by Terry Baldwin

Created on: June 21, 2009   Last Updated: June 26, 2009

The perspective of going visiting with a baby is always stressful for many parents. What if she cries the whole time? Will there be a place to change diapers? Will the guests mind if I breastfeed? There are a lot of things to think about. You can never predict what can happen, but with a little preparation the outing might turn out OK.

New mothers usually stuff the diaper bag with all kinds of items they think might be useful. The most important things you should take are diapers, and wipes, maybe a pacifier, and a rattle toy. Everything else you most likely won't use. If you are bottle feeding you should of course take enough formula to last to the whole trip.

Your baby's doctor might need to OK you taking her out visiting if she is younger than 6 weeks. The consequences of infecting a baby with some disease could be high. However, it is not unusual for mothers to take their baby out much earlier. When my first baby was 5 days old me and my husband took her out to his work to show her to his co-workers. I had no idea that I shouldn't have taken her out that early. But everything turned out fine. She didn't get sick, or anything.

When you go visiting, everyone will want to see and maybe even hold your baby. To me it was always irritating when people stuck their heads into my baby's car seat and started cooing at her, trying to get her to smile. Give a baby some personal space! She most likely will get frightened and start crying. Holding should be limited to the bare minimum, as long as the baby is happy about it. If you have to leave your baby alone with guests to go to the bathroom, or get a drink, make sure this person can be trusted and is responsible enough to watch a baby.

To calm a fussy baby you should start with finding out what her need is. Maybe it is just a dirty diaper or she might be hungry. After feeding, burping,changing, rocking, etc., try using a pacifier. I am against plugging a baby's mouth up with a pacifier, but young babies need to suck and for a short period of time it might work. You can try also putting her to sleep. I have to admit, I usually kept my baby awake before going out, so she would sleep during the party. That's the easy way to do it.

Wherever you go, or for however long, be prepared that sometimes you may have to cut your trip short and go back home. It is hard to predict how a baby will handle going out and meeting strangers.

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