They were well bundled up and out of the wind and elements. The Icelanders are a pretty hearty bunch of people and it seemed to start early. A good dose of fresh air beats that inside stale stuff, any day of the week.

Anyway, to be more serious, I would think it depends on the weather and your ability to keep the child warm and dry.

As for germs, while basic hygiene is a good thing, exposure to germs can be a good thing for babies and small children.

There is a really good documentary about babies that makes you realize how over-protective some cultures are. They have some great footage of very small children crawling around in mud and all over farm animals.

http://focusfeatures.com/babies

think about it, mom and dad bring in germs when they go out and come back and in a small apt. that can be kinda iffy, too...

I really think a healthy kid could probably take it for a little while in their little park down on the lower East Side, especially on a sunny day...

For example, kids raised with pets tend to have hardier immune systems. Kids exposed to other kids tend to have more resistance when more serious illnesses come around.

I took my son to Jazz Fest - a cauldron of infestation - when he was 5 weeks old, lol!

checking in for other thinking here...

It depends on the weather and how fit the mom is after childbirth.

Your son and DIL need to stop being so phobic. We need germs in our guts to help us digest our food and protect us against the bad stuff. We need germs and colds and upset tummies to build our immune systems.

They're finding a lot of suburban kids with helicopter parents have incredibly weak immune responses because they were kept too damned clean. Kids who immigrated from the third world where they played outside and ate dirt have much stronger systems and can fight infections they do get much better.

Like it or not, we co evolved with germs and need them. However, that doesn't mean we have to allow kids to succumb to them. That's why we invented vaccines and antibiotics for the life threatening stuff.

DIL needs an attitude adjustment regarding germs.

Square Park, even tho I would walk down little streets in the village in June and the locals would say "where's his hat" if my baby wasn't wrapped up from head to toe...ah, new yorkers...!

I wouldn't worry about taking a healthy baby outside, as long as bundled up and not a big extended time.

However, personally, just imho, I don't think it is a good idea to have a new born baby around a lot of people until about 6 weeks. When they are born they are not producing their own antibodies, they are using up the reserve from their mother's body that they were born with, and they are getting some from their mom through breastfeeding and especially colostrum is important. But I wouldn't take a three-week old somewhere like walmart where there are lots of people with lots of different germs, or someplace like church where everyone will want to hold the baby and pass her around. But again, just imho.

You're going to have to get over this sooner or later. Why not start now?
We bundled her up in extra blankets with a hat and booties and set out.
Did I mention it was August?
Just use common sense.
You're going to hav...............

I took all of my kids on daily walks as soon as we got home and got settled in. First one was born in July so cold was definitely not an issue. I didn't go where there were a lot of people though. We went to the park and just around the block sometimes. I thought that she should get an idea of what the outside looks like, sounds like, and smells like. She was a very content baby and easy to take out. My second was born in February so we naturally bundled up and went out. She seemed to enjoy being out much more than her older sister. I dunno maybe it was because she was in the stroller and her sister was walking, lol. My youngest was born in March and we went out, we dealt with a lot of snow issues. Snow and strollers aren't always a good combo. My youngest like the oldest was content, but didn't seem all that impressed with being outside. Weird thing is my youngest and oldest to this day aren't real big on being outside.

and then to his first visit to the pediatrician after he was just a few days old...

I saw him at six days. Boy was he a lusty guy! Eating and looking around, very alert and just as full of beans as you can get!

So I naturally thought that maybe they'd take him out briefly when he was about 6 weeks, but I got kind of a pushback from family members on the "germs" issue...so I am checking my memory...

You don't have to "wait" at all - not a day - unless they're sick or something.

Dress them appropriately for the weather. Of course on a day like to today in NY - YOU shouldn't be outside so that answer the question for today.

Last edited Tue Feb 12, 2013, 01:43 AM - Edit history (1)

No way would I bring a baby outside where lots of people were around this time of year before getting started on the pertussis vaccine. Whooping cough is deadly for infants and so I am of the school that you keep babies protected from serious threats like these until the antibodies are in place. I am sure that their doctor can advise them on this.

My mother, really old school advised 3 months before going out among people and certainly not children with colds and flu's. It is winter, there are lots of sick people around, why in the world would anyone expose their baby needlessly?

In China, mothers and babies stay inside for a month minimum. All over the world there are traditions that developed prior to vaccines to protect babies by keeping them free of exposure. It is easier now with vaccines, but I support your son and dt in law's instincts.

Mild sarcasm there.

I think fear of germs is getting out of control in this country. Regular hand washing really is the best public health measure by far, so if the parents are regular hand washers, they really have nothing serious to worry about.

My oldest was born December 22, some years ago, in Minneapolis. We were taking him out from the very beginning, starting maybe three days after he came home.

Child number two was born on March 23, a few years later, in Phoenix, AZ. We stopped off at a Target on the way home.

The very best thing you can do for your already healthy kid is to go ahead, take them out, and if they get exposed to things, it's really not as big a deal as you think. Especially if the baby is being breast-fed. They seem to get a lot of immunities from the mom that way.

I am convinced that overprotecting children from germs is at least part of what is the source of increased allergies and so on. As someone else has already pointed out, kids raised with household pets seem to have stronger immune systems than those without. Doesn't mean the parents really need to race out and get a dog, not if they don't want a canine in their lives, but visiting friends who have one, going out to parks where people also walk their dogs, is a pretty good idea.

I live in NYC. My daughter was born in October. Her doctor told me to take walks every day. Bundle the baby so he or she is warm, but fresh air is good for both baby and mommy!

This was almost 22 years ago (seems like yesterday). We got looks in the store. One older woman asked if she could hold the baby (we let her). I realized that he was very small to be out and about. He wasn't wrapped up. He was born in May and it was very warm that year. We carried him around in a onesie.

It's been miserable weather in NYC. I can see why people would want to keep the baby indoors for a while. But germs....I've heard from physicians who are GI specialists - researchers - that it's good to expose children to dirt and germs. That's how we build healthy immune systems.