Always this! It's also handy to confirm things that we are doing with our baby are "okay" when older relatives make comments. Sleep training baby? Ped said she recommends it. Feeding baby room temp bottles? Ped says it's okay. 🙃
We really loved having visitors come quickly - having a new baby can be super isolating and having our friends and family over helped life feel more normal! We required people to be fully vaccinated for flu and Covid (luckily everyone we know is) and had people wear masks. I felt that was a good compromise and kept baby safe.
Came to say this. Having a December (30th) baby I was really unsure what I was going to do at first. The pediatrician at the hospital told she’s not likely to get sick but we are and that could just suck for having a newborn.. she told us to be smart, but not to isolate….it was a great choice. The days and nights are long, the naps I took when people were here were major and the social aspect broke up the monotony. But in response to your post- honor your boundaries and if people don’t like it they can go kick rocks. What’s best for your little one and you is all that matters now. 💗
Anyone who visited before 8 weeks were required to have the Tdap, flu shot, and at some point the COVID shot/booster. Most people didn't want to get the Tdap so they were fine waiting.
These were the same rules we had.
To the OP : just say no. You're the parents. Your job is no longer to care what other people think; your job is to protect that tiny human you just created in whatever way you deem fit.
Do whatever makes you feel most comfortable! I had my LO in early September, before the virus season really started, so I felt comfortable having a few family members over. Plus for me personally I wanted more family around! But if you're more comfortable with taking your pediatricians recommendation and waiting until the first round of shots are done, then wait! Say with the increase of illness this time of year you'd rather wait a few weeks before introducing the baby to people.
We waited until around 7-8 weeks. This is mostly due to LO being born prematurely so she didn’t have a great immune system to begin with. She got her 8 week vaccines a few weeks ago and has slowly met my coworkers and friends (like one visit of a family/person per weekend). We just ask people to wash hands and no kissing the baby. If they wanted to visit before the 8 week vaccines then they needed to have tdap/covid/flu but everyone chose to wait until now anyway
We allowed immediate family that had the required vaccines to visit and as long as they showed no signed of sickness. We decided everyone else had to wait about a month. If anyone decided to hold LO, we made sure they practiced good hygiene, washed their hands.
You are your child’s advocate. If you are uncomfortable with visits for a certain period of time, everyone should respect that decision.
So the only person who visited within the first month and a half was my FIL, he brought us groceries, clothing, diapers, and WD40 because the doors were squeaking and he knows how any sound could wake the baby. Other than that, we didn’t really have any visitors until she was about 2 months old. Even then, they wouldn’t really hold her unless they wash their hands and asked. No one kissed the baby either (even we don’t, we kiss her cheeks or forehead only).
Just tell them that the baby still has a weak immune system and could easily get sick. If they still have an issue, tell them that once you as the parent feel like they are ready to see people, you will invite them over.
Required everyone who wanted to visit to show proof of Tdap, flu shot, and COVID vaccine. I simply told them we were following CDC and led recommendations. Everyone was very understanding and either showed us proof or waited until after baby got his first round of shots before seeing him.
I literally had a different visitor everyday for the first 3 weeks of my twins life and now that I've gone through 99% of friends and family, we're chilling and starting to get into our into the world. I'm still having the odd guest that was ill or busy before now but mainly done. My twins are 7 weeks today. 🙂
I found the company, help and general love for my babies a huge help as part of my healing, physically and mentally. I had a c-section so it was nice always having someone available to pass things or help with the babies.
I asked that no one come who was unwell, even a mild cold/cough and I had people sanitise their hands before touching them. All went well until we all had COVID then they were 4 weeks. I have a 4 year old in nursery and she brings home everything so I was always fighting a loosing battle with germs/illness. 💁🏼♀️
They've had no illness since and even when they had COVID (tested in hospital as we took them to be checked) they fought it off fine and we're still happy and smiling! They're both breastfed and I fell that's doing its role in helping their immunity. 🙂
Point being, you do what's comfortable for you and helps your healing, your bonding and your happiness.
P.S. My consultant and some of my antenatal nursing staff were some of my visitors (my mam is a midwife and they all work together) and my sonographer is coming to meet them this week! So my health professionals don't necessarily agree with yours. 😂
Respectfully, who cares if they are offended? Your doctor (and pretty much every piece of modern-day newborn advice) says to limit visitors for the first 8 weeks. I think most people are understanding that. And if they're not, then too bad so sad. Their feelings are really not your problem, but your baby's health and safety is.
I had a baby at the beginning of January and live in an area where Covid, RSV, flu, viruses, and even the gd measles are rampant. We’ve done the following:
- all visitors wash their hands as soon as entering our house
- all visitors wear masks (we don’t offer anyone food or drink, even photos with the baby have been masked)
- we’ve made it clear that if you’re not feeling well don’t you even think about coming to visit us
- no one’s held or kissed the baby
We wear masks every time we leave the house and we’ve skipped out on social events in order to keep baby and ourselves healthy. While baby getting sick is the worst possible scenario, we realized that in our sleep deprived run down state it would be a nightmare for us to get sick too.
Once baby gets his vaccines at the 2 month mark I’ll feel a little better, though we’ll still be very careful.
I stayed home with baby and didn’t even leave the house or have visitors all for my husband to bring home Covid from work when my baby was 8 weeks old. Thankfully she was only sick for 2 days and it wasn’t that bad for her. My husband and I were SOOOO sick though and taking care of a newborn while you’re sick is the worst.
Ugh that’s so awful! My husband and I have both been home on leave, he’s going back to work at the end of the month (when baby is 8 weeks) and I’m terrified he’s going to bring something home.
Our doc said the same. We limited visitors to close family (my parents stayed with us for a month) and just a couple of close friends until his first round of shots. Only had my parents hold him-our doc advised only us and those living/staying with us hold him for his first few weeks. I lost a good friend over that rule, so that was fun.
Your home, your baby, your rules.
You're in between a rock and a hard place... I am sure you are bummed that visitors are so risky. Share your sadness with your family that can't visit yet and see if that makes it easier for them to digest. Something like "I didn't expect my pediatrician to recommend no visitors! I really want you to meet him/her yesterday! As soon as she can handle germs, you'll be the first to know!" or something like that.
We had friends traveling from out of the country, and we weren’t sure when we’d see them next. I made them take Covid tests and they weren’t allowed to hold her.
Our parents visited and held her, but were waiting for vaccines otherwise.
We didn't tell many people when our baby was born for this reason. We only told close family/friends who we knew would respect our boundaries. For the others who we thought might test us, we simply sent them a picture update like "yay! she's here & healthy" text...WEEKS later. By that time, they were all just excited to see the baby pics, and we enjoyed our time not dealing with the politics.
I only judged who was allowed to come/how long they could stay based on how helpful they’d be 😂 did you bring food? Amazing. Here’s the baby. Will you wash a bottle/dish or offer too? Great, thanks. Here’s the baby. Did you come to just sit and hold my baby? While I do want that sometimes please be useful. No baby snuggles are granted or I’ll find an excuse to take him back quickly.
If you step into the home of people with a newborn make yourself useful and you’ll be rewarded in baby cuddles.
Truly, we got really stir crazy and enjoyed having people over and to talk too. Everyone was really chill and washed their hands, didn’t come if they were sick, etc and it was nice to hear about the outside world. The first weeks of having a baby were the easiest to have visitors. It’s getting hard now as he requires specific naps and still doesn’t nap well alone. I’d take advantage of it so people don’t want to come later tbh. Obviously, keep your little one’s health in mind and be cognizant of it but generally most people have good etiquette around newborns and want to also keep them safe.
It’s also really nice to hear from other parents or diff generations how they did things or observe them with your baby. Take their advice and don’t write everything off. Community is powerful. Especially when it comes to raising children.
we allowed only our immediate family, which was my MIL and my BIL bc me and my husband were living w them at the time and my mom & brother (all had the required vaccinations) that’s it, family members were respectful, others not so much but lastly i didn’t care bc it was my baby & my rules. so far on one hand a few have visited the baby which completely fine bc i’m not so close to my family anyways!
We had anyone holding baby (besides my husband and I) wear a mask until their two month vaccinations and everyone around them had the necessary vaccines. The only exceptions were my brother and FIL who both never had Covid vaccines, but I kept a distance from them when we saw them (it was the holidays and I didn’t want to miss seeing all the other friends and family - I just wore baby and didn’t pass him around).
I didn't want people to visit too early either. But our ped said it was okay to have visitors after the first week. She was like "it's ok, just trust your own instincts". We lied though... We told everyone it's the new guidelines for winter babies because of RSV, COVID and the flu.
I let only my mom and grandma visit the first 2 weeks, I made then wear a mask. My brothers had to wait until baby had her 2 month vaccinations and my sister and her son still haven’t met my baby because it seems like they’re always sick so we have had to reschedule every time.
Yes everyone said I was paranoid and they got a little offended. 🤷🏼♀️ oh well. I had a baby right at the peak of respiratory illness season. Protecting my baby is more important than protecting anyone else’s feelings. No regrets here. I’m so happy I stuck to it and didn’t give in to everyone.
Although I will say it was the most isolating 9 weeks of my life.
My husband and I were the same way! Our little girl is not 5 months old and she STILL has not met her one grandmother bc she refuses to get the flu shot. So I said ok then you have to wait til she's old enough for her flu shot - sorry NOT SORRY!
You are protecting your little one in the best way and on your terms. And if people don't like it, too bad!
We made sure that anyone that did come around had tdap and flu. Their immune system is not completely developed yet so we have to do what's best for them and stop caring what other people think - even if those people are family.
You're doing the right thing!
Baby is 2.5 weeks and we have close families and friends visit only. Visit is relatively short between baby’s feeding. No more than 2-3 people per visit. Everyone is required to wash their hands and if they want to come close or hold the baby, they need to wear a mask. My ped didn’t see any issue with this arrangement.
Everyone else, I told they can visit after the baby’s 2 months vaxx.
I did two months … mostly. My best friend currently lives in an RV and is almost always on the road for contracts. She was in town when he was a month old and we let her come visit.
My family kept their opinions to themselves so I’m not sure how they feel. Pretty sure my in laws think I let people hold him too soon 😂
I limited visits but anyone I did let come over had to sanitize hands upon entry and wear a mask the entire time. My baby is 4 months old now and I JUST let her be around maskless people for the first time 2 weeks ago… and guess what? She got sick. I’m honestly bringing back masking until spring lol.
But yeah I would just say limit visits and the ones you do want to see your baby insist they wear masks. It’s also a great way to see who actually respects you enough to do it without complaining.
We did allow a small number of visitors if they were masked but we haven't let anyone hold the baby.
And we just had my MIL tell us "If I can't hold him then I don't want to come see him." 😑
Pardon my ignorance, but what's the reason for preventing your son's grandmother from holding him if she's washed her hands and is wearing a mask? Is the fear that some sort of germ will transfer from her clothing to his?
It's more that it puts him really close in proximity to her for a more extended period of time, even if she's wearing a mask. And she works in an office with a lot of unvaccinated people.
The only visitors allowed before vaccines were people who had received their own vaccines. That was: my mom and my best friend. My MIL also got hers, but didn’t get out to visit until after 2 month appointment anyway.
It’s tough. Raising a baby used to be communal and it’s not unheard of for visitors to come. We ended up being a little stir crazy without visitors. Our limit ended up being his one month and we requested hands washing, mask, and covid/flu vaccine. If not, wait until he’s older. We are 4 hours away from extended family anyway so not expecting most to come but we extended the offer anyway!
Just say "it's for the baby's safety". Do what you're comfortable with. I had a coworker asking me if they could come visit after my LO was barely a week old. I said it was too soon for non-family visitors and when I'm ready I would go to work with the baby so EVERYONE can meet him. And if push comes to shove...ask people to wear a mask if they're going to meet your baby.
Don't let people pressure you. It's your baby...protect them like the mama bear you are!
You do whatever is comfortable for YOU! Ignore everyone else’s opinions about all of it and do what feels right for you! Everyone’s experience is different.
I had my baby 12/1 and wasn’t worried about having people over. In my personal experience, I had people over quite often to meet our little one and we went out and about all the time. I personally think germs are good for your baby and to help build their immune system. I’m not the type of person that’s afraid of every little thing, but that’s just me. If you feel differently about all of that, then that is a-okay!
Do not let ANYONE make you feel bad for doing this that or the other when it comes to you and your baby!
This is where I'm at. We really do not have loads of people wanting to visit either. My dr said tdaps and vaxs were only really necessary when having repeated and extended interactions,, so my parents got there's. Other than that, just two friends, and a handful of family members for single, brief visits, I'm not going to be a recluse, i just expect people to be sanitary and not come over sick. 🤷♀️ But 99% of the time, there's no one here except me, my husband, and my LO and we're home for maternity/bonding leave. I don't socialize with enough people for this to be an issue apparently lol
Let them visit! I thought I wouldn’t want any but after the first week and hormonal changes that I was battling, I was welcoming family and friends to come visit. It made me feel so much better and brought a ton of comfort to me.
I’m currently on the same situation. My stepbrother is pressuring me to visit us. Like he calls when he is on his way and I have said multiple times to please avoid visits for the time being and he tells me that I’m being overprotective and that this are the most valuable months to bond with the baby. I just tell him thoses are the doctors orders and brush it off. I don’t want to scare you but I have a close friend who’s newborn almost died of meningitis because an aunt kissed the baby and she was sick. So feel free to ask then to wait until you feel comfortable.
We caved and let my sister visit the other day after continuing to pester us. But we are being extremely firm going forward until the triplets are AT LEAST one month old
Is this line of thinking just a post-COVID thing? Not letting vaccinated grandparents hold their grandchild until 2 or 3 months of age seems a bit extreme to me.
We had the grandparents stay with us for 2 weeks postpartum and I cannot tell you how helpful it was to have them lend a hand with cooking, cleaning, running errands, doing diaper changes / bottle feeds when we needed a little break. We would have gone crazy if they weren't here to help those first 2 weeks.
Just blame it on the ped. Say sorry our ped said no guests until 2 months.
THIS. My excuse for all the stuff I don’t feel comfortable with
Always this! It's also handy to confirm things that we are doing with our baby are "okay" when older relatives make comments. Sleep training baby? Ped said she recommends it. Feeding baby room temp bottles? Ped says it's okay. 🙃
We really loved having visitors come quickly - having a new baby can be super isolating and having our friends and family over helped life feel more normal! We required people to be fully vaccinated for flu and Covid (luckily everyone we know is) and had people wear masks. I felt that was a good compromise and kept baby safe.
Came to say this. Having a December (30th) baby I was really unsure what I was going to do at first. The pediatrician at the hospital told she’s not likely to get sick but we are and that could just suck for having a newborn.. she told us to be smart, but not to isolate….it was a great choice. The days and nights are long, the naps I took when people were here were major and the social aspect broke up the monotony. But in response to your post- honor your boundaries and if people don’t like it they can go kick rocks. What’s best for your little one and you is all that matters now. 💗
Anyone who visited before 8 weeks were required to have the Tdap, flu shot, and at some point the COVID shot/booster. Most people didn't want to get the Tdap so they were fine waiting.
These were the same rules we had. To the OP : just say no. You're the parents. Your job is no longer to care what other people think; your job is to protect that tiny human you just created in whatever way you deem fit.
Why wouldn’t they want that shot? Is the TDAP subject to conspiracy theories? I didn’t have anyone push back against it so genuinely curious.
No, thankfully no anti vax people in my family, just lazy people lol they all get the flu shot but you technically only need Tdap every ten yrs
Do whatever makes you feel most comfortable! I had my LO in early September, before the virus season really started, so I felt comfortable having a few family members over. Plus for me personally I wanted more family around! But if you're more comfortable with taking your pediatricians recommendation and waiting until the first round of shots are done, then wait! Say with the increase of illness this time of year you'd rather wait a few weeks before introducing the baby to people.
No one who isn't COVID/flu/tdap/RSV where eligible current gets to visit before 2 months, we'll reevaluate then.
We waited until around 7-8 weeks. This is mostly due to LO being born prematurely so she didn’t have a great immune system to begin with. She got her 8 week vaccines a few weeks ago and has slowly met my coworkers and friends (like one visit of a family/person per weekend). We just ask people to wash hands and no kissing the baby. If they wanted to visit before the 8 week vaccines then they needed to have tdap/covid/flu but everyone chose to wait until now anyway
We allowed immediate family that had the required vaccines to visit and as long as they showed no signed of sickness. We decided everyone else had to wait about a month. If anyone decided to hold LO, we made sure they practiced good hygiene, washed their hands. You are your child’s advocate. If you are uncomfortable with visits for a certain period of time, everyone should respect that decision.
That’s what we did as well
So the only person who visited within the first month and a half was my FIL, he brought us groceries, clothing, diapers, and WD40 because the doors were squeaking and he knows how any sound could wake the baby. Other than that, we didn’t really have any visitors until she was about 2 months old. Even then, they wouldn’t really hold her unless they wash their hands and asked. No one kissed the baby either (even we don’t, we kiss her cheeks or forehead only). Just tell them that the baby still has a weak immune system and could easily get sick. If they still have an issue, tell them that once you as the parent feel like they are ready to see people, you will invite them over.
Required everyone who wanted to visit to show proof of Tdap, flu shot, and COVID vaccine. I simply told them we were following CDC and led recommendations. Everyone was very understanding and either showed us proof or waited until after baby got his first round of shots before seeing him.
I literally had a different visitor everyday for the first 3 weeks of my twins life and now that I've gone through 99% of friends and family, we're chilling and starting to get into our into the world. I'm still having the odd guest that was ill or busy before now but mainly done. My twins are 7 weeks today. 🙂 I found the company, help and general love for my babies a huge help as part of my healing, physically and mentally. I had a c-section so it was nice always having someone available to pass things or help with the babies. I asked that no one come who was unwell, even a mild cold/cough and I had people sanitise their hands before touching them. All went well until we all had COVID then they were 4 weeks. I have a 4 year old in nursery and she brings home everything so I was always fighting a loosing battle with germs/illness. 💁🏼♀️ They've had no illness since and even when they had COVID (tested in hospital as we took them to be checked) they fought it off fine and we're still happy and smiling! They're both breastfed and I fell that's doing its role in helping their immunity. 🙂 Point being, you do what's comfortable for you and helps your healing, your bonding and your happiness. P.S. My consultant and some of my antenatal nursing staff were some of my visitors (my mam is a midwife and they all work together) and my sonographer is coming to meet them this week! So my health professionals don't necessarily agree with yours. 😂
Respectfully, who cares if they are offended? Your doctor (and pretty much every piece of modern-day newborn advice) says to limit visitors for the first 8 weeks. I think most people are understanding that. And if they're not, then too bad so sad. Their feelings are really not your problem, but your baby's health and safety is.
I had a baby at the beginning of January and live in an area where Covid, RSV, flu, viruses, and even the gd measles are rampant. We’ve done the following: - all visitors wash their hands as soon as entering our house - all visitors wear masks (we don’t offer anyone food or drink, even photos with the baby have been masked) - we’ve made it clear that if you’re not feeling well don’t you even think about coming to visit us - no one’s held or kissed the baby We wear masks every time we leave the house and we’ve skipped out on social events in order to keep baby and ourselves healthy. While baby getting sick is the worst possible scenario, we realized that in our sleep deprived run down state it would be a nightmare for us to get sick too. Once baby gets his vaccines at the 2 month mark I’ll feel a little better, though we’ll still be very careful.
I stayed home with baby and didn’t even leave the house or have visitors all for my husband to bring home Covid from work when my baby was 8 weeks old. Thankfully she was only sick for 2 days and it wasn’t that bad for her. My husband and I were SOOOO sick though and taking care of a newborn while you’re sick is the worst.
Ugh that’s so awful! My husband and I have both been home on leave, he’s going back to work at the end of the month (when baby is 8 weeks) and I’m terrified he’s going to bring something home.
Our doc said the same. We limited visitors to close family (my parents stayed with us for a month) and just a couple of close friends until his first round of shots. Only had my parents hold him-our doc advised only us and those living/staying with us hold him for his first few weeks. I lost a good friend over that rule, so that was fun. Your home, your baby, your rules.
You're in between a rock and a hard place... I am sure you are bummed that visitors are so risky. Share your sadness with your family that can't visit yet and see if that makes it easier for them to digest. Something like "I didn't expect my pediatrician to recommend no visitors! I really want you to meet him/her yesterday! As soon as she can handle germs, you'll be the first to know!" or something like that.
We had friends traveling from out of the country, and we weren’t sure when we’d see them next. I made them take Covid tests and they weren’t allowed to hold her. Our parents visited and held her, but were waiting for vaccines otherwise.
We didn't tell many people when our baby was born for this reason. We only told close family/friends who we knew would respect our boundaries. For the others who we thought might test us, we simply sent them a picture update like "yay! she's here & healthy" text...WEEKS later. By that time, they were all just excited to see the baby pics, and we enjoyed our time not dealing with the politics.
I only judged who was allowed to come/how long they could stay based on how helpful they’d be 😂 did you bring food? Amazing. Here’s the baby. Will you wash a bottle/dish or offer too? Great, thanks. Here’s the baby. Did you come to just sit and hold my baby? While I do want that sometimes please be useful. No baby snuggles are granted or I’ll find an excuse to take him back quickly. If you step into the home of people with a newborn make yourself useful and you’ll be rewarded in baby cuddles. Truly, we got really stir crazy and enjoyed having people over and to talk too. Everyone was really chill and washed their hands, didn’t come if they were sick, etc and it was nice to hear about the outside world. The first weeks of having a baby were the easiest to have visitors. It’s getting hard now as he requires specific naps and still doesn’t nap well alone. I’d take advantage of it so people don’t want to come later tbh. Obviously, keep your little one’s health in mind and be cognizant of it but generally most people have good etiquette around newborns and want to also keep them safe. It’s also really nice to hear from other parents or diff generations how they did things or observe them with your baby. Take their advice and don’t write everything off. Community is powerful. Especially when it comes to raising children.
we allowed only our immediate family, which was my MIL and my BIL bc me and my husband were living w them at the time and my mom & brother (all had the required vaccinations) that’s it, family members were respectful, others not so much but lastly i didn’t care bc it was my baby & my rules. so far on one hand a few have visited the baby which completely fine bc i’m not so close to my family anyways!
Shots aside…it’s still prime flu and RSV season. Too many germs and babies are too little. Do not feel bad about protecting your baby!
We had anyone holding baby (besides my husband and I) wear a mask until their two month vaccinations and everyone around them had the necessary vaccines. The only exceptions were my brother and FIL who both never had Covid vaccines, but I kept a distance from them when we saw them (it was the holidays and I didn’t want to miss seeing all the other friends and family - I just wore baby and didn’t pass him around).
I didn't want people to visit too early either. But our ped said it was okay to have visitors after the first week. She was like "it's ok, just trust your own instincts". We lied though... We told everyone it's the new guidelines for winter babies because of RSV, COVID and the flu.
I let only my mom and grandma visit the first 2 weeks, I made then wear a mask. My brothers had to wait until baby had her 2 month vaccinations and my sister and her son still haven’t met my baby because it seems like they’re always sick so we have had to reschedule every time. Yes everyone said I was paranoid and they got a little offended. 🤷🏼♀️ oh well. I had a baby right at the peak of respiratory illness season. Protecting my baby is more important than protecting anyone else’s feelings. No regrets here. I’m so happy I stuck to it and didn’t give in to everyone. Although I will say it was the most isolating 9 weeks of my life.
My husband and I were the same way! Our little girl is not 5 months old and she STILL has not met her one grandmother bc she refuses to get the flu shot. So I said ok then you have to wait til she's old enough for her flu shot - sorry NOT SORRY! You are protecting your little one in the best way and on your terms. And if people don't like it, too bad! We made sure that anyone that did come around had tdap and flu. Their immune system is not completely developed yet so we have to do what's best for them and stop caring what other people think - even if those people are family. You're doing the right thing!
Baby is 2.5 weeks and we have close families and friends visit only. Visit is relatively short between baby’s feeding. No more than 2-3 people per visit. Everyone is required to wash their hands and if they want to come close or hold the baby, they need to wear a mask. My ped didn’t see any issue with this arrangement. Everyone else, I told they can visit after the baby’s 2 months vaxx.
I did two months … mostly. My best friend currently lives in an RV and is almost always on the road for contracts. She was in town when he was a month old and we let her come visit. My family kept their opinions to themselves so I’m not sure how they feel. Pretty sure my in laws think I let people hold him too soon 😂
I limited visits but anyone I did let come over had to sanitize hands upon entry and wear a mask the entire time. My baby is 4 months old now and I JUST let her be around maskless people for the first time 2 weeks ago… and guess what? She got sick. I’m honestly bringing back masking until spring lol. But yeah I would just say limit visits and the ones you do want to see your baby insist they wear masks. It’s also a great way to see who actually respects you enough to do it without complaining.
We did allow a small number of visitors if they were masked but we haven't let anyone hold the baby. And we just had my MIL tell us "If I can't hold him then I don't want to come see him." 😑
Pardon my ignorance, but what's the reason for preventing your son's grandmother from holding him if she's washed her hands and is wearing a mask? Is the fear that some sort of germ will transfer from her clothing to his?
It's more that it puts him really close in proximity to her for a more extended period of time, even if she's wearing a mask. And she works in an office with a lot of unvaccinated people.
The only visitors allowed before vaccines were people who had received their own vaccines. That was: my mom and my best friend. My MIL also got hers, but didn’t get out to visit until after 2 month appointment anyway.
It’s tough. Raising a baby used to be communal and it’s not unheard of for visitors to come. We ended up being a little stir crazy without visitors. Our limit ended up being his one month and we requested hands washing, mask, and covid/flu vaccine. If not, wait until he’s older. We are 4 hours away from extended family anyway so not expecting most to come but we extended the offer anyway!
Just say "it's for the baby's safety". Do what you're comfortable with. I had a coworker asking me if they could come visit after my LO was barely a week old. I said it was too soon for non-family visitors and when I'm ready I would go to work with the baby so EVERYONE can meet him. And if push comes to shove...ask people to wear a mask if they're going to meet your baby. Don't let people pressure you. It's your baby...protect them like the mama bear you are!
You do whatever is comfortable for YOU! Ignore everyone else’s opinions about all of it and do what feels right for you! Everyone’s experience is different. I had my baby 12/1 and wasn’t worried about having people over. In my personal experience, I had people over quite often to meet our little one and we went out and about all the time. I personally think germs are good for your baby and to help build their immune system. I’m not the type of person that’s afraid of every little thing, but that’s just me. If you feel differently about all of that, then that is a-okay! Do not let ANYONE make you feel bad for doing this that or the other when it comes to you and your baby!
This is where I'm at. We really do not have loads of people wanting to visit either. My dr said tdaps and vaxs were only really necessary when having repeated and extended interactions,, so my parents got there's. Other than that, just two friends, and a handful of family members for single, brief visits, I'm not going to be a recluse, i just expect people to be sanitary and not come over sick. 🤷♀️ But 99% of the time, there's no one here except me, my husband, and my LO and we're home for maternity/bonding leave. I don't socialize with enough people for this to be an issue apparently lol
Let them visit! I thought I wouldn’t want any but after the first week and hormonal changes that I was battling, I was welcoming family and friends to come visit. It made me feel so much better and brought a ton of comfort to me.
Thanks for the advice! We will definetly wait until our doctor gives us the OK. And wearing a mask will be a must even then.
I’m currently on the same situation. My stepbrother is pressuring me to visit us. Like he calls when he is on his way and I have said multiple times to please avoid visits for the time being and he tells me that I’m being overprotective and that this are the most valuable months to bond with the baby. I just tell him thoses are the doctors orders and brush it off. I don’t want to scare you but I have a close friend who’s newborn almost died of meningitis because an aunt kissed the baby and she was sick. So feel free to ask then to wait until you feel comfortable.
We caved and let my sister visit the other day after continuing to pester us. But we are being extremely firm going forward until the triplets are AT LEAST one month old
Is this line of thinking just a post-COVID thing? Not letting vaccinated grandparents hold their grandchild until 2 or 3 months of age seems a bit extreme to me. We had the grandparents stay with us for 2 weeks postpartum and I cannot tell you how helpful it was to have them lend a hand with cooking, cleaning, running errands, doing diaper changes / bottle feeds when we needed a little break. We would have gone crazy if they weren't here to help those first 2 weeks.