2-3 week old baby and the holidays???

SO, I am due with DC #2 on December 9 this year. I started thinking about the holidays and seeing family.

If you had a 2-3 week old baby around Christmas time... would you still go to holiday GTG's? I'm talking ones where there would be 20-30 people around?

I am starting to think that maybe I personally won't be up for it. And I'm not sure if I would want a 2 week old infant around that many people so soon. Maybe I am overthinking this. Just looking for some other opinions.

The more I thought about it last night, the more appealing it sounds to just go to see my parents on Christmas Day where it will be just them, my brother, SIL and niece.

Thoughts?

ETA: The party we normally go to is my Aunt and Uncle's house on Christmas Eve. They do it every year. We are in NJ, they are on LI. With traffic, it usually takes us 3 hours to get there (normally a 1 1/2 hour drive w/o traffic). So now that I am thinking more about this, not sure I want to take a 2-3 week old infant in a long car ride with 2 year old DS.

I guess we can decide as it gets closer. Not sure what made me think about this now.

Message edited 8/25/2009 10:02:19 AM.

Re: 2-3 week old baby and the holidays???

i am so glad you posted this. Me and Dh had a disagreement about this the other day. His family does a family xmas party the 1st sunday of december. they have been doing it for over 20 years. Well i said that i dont think we should go. My Due date is Nov 9th. So if Ds arrives on time he will only be a few weeks old, and i am not comfy bringing him to hall with over 50 people. Dh thinks we should go.

Re: 2-3 week old baby and the holidays???

Do what you feel most comfortable. If you're not ready to take DC out then don't. Also, you have to figure in the weather too... last year it snowed on NYE so there's a chance.

My DS was born the end of May so didn't have to worry about the weather. He does sleep a lot so when we went out to a big 4th of July party I put a net over him in the shade and he slept the whole time. If there's a quiet room you can go to with DS then it won't be so bad, but you also don't want to be stuck in the room the whole time either.

Re: 2-3 week old baby and the holidays???

I took DS to a B-day party when he was about 3-4 weeks old. There was only 3-4 kids. He was #1 so maybe we were stupid

I think you should decide what to do when it gets closer. No sense worring about it now. Its not going to change anything. I can't imagine family getting upset if you don't go out at night with a 2 week old child.

Depending on family/location/situation, you might want to go in shifts to the party. Maybe you can just make an appearance. You could always upset the DC and say you had to leave if it was too much.

Re: 2-3 week old baby and the holidays???

I think that is borderline timing and depends how you and baby are feeling.

DS was born last year on Christmas Eve, we did make it to a family b'day party 3 weeks later, but did not make the hour drive out my my in-laws until DS was 6 weeks.

Re: 2-3 week old baby and the holidays???

Personally.........I wouldn't miss the holidays but that's just me. I think your DC will be just fine but see how you feel after giving birth. For me, I felt awful and I was in pain (C-section) BUT I'm a Xmas nut and I love seeing my family so even if I gave birth the day before I'd be at Xmas. Yeah, I'm crazy!!

Re: 2-3 week old baby and the holidays???

I was due Dec 8th, but DS was born on the 11th. Exactly 2 weeks before Christmas. We did not take the baby anywhere except on Christmas Day we went to my mom's house (about 8 people) & SIL house (about 12-14 people).

Re: 2-3 week old baby and the holidays???

I am taking DD to a wedding in Boston when she is 3 weeks old. My parents will be with us and the bride is letting us use the bridal room to keep her away from most of the guests. If this was not my BFF and I was not in the wedding party we would not be going.

I will say that I took DS to high holidays at temple when he was a month old. No one touched him and people were extremely respectful. There were 500 people at services.

Re: 2-3 week old baby and the holidays???

If you want to go to the party...I will babysit

Re: 2-3 week old baby and the holidays???

DS was born December 9th

We stayed local......For Christmas Eve and Christmas Day we went to my parents that only live 5 minutes away. It was just our immediate family and my inlaws came one day. I don't know that I would have wanted to be around 20-30 people at that point, but do what you are comfortable with.

Re: 2-3 week old baby and the holidays???

A gathering of 20-30 people with a baby that young wouldn't be fore me. Not only is the baby tiny, but I know I wouldn't have been up for it at that point either.

Message edited 8/25/2009 11:40:35 AM.

Re: 2-3 week old baby and the holidays???

nope I wouldn t be going, you probably wont feel up to it anyway

Re: 2-3 week old baby and the holidays???

DD was 4 weeks old at Christmas and we took her everywhere. Just make people wash their hands.

Re: 2-3 week old baby and the holidays???

I don't know that you physically will be up for it.

However, I would go if I felt physically capable of going-I love Christmas and all the celebrations that go with them and I would want to introduce everyone to the baby.

Re: 2-3 week old baby and the holidays???

My DS was 3 weeks old and I took him to a Christmas party. He was either in the car seat or on me in the Bjorn.
We also had all our family over on Christmas day and went out to a restaurant on Christmas Eve.
I don't think you need to stay in. Just take precautions that people aren't going crazy touching and passing the baby around and of course careful hand washing by anyone who touches baby.

Re: 2-3 week old baby and the holidays???

DD was born Dec 1st. We did close family only. (My mom and dad, his dad, my aunts).

Re: 2-3 week old baby and the holidays???

Posted by luvsun27

If you want to go to the party...I will babysit

Re: 2-3 week old baby and the holidays???

My youngest will be 5 months old at the holidays and we will not be going to TG at my parents or to x-mas at my IL's. The little one cannot have a flu shot and I will not risk exposure, not just b/c of the swine flu, but flu in general. I didn't take DD last year either - I didn't want school aged kids in our family touching and in my DH's family babies tend to be treated as "toys" to older children which irriates me. I also don't want the odler one's bugging my older DD who will be just 18 months old.

Re: 2-3 week old baby and the holidays???

DS was due on Christmas day. I'm Jewish, but DH isn't. Our holiday plans were completely up in the air. I ended up getting induced 2 weeks before Christmas. We had also just moved into our house less than a week before DS was born. We had the bris during Chanukah. There was also a snowstorm so not as many people made the trip up to our house.

For Christmas, my parents statyed with us during that long weekend. DH's parents are divorced. His siblings and mother came over to our house on Christmas Eve and they made dinner. It was very casual and I was glad we didn't have to travel. The next day, DH, DS, my parents and I went to FIL's house, which was about an hour away. There were probably about 12 people there. I don't think I could've handled seeing too many more people. I spent a lot of time BFing DS and tending to him. I was so sleep deprived and still recovering from a c-section. Overall, I was glad to get out of the house though.

Re: 2-3 week old baby and the holidays???

its a personal thing but me personally yes I would absolutely go. We took DS to a Superbowl party with 30 people at 2 weeks old.

Re: 2-3 week old baby and the holidays???

You have to do what YOU are comfortable with -

I'm pretty laid back w/ Sean but I waited until about 10 weeks for him to be in big groups of people b/c I am NOT the type to tell someone "no you can't hold the baby" and w/ that many people EVERYONE is going to want to pass him around ......there were a few big family events I chose not to bring him to .....people were irritated and I got a few but too bad -

I knew MYSELF I couldnt' say "no don't hold/touch the baby" and I didn't want to have to put myself in that position b/c I didn't want 50 people breathing on him .........

Soooooooo, I propbably wouldn't go this year -

Re: 2-3 week old baby and the holidays???

DS was born 12/20 and I had a c/s, we came home from the hospital on 12/23.

DHs family does a big Christmas Eve about 12 adults and 8 kids. We didnt go to that because we just felt it would be too much.

Generally we go to Christmas at my family's but my niece and nephew were sick so we decided to go to my BILs instead...it was supposed to be a small crowd....but pretty much everyone from Christmas eve was there.

Most of the time DS slept in my nieces room in his infant carrier. Everyone held him but I made sure that they all washed their hands.

I physically had a great recovery so I felt fine that day. I think at one point I laid in my nieces bed with DS to rest but other than that it was fine.

With that said, do what makes you feel comfortable and if you go bring some purell!!

Re: 2-3 week old baby and the holidays???

DD was born December 15th. We took dd to my parents house around the corner for christmas eve dinner with 30+ family there.. but i felt really good after giving birth so it didn't bother me. and we took dd to il about 45 minute drive on Christmas day for dinner with 20+ ppl there.. again didn't bother us.

I think holidays and family are very important so for us it was a must especially that i was feeling well.. if i wasn't feeling well i think it would have been a different story.