First Official Newborn Outing
We recently had the first official outing for the newborn, where we took the 3 kids to a restaurant with my wife’s extended family. It was about a 25 minute drive to the restaurant and an indeterminate amount of time to fill everyone’s belly before it was time to make the trek back home. Safe to say that this would be interesting either way.
With my other two kids, they would cry whenever they were in the car seat by themselves for more than a few minutes when they were newborns (and actually until they were about 1.5 years old). Going out always seemed daunting and stressful because there will be a 10 out of 10 crying session the entire trip to the destination and the entire trip back home. It didn’t help that my oldest had bad reflux and was colicky. My second was just about colicky as well. For that reason, we rarely went out as a family and only left the house to drive somewhere if it was absolutely necessary (doctor’s visit, daycare, family holiday/event, etc.) and it was fairly isolating. It felt like we were on an island and that time was warped because we were always stuck in the house (while also being peak COVID times). Those times really grizzled my wife and I as parents.
We felt a bit more optimistic about an outing with the newborn because he would let us put him down for extended periods, which included naps, “play” sessions, and general awake time. He did not seem as fussy as my other two and I was left wondering if this is what other parents felt like! The car ride there was relatively uneventful except for the last 7 minutes where there was crying from the newborn. At the restaurant, I was pleasantly surprised when our newborn slept almost the entire time (except for a mid-dinner feeding). It was a packed restaurant and while it wasn’t super loud, it was bustling. There were also about 35 family members in attendance, so there was plenty of questions and attention on the newborn. When it was time to leave, I clicked the car seat in and was shocked that he was still sleeping (and slept the whole way home!).
I’m glad that this was a relatively positive experience for my wife and I for the first official newborn outing. With a newborn, there is very little time to socialize and get out of the house (at least in our experience!), so it was a good sign that we were able to do it so early. I am sure that as our newborn becomes more aware, the crying may start when there is not enough physical contact with either my wife or myself, but we will cross that bridge another day.
