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How long after baby was born did you leave them to go out for drinks with friends?

Just nosey really but 2 lots of our family have recently had babies and both have been out within 2 weeks drinking or on nights out with friends. I was really poorly after Hs birth so I guess I can't compare but we didn't leave him for an evening for 8 months and even now haven't had a real night out ddrinking 

i don't know if its to do with me breastfeeding and him not having bottles / expressing or if we're just hyper cautious but it all just seems soon to me'

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  • I went out for drinks with my NCT friends (whose babies were all a month or so older than mine) at 4 weeks and I can say looking back that I wasn't ready. H managed fine enough with bottles and expressed milk though. We both went out at 6 weeks for a gig that had been booked before i got pregnant, and then at about 4 months we went out for a quick dinner. Since then though she has been a bottle refuser and I only managed to get out by myself (much needed) last week at almost 8 months. H and I haven't been out since 4 months but I think it'll be a while before we do

    I've no idea if that actually answers your question lol, but I don't think it's a rare thing

  • I've only been out once since E was born and that was on a friends hen do - she was 10 months old and her dad looked after her and she was in bed before i went.

    We still haven't been out together of an evening and left her and she's 17 months.

  • At 8.5 months me and H went out for dinner with friends.  We booked the table for 8pm at a restaurant less than 10 minutes away and we were home by 11!  I have been out once since with girls from the NCT group, but again went out after A was in bed and was home for 11!!

  • I went to the early part of my best friend's hen do at 6 weeks, so only away from baby for 4 hours. Next time was all day and evening for a wedding at 3 months.

    This time I went out for a night with the girls at 6 weeks, so out from 7.30, I slept on the sofa and next saw baby at 8am.

    I'm lucky that my bf babies both took to the bottle easily, my H is a very capable father and I produce plenty of milk!

    Really though, it's up to you when you feel ready. I felt ready earlier with #2, a combination of being more confident and not having a c-section I imagine helped.

  • We went out for a short evening meal and left J with the parents when he was just over 6 months. I wouldn't have gone out at 2 weeks as I definitely wouldn't have felt ready, emotionally or physically!

  • I went on a hen do when E was 3 months. I had to take a pump with me but it was ok. I'd rather not have gone to be honest! I missed her and didn't feel ready at all.

    And H broke the sofa whilst I was out so the day really cost me £1700 replacing it.

  • If I'm not giving baby enough milk like last time (we lasted 4 weeks) then I would probably be prepared to pop out for a beer with hubby for sure, an hour or two and leave baby with my son. Though to be honest we're more likely to walk somewhere with baby and dog and have a drink. I'm banking on a proper night out a month or so in, but that realistically would be 15 mins walk from home and totally depend on what baby's nature is like. I plan to share care 50:50 and am very passionate about equal parenting so I imagine I'd fall to the 'very soon' end of the spectrum.

  • Crikey! How did the sofa get broken?

    !

    stripey

    I went on a hen do when E was 3 months. I had to take a pump with me but it was ok. I'd rather not have gone to be honest! I missed her and didn't feel ready at all.

    And H broke the sofa whilst I was out so the day really cost me £1700 replacing it.

  • With Zoe I went out 4 weeks post birth, although left her with MrJB.  Mr JB and I left her overnight with my mum when she was 12 weeks old, and then this continued for a weekend every month or so.

    With Orla I went out, leaving her with MrJB, when she was 6 weeks.  We haven't left her with anyone else yet but mainly because my mum hasn't felt confident to have them both overnight and we don't have anyone who can just do an evening.  In 2 weeks though mum is having both girls for the weekend and MrJB and I are going away, so then Orla will be almost 5 mths.

    I think you do what is right for you.  I wasn't concerned at all about leaving Zoe, she was perfectly happy going to other people and I despertely needed the break.  Things are very different with Orla, she is a much easier baby so I am not so much in need of a break but also she doesn't settle well with other people, even if just being held by someone else you can see her searching for me.  

  • We left E for the first time when he was 9 weeks as we were invited to a wedding where there was a very strict no baby rule. I was a nervous wreck the whole day but E was absolutely fine with my in-laws! Since then we have been out for the odd evening but only left E with his grandparents or aunt/uncle who he is very familiar with. On reflection, although I was very upset about leaving E at 9 weeks for the first day (I felt that the decision had been taken out of my hands) it was probably one of the best things we did as it forced me to express and introduce the bottle and feel confident enough to leave him again.

  • I honestly can't remember, it would've been a good few months though before we left him for an evening, he's 8 months and I'm still worried about leaving him with people as he's an awful sleeper! I've been out a few times in the evening and had a few hours alone time when my mum takes him out. He's a bottle refuser so I couldn't leave him too long although not so bad now he's eating solids. I'd never have gone out drinking within 2 weeks... for starters my stitches were too bloody sore and I was in the midst of the newborn fog! I only knew my *** from my elbow because my elbow didn't hurt ;-)

  • I went out without him for the length of time he could go without a breastfeed in the day. But I've never left him for a whole night and have only left him at bedtime at 9 months for a party (was back before his 11pm dreamfeed) and then for the afternoon/evening for a local wedding a couple of weeks after that. He stayed with my mum both times as my H was out with me. A couple of weeks ago (so he was 10 months) I went out for my aunty's birthday and left him with my H, was back by about 1am.

    Unfortunately A is a bottle refuser who feeds to sleep, cosleeps with me and feeds during the night in his sleep. That makes it very difficult to leave him with anyone else!

    Two weeks would have been too early for me. I'd have wanted the sodding sleep more haha.

  • I left A for 2 hours with my mum when she was 2 weeks old. We were 5 min drive away at a friends engagement party. She had a bottle with 3 oz expressed milk and we were back for her next feed.

    We left her for 2 nights with my parents when she was 4 months, with a freezer full of ebm. She was absolutely fine and my parents had a great time with her. At this stage she was sleeping through and breast feeding every 3 hours so pretty easy to plan.

    With L I left him for 2 nights at 4 months old with my H, again with a freezer full of expressed milk.

    The worst thing about leaving them was pumping and dumping!

    I wouldn't say I missed them a huge amount, I wouldn't have left them if I did!

    When L was 2 weeks old I got into trouble from the HV for leaving him with my H to go get my nails done at my neighbours house! I was away for 1 hour and L slept the whole time! Nosey old cow!

  • LR, really? Things like that drive me crazy. It's not like you left baby with the local vagrant!!!

  • Exactly. One of the many reasons I hate HV' s!

  • For a night out it was prob about six months, H and I did go to a hotel for our anniversary when she was 4.5 mths and my mum took her overnight. Everyone's got their own limits though. I reckon if you are leaving baby with someone you trust and baby is happy with and you are going out for a break rather than to get steaming drunk then why not do it?

  • H and I sing in a group and we had a gig when S was just shy of 2 weeks old. We dropped her with my mum at 5pm and we're back by 10pm. I had a few drinks while we were out and had a thoroughly enjoyable time!

  • It's interesting to see how different everyone is and not using a bottle def does seem to make a difference. It is each to their own, I think I'm just a softy mum I like him with me and ESP when he was small.  He will prob still be with me as a teenager ;)

  • I've just managed it now at almost 11 months not for drinks but couple of hours at local Indian. It seems less of a big deal now I'm back at work and she's with the CM but I missed her and our bedtime cuddles so much. Previous to this there is no way I'd have felt ready and at two weeks you were lucky to find me showered let alone dressed so drinks were definitely out of the question

  • I went out on a night out with friends to a barn dance when my lb was 6 weeks old, it was something that we had already planned and I was only out for four hours and didn't have a lot to drink and left him with my parents.

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