December Babies...What to do at Holidays?

[aemeric]

Just wondering what others have done at the holidays with a new baby. My baby is due tomorrow, but no signs of labor yet. Anyhow, all along I had been assuming that we would be making our traditional rounds to the parents on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. But now as the holidays are appoaching and no baby yet, I am concerned that she will be too young to visit with the family. My family is small, but DH's immediate family is 25 with many young children. Would this be too much for a newborn? BTW I will be nursing also.

April

[aa2mama]

Last year, I was due Dec 31 & DS was born on Dec 16. Since I didn't want to spend the holidays by ourselves & both our families lived some distance away, my immediate family came to our house for Xmas. My mom & sister did all of the meals & cleaning and I just had to take care of the baby & rest.

I would personally keep your plans somewhat open-ended because you don't always know ahead of time how you will be feeling about things. If you feel up to going to the family events and everyone is healthy, then there's no reason that you should have to stay at home. Personally, I think I would have found going to a big family gathering overwhelming with a newborn. We were struggling with breastfeeding, it was freezing cold, it took us forever to get out of the house between meals & naps, and I was worried about germs.

Wishing you a speedy & easy delivery and happy holidays!

[Tondi G]

I wouldn't make any concrete plans. Sure plan on being somewhere for a nice family dinner but be sure to call around ahead of time adn eb sure NO ONE is sick or feeling like they could be coming down with something.... especially if it involves other small children. Hopefully for you the baby will be in that sleepy newborn stage and will spend most of their time sleeping in your arms, in a carrier or maybe even in a Bjorn/sling. If you do decide to go to Dh's family be staunch about EVERYONE washing their hands before even touching the baby!

I would wait and see how things are going with Baby. Some people do have a fair ammt of trouble with nursing in the beginning, You may not be comfy with so many people around etc. You may be feeling totally wiped out and just feel like being home with your hubby and your little one! See how you feel.... I am sure everyone will understand if you decided not to make the rounds this year!

Good luck and Easy Labor vibes headed your way!

~Tondi
Mommy to Mason 7/8/01
and lil man #2 edd 5/5/05

[Tondi G]

I wouldn't make any concrete plans. Sure plan on being somewhere for a nice family dinner but be sure to call around ahead of time adn eb sure NO ONE is sick or feeling like they could be coming down with something.... especially if it involves other small children. Hopefully for you the baby will be in that sleepy newborn stage and will spend most of their time sleeping in your arms, in a carrier or maybe even in a Bjorn/sling. If you do decide to go to Dh's family be staunch about EVERYONE washing their hands before even touching the baby!

I would wait and see how things are going with Baby. Some people do have a fair ammt of trouble with nursing in the beginning, You may not be comfy with so many people around etc. You may be feeling totally wiped out and just feel like being home with your hubby and your little one! See how you feel.... I am sure everyone will understand if you decided not to make the rounds this year!

Good luck and Easy Labor vibes headed your way!

~Tondi
Mommy to Mason 7/8/01
and lil man #2 edd 5/5/05

[Tondi G]

Sorry... double post..... :)

~Tondi

[Tondi G]

Sorry... double post..... :)

~Tondi

[Sarah1]

I completely agree w/what Tondi said. Don't stress about any of it--see how you are feeling and do whatever feels right for you and the baby. You still have a few weeks yet--by Christmas you may be ready to make the rounds, or you may not be--my advice is, do what feels right and don't feel guilty about anything.

[Sarah1]

I completely agree w/what Tondi said. Don't stress about any of it--see how you are feeling and do whatever feels right for you and the baby. You still have a few weeks yet--by Christmas you may be ready to make the rounds, or you may not be--my advice is, do what feels right and don't feel guilty about anything.

[C99]

I think the more important question is: will this be too much for YOU? Newborns are pretty adaptable. As long as the important people (MOM!) are close by, that's really all that matters to them.

I would be concerned about the young children wanting to hold or touch the baby, and unwittingly exposing her to germs that you don't necessarily want (although nursing will shield her from that a bit), but if you are willing to adopt a policy of limiting people holding her, I think it would be OK. If possible, I would try to get people to come to you, instead of you going out on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Personally? I liked visitors in those early days, but it was more of a pain to go to someone's house.

[C99]

I think the more important question is: will this be too much for YOU? Newborns are pretty adaptable. As long as the important people (MOM!) are close by, that's really all that matters to them.

I would be concerned about the young children wanting to hold or touch the baby, and unwittingly exposing her to germs that you don't necessarily want (although nursing will shield her from that a bit), but if you are willing to adopt a policy of limiting people holding her, I think it would be OK. If possible, I would try to get people to come to you, instead of you going out on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Personally? I liked visitors in those early days, but it was more of a pain to go to someone's house.

[aemeric]

Thanks for all of the great advice and labor vibes. I guess I am mostly worried about exposure to so many people (with potential germs) at such a young age. Secondly, nursing with a new baby might not be comfortable in a large group setting. So, I told DH we'll play it by ear. He was a little disappointed, but understood my feelings.

On a side note, baby is still not here yet :( . OB said we could induce at any time, since she is full term and appears to be over 9 lbs. I said I would prefer to wait as long as baby is healthy ;-). I would hate to have another induced labor...was not one bit pleasant the first time. So keep sending those vibes! Thanks!

April

[jbowman]

Chiming in a little late, but wanted to add my two cents. My DD was born around this time last year and we just hung out at our house on Christmas (and my younger sister flew down and visited with us). We live far away from both sets of parents, so driving to see them wasn't an option. That said, I wouldn't have done it even if we lived close. At that point, we were establishing our BF relationship and just trying to survive (changing diapers, getting the hang of parenthood, etc.). I would encourage people (not sick ones, mind you!) to come visit you on the 24th and 25th. Stay home and enjoy your time with your DH and your new baby!

Good luck! Sending labor vibes your way! December birthdays are the best! My DD's was yesterday and mine is on Tuesday!

[aemeric]

Thanks, Jill. I think we will be staying home. I sure don't need any extra burdens right now. Besides, it's only one holiday. Happy Birthday to you and Ellie (I love her name :D )!

April