Baby Born During Flu Season

Is there some reason why your husband cant take him out?

I would think that at 16,17,18 months there is no reason why even a trip to the supermarket with dear ol' Dad wouldnt be adventurous.

Maybe its just me. I send my kiddo out with The Hub everytime he goes on an errand. Thats what they are there for.....
Margaret :)

My babies were out of the house within days of birth and we never looked back. Unless you plan to not go anywhere or have visitors for 6 weeks then your baby will be introduced to germs of some sort. Wash your hands, bundle that baby up and head out!!!

I've never had a doctor recommend that I not take my kids out until they're 6 weeks old.

So long as you wash hands often and carry a bottle of hand sanitizer, you should be fine.

my son was born in october during rsv season, he caught the virus from a family member who came to visit him when he was 6 weeks old, he ended up in the hospital on christmas day with rsv.
you just cant tell where youre going to pick up viruses from, it could be family members who are carrying the virus and just are not showing any symptoms yet.
my daughter was born in april so it was not such a big deal, and i hate to be cooped up too.
plus the daft thing is we take our babies back and forth to the most germ ridden place in the world every week - the doctors surgery!
i wouldnt worry too much, what we used to do was cover her car seat with a light blanket which limits inhalation of germs and well meaning nosy parkers looking in - why do people always want to grab your babys hands when they look at your baby!? then the first thing your baby does is put their hands in their mouth and suck all those germs down lol.

just go out when you want to, limit people touching and breathing on your baby, ban visitors with runny noses, colds and coughs, cover them over with a blanket when you are in the store and doctors and wash and alchohol your hands and make all your visitors do it also before they touch your baby, they may think your crazy but it may save you and your baby a lot of discomfort.

It's not so much that you can't take your daughter out, it's more that you shouldn't take her to crowded places. We did not go to busy restaurants for the first few weeks, but we did go to our favorite places during off peak hours, took strolls around the mall during the week when it was less crowded, that kind of thing. We also went to grocery stores during the day and bundled up and walked around the neighborhood at night to look at the decorations. More than anything else, we were stringent with friends and family about handwashing, telling people not to come over if they thought they might have something, and not letting the adoring public touch our babies. The last one is actually the hardest. We quickly developed a very polite body block and explained that our twins were just too young to meet people up close yet. No one ever got upset. I think it's just that new babies are irresistible and people don't always stop to think.

I personally have not heard any doctor say you need to keep a newborn indoors for 6 weeks after they are born. I have read and been told that as long as your newborn is healthy, there is no reason you can't take them anywhere as soon as you are up to it! In fact, keeping an infant away from germs can hurt their immune system...being exposed to germs and allergens is the only way for a body to build up a resistance to them. If you are planning on breastfeeding, your baby will get an immunity boost from your colostrum in the first week after she is born.
Both my children were taken to relatives' houses, friends' houses, restaurants, stores, etc. all in the first week after being born. Neither of them got sick within the first few months of life, and they are now very healthy little kids =)
The only advice I would have for a baby born during the winter, is that infants need 1-2 MORE layers of clothing than what you have on (if you have a long-sleeve shirt and coat, your baby should have a tshirt, long sleeve sleeper, coat, and blanket...just an example...)
I would certainly make sure that no one you go visit is currently sick...but the fact is that with most colds, you are most contagious BEFORE you show any signs of being sick...so you wouldn't know anyway =)
So I wouldn't worry about it too much, so long as she is healthy, she will be just fine!