As parents, we always wondered what would be the ideal age to take your newborn out. We were always troubled with this thought and being new parents you would take extra caution and follow everything the doctor says. Over the months we grew more confident and started taking our daughter out from the age of 3-months.

The doctor’s advice was not to take the baby out for almost 6 months and though it seemed to us as logical, we went against it. It was difficult for both my wife and I to go out anywhere and it really tested our sanity. We were paranoid just by the thought of it but eventually we relented and took her out and we felt so much at ease. Unless and until you don’t try it you will never know whether it was hard or easy.

We know a lot of couples who had started taking their kids out from a very young age, either through intent or compulsion. There were some who had to travel with their kids when they were only 15 days old and some around a month. These are situations that you cannot avoid, like when the family is shifting bases or the mother wants to travel back to her mother’s house.

Some brave parents decided to travel with their newborn on holidays and they felt at ease. Though we started with a simple car ride to an eatery and back within an hour. Thankfully our child slept… well like a baby so no trouble whatsoever. But here is a list of things that you should definitely have when traveling with a child even if just for a couple of hours:

1. Diapers and a pair of extra clothes – Never forget these. Accidents are waiting to happen you can never be too prepared
2. Wipes and hand sanitizer – for obvious reasons. I urge all parents to either wash their hands before a diaper change or use a sanitizer. Needless to say, but after (just putting it out there).
3. Quick dry sheet – When changing the baby you’ll need something to lay her down on
4. Mosquito patches – They work wonderfully well. In fact, sometimes I use it.
5. Blanket – Never leave home without one, especially if you are travelling by car and the air conditioner is on.
6. Car Seat – Very important. In India nobody really cares for this but it is absolutely necessary that you install one. We had one which doubled up as a rocker as well so we just pull it out and carry it along with us so our daughter is not always on us and our hands are free to do other things. Similar logic, while in the car, it is not advisable to carry the child in your arms. The baby should be buckled in safely, accidents do not announce their arrival. They just happen.
7. Feed – This depends on several factors. Since our baby was exclusively breastfed we had a two hour window, either we come back home or we find a place where my wife can breastfeed. If your child is older then bottle or top feed is always advisable.
8. Toys – Kids are unpredictable, there were times when we had just reached the venue and our daughter started getting agitated and we had to carry her around. Toys, especially rattles, help to distract the child and give you those precious few minutes to eat/drink/chat, provided you don’t want to take the child in your arms.
9. Socks/cap – Warm and cozy baby is always a good thing.
10. Wash-cloth – babies from their third month drool a lot so it’s always better to carry a soft napkin to wipe her mouth

There are no restrictions on taking your baby out, either for a few hours or few days as long as you are mentally and physically prepared to do this. More than the child it is important the mother goes out regularly because it is difficult to be trapped inside the house with a little child.