You've been counting down the days until your bundle of joy is here — and, in all likelihood, so have all your family and close friends, who are also eager to meet the new baby. Problem is, this is also the time when your little one's immune system is at its most vulnerable.
That's why many doctors recommend creating a "newborn bubble" for your baby by spending time with your immediate family at home and limiting the number of visitors who could get your little one sick. "It's a good idea to keep your newborn isolated from any potential viruses for at least 28 days, until their immune systems become stronger," says Gina Posner, M.D., a pediatrician in Fountain Valley, California, and a member of the What to Expect Medical Board.
In addition to the health benefits, it's also a valuable bonding time for parents and babies: "I loved my little newborn bubble with my first baby: just me, my husband and baby," says What to Expect Community member MamamamaLlama22. "It's such a special time. My advice would be to take that time to bond as a family and maybe just have others visit periodically."
- Limiting visitors until your baby is about a month old can help protect your little one from getting sick, pediatricians advise.
- Talk to your immediate family and come up with boundaries you're comfortable with. Then communicate those wishes to your loved ones.
- Ask visitors to get up-to-date on vaccinations, and request that they wash their hands before holding the baby.
Not everyone is likely to be as enthusiastic about your decision, though. Grandparents, close friends and even neighbors may ask to stop by and hold your baby. Plus, it's physically and emotionally exhausting to care for a newborn without a helping hand or two.
Creating a newborn bubble is a personal decision — and there's no right or wrong way to do it. Here's what worked for some of the moms in the What to Expect Community.
Set rules about who can come over
The first thing you'll want to do is talk to your partner (if you have one) about who can come for a visit and who will have to wait until your baby is older — ideally, when your little one is at least a month old, advises Dr. Posner.
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Know that you're not alone if you want to take a cautious approach: "Our daughter was five weeks premature, so we were careful," says What to Expect Community member jujumommy2023. "We saw only my parents and brother for the first six weeks, then a couple other family members and one friend in the following month. By three months, we started exposing her to more people, but not crowds and public spaces."
You may also want to limit your visitors to healthy adults. People who have recently been sick, along with young children in day care or school (who, let's face it, pick up all sorts of germs) should stay away from a newborn if possible, recommends Dr. Posner.
"You only want people to visit if they're feeling 100% healthy," she says.
If you don't want to set strict limits on who sees the baby, or if you want to open up visiting hours sooner, that's okay, too. There are other ways to protect your little one (more on that below.)
"My daughter was born [in the winter] four years ago, and we didn't restrict anyone," says What to Expect Community member momma3712. "People were good about not coming around if they're sick. I say it's good for your mental health to have a village."
Communicate the boundaries to friends and family
Once you've established what you're comfortable with, you'll need to pass on those expectations to your loved ones. Keep in mind that you have every right to set limits on who gets to see your baby and under what conditions.
"The priority is our baby's health and safety, not their feelings," says What to Expect mom ATTS. "I know that sounds harsh, but who else is responsible for advocating for our child?"
Be respectful but firm when establishing your rules. Your wishes alone should be enough, but you can also tell them you're just following your doctor's instructions.
"I tell parents that they're welcome to blame me," says Dr. Posner. "I'm perfectly fine with the grandparents hating me instead of the parents."
Your family and friends should be sympathetic, but if they aren't, stand your ground. "We've agreed that if we get any pushback, then those people can go home and don't have to visit, ATTS says.
In the meantime, you can always host a video meet-and-greet over Zoom or FaceTime — or simply send lots and lots of pictures. (You'll definitely find it hard to resist taking photos of your little cutie!)
Have a protocol for visits when they do happen
When it's time for your family and friends to come over, know that it's perfectly reasonable to ask visitors to wear face masks around a newborn, says Dr. Posner. At the very least, you can ask visitors to wash their hands and use hand sanitizer, especially before they touch the baby.
Consider enforcing a "no kissing" rule, Dr. Posner says. Even if someone isn't sick, they could be carrying the herpes virus, which can be dangerous for newborns.
Here's one way to spin it to doting grandparents: "We advise [visitors] to kiss the baby's feet instead of the baby's face, head or hands," ATTS says. "I'm hoping nobody does this anyway, but the more I think about it, I feel like this will go over better than a straight up 'no' with our crowd."
Just as important: Make sure your visitors are up-to-date on their vaccines, especially the Tdap vaccine, which protects against tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis (aka whooping cough). "If you refuse to get your Tdap vaccine, you shouldn't be allowed near the baby," says Dr. Posner.
Want to limit physical contact as much as possible, even among healthy, vaccinated adults? "You can always babywear [in a wrap]," advises What to Expect user mammabear314.
Keep their siblings close to home
If the baby's older siblings go to day care or preschool, consider keeping them home for about a week before the baby is due, and then one to four weeks after they're born, says Dr. Posner.
If that's not possible — and it isn't, for plenty of families — try to limit their involvement in other activities, like going to the library or to soccer practice. This can reduce the likelihood they'll bring home a contagious illness.
"We normally pull our kids out of extracurriculars when we have a baby born during cold, flu and RSV season," says What to Expect mom bigbump2211
Of course, if there are other kids in the house, it's impossible to keep all the germs at bay — so just try to limit physical contact (especially with baby's face) as much as possible.
"I have a toddler in preschool, so there's always a risk that he'll bring bugs home," says What to Expect Community member BebeSD. "He's not that interested in his new sibling right now, so he doesn't really get close to her. On the couple of occasions where he has wanted to interact with her, we have washed his hands or given him a bath beforehand if he's been at preschool that day."
Whatever you choose to do, remember — you got this.
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