Tips & Advice for Getting Out of the House with Baby + Q&A
Getting out of the house can be extremely intimidating, especially for first time moms. Since I don’t have any family or help in Dallas, I had to quickly learn how to master getting out and about on my own with a baby. In this post, I will be sharing some of my tips for being out and about with your baby, my must have products for when I leave the house, and will be doing a Q+A at the end!
Before we get started, I wanted to give y’all a little more info about our personal situation. A lot of your questions are about feeding in public and on the go. I am still exclusively breastfeeding Davis, so feeding is definitely something I have to plan our schedule around. Davis is also a pretty “chill” baby who is on a good routine and loves his carseat.
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Tips & Advice:
Finding the Best Time To Leave:
Some of the best advice I can give when getting out of the house with baby is to know their routine. This is going to change constantly depending on what developmental stage they are in (ex: newborns sleep a lot, but six month olds should be on a routined schedule). The key to leaving the house, in my opinion, is to leave as soon as possible after feeding them (I will go into more detail about feeding them in public later in this post). Since Davis has always loved his carseat, going out is typically an enjoyable experience for him. We used the Taking Cara Babies program to get Davis on a routine. Click here to read my post about getting Davis on a routine and sleep training him!
In the Car:
Two must haves to have in the car are a car organizer (Click here for the one I use) and a mirror to put on the back seat (I use this one). I keep the organizer in the middle on the backseat floor so that I can reach things easily if I need to. Having the organizer is also helpful for diaper changes and feedings on the go.
How to Navigate Once You’ve Gotten to Your Destination:
If you’re a brand new mom who is trying to get out of the house, I recommend going somewhere close to home where you can just walk around with baby and get some practice in of being out in public with baby with no pressure. This process is all about baby steps, especially if you have a lot of fears about going out. Once you get more comfortable, I would try going somewhere like Target or Wal-Mart to practice using a cart. If I am going somewhere where I will use a cart, I will put the carseat in the cart. Keep in mind, the carseat will not fit in ALL carts (ex: Trader Joe’s and Homegoods are a couple places that come to mind that do not have regular size carts). I do go to TJ’s every week with him, so I make a list and put everything in the bottom of the stroller since I have a big basket underneath.
Breastfeeding in Public:
This was the biggest topic I got questions about. A lot of you seemed to be nervous about breastfeeding in public. I completely support women who are comfortable breastfeeding out in the open, but I am not one of them. I have always been a private person and same goes with breastfeeding. Davis also still has aspirating issues, so I have to keep a very close eye on him while he is eating. Using a nursing cover doesn’t work well for our situation. My number one choice of where to feed when I am on the go is in my car. I have very dark tint all around my car, which has been a huge comfort for privacy. If you do not have tint, I would buy some sort of shade that can stick on your window or park somewhere with some privacy. If you do not want to feed in your car, I always try to find somewhere with a nursing room (my favorite mall in Dallas has them) or I will try find a family restroom to use. Worst case scenario, I will sit on a toilet in the handicap bathroom stall. Thankfully, I’ve only had to do that a couple of times. *If you are bottle feeding, I recently found a trick to warm up your bottle on the go. Keep a large yeti with you and either fill it up with hot water before you leave the house or ask for hot water at a restaurant and put the bottle in it when it’s time to warm it up!
Staying on Schedule & Napping On the Go:
Again, thankfully Davis loves his carseat and naps very well in it too and is pretty much able to stay on schedule as of now. We probably would not be out of the house as much as we are if he didn’t nap well in his carseat. To get him to nap in his carseat, I have to use this carseat cover to make it darker and put the portable sound machine in there with him! If we are going out to dinner, I always make sure to time our meal for when Davis will be asleep.
Q&A:
Answering any questions that were not covered in the information above
How Do You Avoid the Germs?
I would say that the majority of the time that we are out in public, I use this carseat cover. This works extremely well for people wanting to touch him. I also do everything I possible can not to touch anything when I am out. I keep Clorox wipes with me on the go so that I can wipe down surfaces and grocery carts. Since he is typically always in his carseat when we are out, I do not have to worry yet about him touching anything. I also use Babyganics foaming hand sanitizer for myself!
How Do You Travel with His Milk?
When we were exclusively pumping after he came home from the NICU, I did have to travel once with breastmilk. You can bring it with you through security and they will just have to test it. You can bring it in a lunch box or small cooler!
How Do You Deal With Them Having a Melt Down in Public and Stay Calm? (and if you’re by yourself):
Again, I feel so blessed that Davis doesn’t really fuss or cry unless he is hungry or tired. If I keep him on schedule, he rarely will cry out in public. The few times that he has had a melt down is because he has trouble falling asleep in his carseat. When this happens, I constantly remind myself of what the worst that can happen is. I am someone who does not like having the attention on me and I get really nervous and anxious if he is upset in public, but I have learned that the more calm I am, the more calm he will eventually be. He has fussed a bit on some flights because it is hard for him to fall asleep in my arms, but if I keep rocking and shushing him, he eventually falls asleep. People may stare at you, but just remember there’s also a lot of people commending you for being brave and on your own in public with your baby.
Do You Bring His Stroller Into Stores or Just His Carrier?
If the carseat fits in a grocery cart, I will just put the carrier in it. If we are somewhere without a cart, I ALWAYS bring the stroller since the carseat is heavy. He is liking the Ergo Baby 360 much more, so I hope to start using that more soon!
Diaper Bag Organization Tips & What Do You Keep in Your Diaper Bag?
I will share this on Instagram stories next week along with a blog post! But until then, less is more! And keep things that you would rarely need in your car rather than in your diaper bag!
How Do You Make Him Love His Carseat?
The question I am sure many moms desperately want to know. Davis has ALWAYS loved his carseat. I have friends who have had a baby that loves their carseat and a baby that hates it. I can’t even imagine how hard that must be on a mom on their own if their baby doesn’t like their carseat. I am really sorry if this is you. Davis loves motion and feeling secure, so he has always been a happy camper in his carseat.
If You Follow Taking Cara Babies, How Do You Do More Than One Errand With Him?
Since he loves his carseat and still sleeps in it well, we are able to pretty easily stay on schedule.
How Do You Get Ready For the Day to Leave the House With Baby at Home?
If I need to get ready for the day, my first choice is to do it during his first nap. Sometimes I will put him in his bouncer or on the bed where I can see him if I need to do it while he is awake. If I need to go somewhere early in the morning, I will get ready before he wakes up in the morning!
What Do You Do When He Has a Blow Out in Public?
Oh boy. Something I know all to well, lol! ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS, have extra clothes with you! Let’s just say that I learned this the hard way. I would also recommend keeping extra clothes for yourself in the car just in case! If we have a blow out in public, I will immediately go to the nearest restroom to change him. I keep big ziplock bags in my diaper bag in case I need to put the dirty clothes in there. If it’s really bad, I might just throw the outfit away. If you have a blowout in public, STAY CALM and take care of it as soon as possible so it doesn’t get on anything or anyone!
Tips For Dining Out with Baby:
My best advice is to time your meal for your baby to be sleeping. As of now, this still works for us most of the time. He is not able to sit up in a high chair yet, so if he is awake and wants out of his carseat, we will just pull him out and hold him while we eat! On the weekends if we want to go to dinner, I will give him his bed time bottle before we leave and then he will stay asleep through dinner and I’ll just transfer him to his crib when we get home.
How to Do Things For Yourself (nails, massage, dentist, etc.):
I always do a couple things for myself on the weekends while Cody watches him for me. Cody is extremely helpful on the weekends and weeknights and is always willing to watch Davis for anything I need to do or if I am seeing friends! I am lucky to have him!
Pumping on the Go:
For about the first month that we had Davis home from the NICU, I was exclusively pumping. I own both the Spectra and Elvie and have used both of them in the car. If I had to pump and wasn’t going home right away to put the milk in the fridge, I would pour the milk into storage bags and then put the milk in a cooler.
How Do You React When Someone Tries to Touch Your Baby?
I honestly haven’t had anyone try to touch him. I think I have had someone touch his feet once over his pajamas, but that’s it. I also keep his carseat cover on him a lot of the time so that people do not even get an idea!