When can I leave my baby with MIL?

It’s up to you really but if you do want to EBF, They recommend not to express for the first 6 weeks so your supply can regulate first or it can negatively impact it. Xx

I think it’s a personal choice, for me I wouldn’t. My little one is almost 6 weeks old and I will only leave her with my partner and have only done so for max 2 hours. I would say don’t plan it because you don’t know how you will feel once she js here. You will have a new found bond / attachment you might not want to. But if you feel happy to, and know baby is ok and safe with that person then go for it

I went to a gig with my spouse around the same time. I left my mum with a bottle of expressed milk in the fridge ready to be warmed up. My baby had the bottle and slept the whole time. I did however cry a bit and got milk on my top because i forgot to use breast pads lol however, it isn’t recommended to pump and bottle feed that early because baby is still young and learning to latch, so they can easily get nipple confusion.

I didn’t leave my little boy until he went to childcare at 9 months, trust me you won’t want to😂

If you feel like you can leave baby for a few hours then do it. I left my first baby when he was 9 days old for 2 hours with my mum with some expressed milk and he gobbled it up! I left my second after a couple of weeks and my mum tried to give her expressed milk but she wouldn’t take it and refuses a bottle. I honestly would take all advice with a pinch of salt. I pumped from the very beginning with both of mine to build up a stash in the freezer. Unfortunately my second baby doesn’t take a bottle so I use the milk for baths etc now 😂. I would personally try your little one with a bottle sooner rather than later to get baby used to it. Overall just do what ever you feel comfortable doing. I know a lot of people (including me) who are happy to leave baby with parents so they can get a few hours peace. I also know some people who don’t want to leave their baby at all and that’s fine too. What ever works for you and don’t feel bad what ever you do x

I let my daughter stay with my mum when she was three weeks old. We went over dos and don’ts and she messaged me constantly with how she was. It’s completely up to you when you want to do it xx

You may be able to do it but it isn’t a guarantee - it will depend on how you feel, your little ones’ temperament and how well breast feeding goes which can sometimes get off to a challenging start. An alternative to look into might be the baby cinema screenings that are lower volume / kid friendly (although film pickings will be slim!).

Do it, she’ll be totally fine, she won’t notice.

I left my daughter for an hour when she was 3 weeks to go to the dentist. If you want to successfully breast feed you probably shouldn't leave them long term until after 6 weeks. As what's has been said cinemas do, do child/ baby friendly screenings so see if you have any local to you for the film ypu want to see. Newborns sleep a lot so they might even sleep through the whole film nearly. We went for a meal when my daughter was a week old because I saw a lactating consultant before hand and mine slept through the meal. We just had people cueing at her from a distance.

Technically yes but emotionally may be different! If you feel okay to leave then baby will be fine. We left our first with my mum at 6 weeks for a few hours and our second baby at 4 weeks. I pumped earlier than 6 weeks for these occasions and my supply was fine and baby still latched without any confusion. My only concern about the cinema would be falling asleep 😅

Thanks everyone for your very helpful advice xx I think I’m not going to plan anything and just see when she’s here seems like the most sensible thing

I think it depends on you and your baby, like others have said it can take 6wks to establish breastfeeding. You may also feel different once your baby is here and not being ready to leave baby for a few hours. Just a thought but have you looked if there's a cinema near you that offer baby club?

I know it’s not the same but if it doesn’t work out with leaving the baby, a lot of cinemas do baby friendly screenings these days which you could all go to together! X

Entirely up to you ! My son had his first sleepover at my mum's at 2 weeks old.

I agree with others that you most likely won’t want to leave them that young. They are incredibly reliant on you and at that age still think they are part of you so there is a chance they just wouldn’t settle (every baby is different obviously) because the 4th trimester is very real and totally caught me off guard!

You might want to leave the baby, but what I would say is how you feel now will most likely be completely different to how you feel once the baby is here. It’s all hypothetical at the moment if it’s your first. If anything celebrate the month before, then if you do get to go out for him birthday it’s a nice extra x

I’ve book my mum for 1hr baby sitting two weeks after I give birth as I’m going to a wedding, it’s at a church walking distance from our house, otherwise I wouldn’t be going, however I’m still going to see how I feel near the time as I might not feel up to going at all. Also before anyone asks I’m not taking a newborn to a wedding, where people might try and touch them or get too close 🤣. What I’m saying is see how you feel at the time, once baby is here you both might decide to stay in and enjoy your baby bubble instead ❤️.

I would say at 3 weeks maybe you could get away for dinner but at that age my daughter was cluster feeding in the evening so would have been tricky. Also it's not recommended to pump that early, and if you did, you would need to be confident your mil fully understands pace feeding, so there's no risk baby will develop bottle preference. Also, until you've delivered the baby you don't know how you'll be recovered and feeling and might just not want to go out at 3 weeks. I would say, don't plan anything yet

I think a good plan B is the baby club at the Everyman. Most of them have a weekly showing. Coffee, a cake and cinema is £12. You get a whole sofa each and it’s just the perfect place to chill and breastfeed. I think in motherhood it’s good to have a back up options. Things don’t always go as expected and having a second option can mean you’re still finding an away to get you time! Wishing you and your family the best

I left mine at 2 weeks old with my mum it’s up to you x

My daughter is 2 and a half and still havent left her with anyone other than her dad x

I left my newborn at 4 days old with my MIL to go and get her registered and to do a big food shop as we’d been living on takeaways and people delivering food. We didn’t want to take her with us as the snow was quite heavy so didn’t want to risk her in the cold or in the car. She slept the whole time we were gone so there were no issues. You’ve just got to do what’s comfortable for you. Worse case she can just ring you to come home and you can leave the cinema/meal x

Completely your decision, there is no right or wrong answer BUT I would honestly say wait until you’ve had the baby to decide. I thought I’d be out and about socialising much sooner than I did. I didn’t want to leave her at all. It took me maybe a couple months even to leave her with my partner for more than an hour. I didn’t feel I could leave her for an evening til she was about 4 months, and didn’t leave her with my mum overnight til she was a year and a half. But everyone is different :)

Something to consider… while I was pregnant, I was okay with the thought of leaving my baby with my in-laws and we were making jokes about leaving the baby with them and running away … once he was born I couldn’t bear the thought of leaving him with anyone.