitter to come with us and have her stay at my friends place close by, so I can breastfeed right before and as soon as we get back (will be away for 3 hours from my friends place).

What would you do?

I would get the babysitter. You might not want to leave your baby either. All those hormones make you not want to be too far from your baby in the early days. I remember going to the shops for 1/2hr and bursting into tears, lol. So it might be better to have bubs close by :)

I'd take my baby.

I'd plan to take baby with you.

I would get the babysitter.

Breastfeeding is quite a task that it usually takes 6weeks to adjust and learn to feel comfortable, so a good idea to just concentrate on that rather then introducing bottles and things into the mix.

Hope that helps ;)


Love MN ;-)

To expand...... I had all sorts of grand plans to leave my baby and express for a wedding when DD1 was 6 weeks old. When she was born i quickly realised how difficult that was. Not only logistically for breastfeeding, i did not get into the swing of breast feeding for a good 3 months, but i was not ready to leave her anywhere at 6 weeks old. It's pretty much worked out for us that i either take my babies with us when they are that little or we don't go. Now they are older, i will happily leave them, but i found it just wasn't something i wanted to do when they were tiny.

I ended up going shopping with SIL one day when Ds was only 2 weeks old. I had only planned to go for an hour or so but we ended up being gone 5 hours :/ Anyways I already had some expressed milk and Dh was with him as well.. He didn't even wake the whole time i was gone though ..

But in saying that I would honestly take your baby with you. or wait till baby is here and see how you feel about the situation. Maybe take your mum or MIL with you to watch bub somewhere (get a motel room for the night or something like that rather then driving back an hour when you might be tired from a newborn)

I would also get the babysitter so can take baby with you and leave for a shorter time. At 6 weeks for 8 hours you would need to express at least once I would think just to feel comfortable, and in my mind expressing can be difficult and even if not is boring and time consuming, much easier to have the baby close at hand to drain the breast.

I would take bub with me in a carrier.

I would take baby with me..a 6wk old newborn would be no trouble at all and a relief to you when you your breasts get full.
From experience, a NB is easier to take places and is the best age to get out and about with baby.

Personally, i would plan to take bub (even to the social outing) and def be open to cancelling the plans, you know - play it by ear. Don't feel pressured either way. You do what feels right at the time.

All the best for the final stages of pregnancy and your transition into parent hood. xoxo

I would get the babysitter, but in saying that, could you take bub with you?

Also agree with catherine, you will work out what feels right with you and your DH. If I were, maybe cover all bases now, look at all your options. Then closer to the due, you will know in your heart what decision sits right with you both, and then do that one.

xoxo

Thanks so much for your advice girls. You all have been very helpful!

Im thinking I will see if my mother will come down and look after bub at my friends place while we are at the game, that way she is close by, and I wont have to introduce a bottle.

The social outing is actually State of Origin III, I dont think its very appropriate for a little newborn, with all the very loud noise, and it will be cold. What do you girls think though? I would absolutely LOVE to bring her.....

I took my 4 week old on a hens night, and a couple of football games! I'd definately take a baby to a footy game. All rugged up in a sling like a hug-a-bub. Perfect!

We took my DD to AFL and RL games at that age, in a hug-a-bub like Junglemum says - with a hat on too, the noise will be very muffled (e.g. one with flaps over ears) - DD slept through most of it, when the sirens went she would stir a little but not wake up. Will be doing the same with this bub. I think as a result of the footy DD is very at home in crowds and noisy situations they don't phase her at all (in fact she has a slightly worrying obsession with "Storm Man" Melbourne Storms mascot!, and Hawka). I found sporting events great for taking babies too, it doesn't matter if they make a bit of noise and you can socialize too, if awake she would peer out the sling and be fascinated by flags and different faces around her etc. At most stadiums (well certainly all in Melbourne) have baby change rooms, just for the warmth for me factor I would go feed her in the room at half time and they had a TV in there too so I could follow what was going on if took a bit longer than the break etc. In terms of temperature she was always very cosy in the sling and is like a hot water bottle for you.

I'd definitely take bub with you, rugged up and in a sling... I think the noise will be fine.

yeah, sling, hug-a-bub or something similar will do.

oh -I agree with the slinging idea! A hug-a-bub (or similar) would be perfect, comfy for you, comfy for bub...and if it is really cold, maybe you have a poncho? I used to put my baby in the hugabub with a big poncho over the top, with a fairly open neck..for air...this also made breastfeeding in the open warmer. I get reynauds, so exposed nipple as latching was not fun! That said, bub soon warmed it up! LOL . also good for cold weather in the open feeding: nursing singlets - keeps your tummy warm...
:) xo

i'd take baby to the game no worries! no doubt she'll sleep right on through it all!

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Thanks so much for your advice girls. You all have been very helpful!

Im thinking I will see if my mother will come down and look after bub at my friends place while we are at the game, that way she is close by, and I wont have to introduce a bottle.

The social outing is actually State of Origin III, I dont think its very appropriate for a little newborn, with all the very loud noise, and it will be cold. What do you girls think though? I would absolutely LOVE to bring her.....

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Mine have all been to the football since birth and GF too. They sleep better there :lol: and are warm and toasty in the sling.

Take bub with you!

That being said though, I completely agree with everyone else who said "wait and see". To be honest, you aren't going to know how you feel until bubs is born (or even on the day) - I cancelled going to a wedding a week before, changed dinner plans at a few hours notice. Even now I don't feel pressured to go anywhere if I (or bubs) don't feel up to it! :)

Thanks for all the advice girls! I think I will now take bub with me in a sling. Contacted Suncorp Stadium and they have a parents rooms (which is right near where we are sitting) and I can just go and collect the key (its locked) and go in there with bub if I need to.

Summertime good idea taking bub with you. Once bub is here you will realise how hard it is emotionally for yourself to leave them with someone else at such a young age. Not to mention it isnt too easy to do so while breastfeeding :) Good luck with it all.

Hi Girls,

My little girl was born on 24/05/2011, and is gorgeous. Now that the football is less than a week away, I have been stressing and worrying about it every day. I need to vent.....

To all that said it would be hard to leave my baby, you are right!! I just cant imagine being away from DD, and I just dont know what to do.

DH is adamant that DD shouldnt come to the football, and says I should express and get my mother to give her a bottle while we are away. I am breastfeeding, and it is still a struggle, so I dont want to introduce a bottle and confuse her, but DH does not understand. The bond I have with DD is so strong, and I dont think he understands that either. The time that we would be away from her is her cluster feeding time, early evening, and I think she will need me too much.

I am quite happy to take DD, I will enjoy the game much more knowing she is with me and if she needs me I am there for her. I have my sling, warm clothes for her, a rain jacket (but will head undercover if it rains), have bought baby earmuffs for the noise and know where the parents room is at Suncorp. I also know my other option is to not go. But the ideal situation would be for DH to let DS and I go together.

Any advice for me?

Tell your DH too bad, she's coming. You're the one looking after her so I'm not getting why it bothers him. I would just say that it's a package deal, you both come or you both stay home. It's completely reasonable that you don't want to be away from your baby when she's so little :hug:

Congratulations on the birth of your precious DD.
It sounds as though you know exactly what you want to do. You want to take DD with you. You have it all planned - rain jacket, carrier, etc. and you know that that is her cluster feeding time.

It sounds to me that DH is the one who needs convincing. Why is he adamant that DD not go? Have you had a chance to explain to him that you will not enjoy yourself without DD and that expressing/bottles is not necessarily a suitable option at this stage?

I think it took weeks/months with our first child for DH to really understand the intensity of the bond/connection that I had with DD, and that thoughts of her consumed my every waking hour.

Good luck hun.

Congratulations sweets, sorry I replied then read the latest post so needed to change it.

Its hard, hubbies have a hard time understand the need and desire to be with your baby. If its such a problem and you don't want to take bub with you the answer is simple, don't go! HUbby can have a boys day out, you can give or sell your ticket to someone else. You can watch the footy at home if your a fan but really its one of those things bub goes with you or you miss out.

My DD HATED car travel and would scream the whole way to anything because I found that distressing I simply didn't go anyway for a long long time. Even into town which is 15 min or 30 mins to a larger town was too much.

She did eventually get better but it took a long time for her to get use to car travel.

Other people always judged me for not taking her on long car trips (1+ hours one way) even family who are meant to be supportive. In the end I just said no and if they had a problem well it was their issue not mine, regardless of how I felt I needed to put DD needs above my own. I have missed a wedding, engagement, 21st and an 18th. Looks like I will also be missing my second eldest nieces wedding later this year too as I will be too heavy to travel so far.

Anyway my point is - Hubby needs to deal with it, if he wants you there you and bub now come as a package deal. If he is not comfortable then he is just going to have to take a mate in place.

Nae x

Nae, bubs has arrived. Summertime updated the thread this morn.

LOL yeah I saw that after I posted so I edited my original post :rofl:

:rofl:
I'm sure I've done that before too!

Thanks Girls, I told DH how much it really meant to me to take her, and he said yes. He is still uneasy about it, but I am sure she will be perfectly fine. Got her little backpack packed with nappies, wipes, blankets, earmuffs, change of clothes, rain jacket. Anything else I am forgetting?

DD loves car rides, we have been to Brisbane (1hr trip) and she slept the whole way there and back, so she should do the same today.

Go QLD!

Have a great time - I am jealous - I hope they bring a SoO game back to Melbourne some time. I also think she will be fine, and it is so much easier just having them there sleeping next to you and keeping you warm than worrying about them, enjoy it because as they get older is harder to concentrate on the game when they start with their questions!! My DH also said to say that at that age he hardly noticed the baby - with her in a wrap it was almost just like me sitting next to a pregnant wife again.

Just to let you know that you were all right, DD was great at the game, sleeping for most of it, just woke for a 20min feed and went straight back to sleep. So glad I brought her and DH and I still got to enjoy a fantastic game of footy!

Thanks for all your advice!

That's great summertime :)

Yay well done!

Summertime - CONGRATS on your baby arriving, you sound so in love with her, that's wonderful.

Glad it all worked out, taking her to the game. Do you think your dh "gets it" more, now that this has happened (successfully)? (and the sky didn't fall in).

congrats again.

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To expand...... I had all sorts of grand plans to leave my baby and express for a wedding when DD1 was 6 weeks old. When she was born i quickly realised how difficult that was. Not only logistically for breastfeeding, i did not get into the swing of breast feeding for a good 3 months, but i was not ready to leave her anywhere at 6 weeks old. It's pretty much worked out for us that i either take my babies with us when they are that little or we don't go. Now they are older, i will happily leave them, but i found it just wasn't something i wanted to do when they were tiny.

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Same here! I was going back to work at 6 weeks then 9 months, then 14 months, and now Im thinking 2 years :)

When DD was almost 8 weeks old I left her for 12 hrs with her grandma while dh and I went to soundwave, I was only about 40mins away and the biggest issue I had was exploding boobs by the time we got back!! In the few weeks leading up to it I made sure she would drink formula from a bottle (I couldn't express near enough to last her 12 hrs) and although a lot of the day was spent wondering how they were getting on, MIL sent me updates every few hrs and I'm very glad we went. Boy was I glad to get a feed into her when we got home tho!