Going out for shoppings with my 5 week old. How??

[Sanne]

Hello
My five week old daughter is doing very well with the easy routine. She can't stay up very long and sleeps a lot. But sometimes a mother has to do some shoppings and when I take her out after feeding it seems to be overstimulating her. I can't get her to sleep in the car seat and when I get home she is difficult to get to sleep in her own cot.
Is it to soon? Or should I just do it and let her get used to it.
When I take her out for a walk after feeding, should I use pat and shush if she shows signs of tiredness?

[Grace's Mom]

When my dd was 5 weeks old I would wait to go out until it was time for a nap (she slept for 2 hours at that time) and did all my errands at that time and made sure I was home for her next feed.  She would fall asleep the minute we started the car.  Unfortunately she does not sleep while we are out any more and I miss being able to do that so now we have to go out during A time. Maybe if you wait until nap time your lo will have an easier time falling asleep in the car seat.  Also, we would play sleepy time music in the car and try to keep things pretty calm.

[Julian2006]

I did a similar thing - wait until nap time.  Julian would often fall asleep in his carseat, and then I would transfer him to his sling and walk around shopping.  He LOVED sleeping in his sling, and it was much more comfortable for me!  Also, if he did wake up, it was much easier to to him back to sleep.

[¤ Efka ¤]

I did same thing, wait until it was naptime, whih ws basically after done feed and went hoping he falls asleep and did everthing superfast

[linfran]

I just did short trips during A time when my lo was gearing up for a nap.  Apart from anything else, you can't carry too much or push a trolley with baby in tow!  So, I just would get the basics (simply to get us both out of the house) but I would do a big shop (ie the month's groceries) online.

[Kate Ashford]

Hi - I have the same problem. My baby is extremely easy and happy when we are in our "EASY" routine - however, whenever we are out and about during the day he doesn't stay asleep for long. It seems as though he is only having good, deep sleeps in his bassinet. If he wakes and has not had a proper sleep I find him hard to manage as he is over tired and a lot more difficult to settle. Does anybody have any tips?

[*Nicola*]

I used to put ciara in seat on trolley when she was a tiny baby but she soon grew bored of that. 

I agree with the pp - shop online!  That's what I do now and it is just so much easier 

[Jean and Rich]

Hi

I had the exact same problem when my daughter was younger.  My LO loved her sleep and fitted well into EASY, but going out was a nightmare, even though we did very short trips she would not go to sleep when we came back and just scream the house down.  I tried when it was sleep time then A time,but nothin seemed to work at the time.  I decided that going out after her sleep and feed was best.  I started slowly only going out maybe twice a week, then gradual built it up.  It was bad to start with as she wouldnt sleep when we were back in the house, but over time she got used to it and will now generally have a nap when we get in.  She has even started to sleep abit when we are out (which she never did).  Mt LO was a textbook/Angel baby - although she didnt feel like it at these times!

It did take time, and sometimes I dreaded going out, but it is so much better now, infact she gets bored just staying in and I am finding it hard to know what do do with her now ( shes 21 weeks)

I would say just perservere, it will be tough to start with, but it does get better.
Good luck

[owelley]

hi, i put dd in the sling and she falls asleep in there while i do my thing. sori, i'm typing w/ one hand right now.

[maggieruth]

i discovered local shops when Ethan was little.  i went out daily for little bits and bobs with him in the buggy which seemed to put him to sleep a treat if he was tired!  in fact, i am back to putting him to sleep in the buggy and the carseat now that i am trying to wean him off his midday feeds!  (he fights sleep HARD but if he is tired only manages to resist about 10 minutes)

[Minibird]

We had similar to you - dd just got overstimulated if I attempted to go out shopping. 

I did our main shopping online, used local shops for extras and learned that if kept to a single outing each day dd was happier and therefore so was I!  It felt really quite restrictive for me, but I figured that if I respected dd's limits they would gradually expand as her confidence increased ... and sure enough, they have. 

Enjoy your precious time with your lovely baby and let someone else do the leg-work around the shops for now. 

[Sanne]

Well she is now 8 weeks old and things are much better! I do not do my shoppings online, I think that is avoiding the problem. I take her out 3 times a week and she gets fussy after an hour, so then I usually go home. But progress has been made and I'm very happy with all of your tips and hints. Also knowing you're not the only one who's dealing with these issues is a great comfort. So thanks!