https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Tue, 19 May 2026 00:34:46 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/newborn-etiquette-question#post-548134 Mon, 04 Feb 2013 09:13:58 +0000 littlek 548134@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I only hold my best friends LOs and they usually offer. We didn't let anyone hold our LO right away, he was in NICU for 10 days and we didn't want him to potentially "catch anything" until he was a little older. Once he turned 3 months, I let anyone hold him. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/newborn-etiquette-question#post-547922 Mon, 04 Feb 2013 01:07:21 +0000 DigAPony 547922@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I always want to hold a new baby, but NEVER ask. If the mom doesn't offer, then I assume she doesn't want other people to hold the baby and it could get awkward if I ask and she says no. </p> <p>I agree with a PP who said that as long as you're okay with someone holding baby, just offer! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/newborn-etiquette-question#post-547914 Mon, 04 Feb 2013 00:45:20 +0000 Pink Champagne 547914@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I think it's far more awkward to ask to hold a baby that a mom doesn't want others holding than to offer up your baby to be held and have someone say, "no thank you." I never mind when people don't want to hold my LO, but I do find it odd when we go to visit a new baby and the mom doesn't offer to let me hold the babe. It makes me afraid to ask, because I feel it puts the mom in an awkward position of having to say, "No, I would prefer that no one hold my baby." I mean, it probably wouldn't happen, but just to avoid that sitch I think the mom should always ask, "So, who wants to hold the baby?" </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/newborn-etiquette-question#post-547882 Sun, 03 Feb 2013 23:44:28 +0000 tysonja 547882@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>i usually offered because i knew the people who came would want to hold the baby. Every single one of them washed their hands first without me asking :)</p> <p>I wouldn't offer or consent though, if i didnt feel comfortable with that person holding my newborn! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/newborn-etiquette-question#post-547877 Sun, 03 Feb 2013 23:28:20 +0000 DillonLion 547877@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I offer to everyone since I always want to hold babies but don't want the parents to feel uncomfortable. So I would always wait until they offered and then happily hold the baby. Anyone who didn't want to hold my LO has simply just said so, and we moved on. No biggie </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/newborn-etiquette-question#post-547862 Sun, 03 Feb 2013 23:07:31 +0000 Reese 547862@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Same as the others.. I normally wait until they offer -otherwise I fear they dont want people holding their newborn </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/newborn-etiquette-question#post-547857 Sun, 03 Feb 2013 22:58:56 +0000 owlmom 547857@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I never ask to hold a newborn, but I definitely want to :) When LO was a newborn, I always offered to let our visitors hold her, but we only had close friends and family visit while she was tiny. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/newborn-etiquette-question#post-547839 Sun, 03 Feb 2013 22:39:27 +0000 maybebaby 547839@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I don't know how I will handle it, but I know I ALWAYS want to hold a new baby! Usually I wait for the parents to offer, but if I feel comfortable and think they might not be thinking of it, I ask if it would be ok (after washing/sanitizing hands). I think because of the way I feel, I will always offer for them to hold the baby if I actually feel comfortable with it--and not offer if I don't particularly want that person to hold him... </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/newborn-etiquette-question#post-547834 Sun, 03 Feb 2013 22:35:26 +0000 Mrs. Lemon-Lime 547834@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Awhile I ago I visited some friends specifically to see their baby. I immediately came in, washed my hands, held the baby and took a pic. Later when the mom was holding the baby she asked if I wanted to hold him again. I said no and then she called for her husband. OMG she needed a break! I held the baby again.</p> <p>When I have a LO, I will wait for people to ask and I will also keep a bouncy close by ;-) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/newborn-etiquette-question#post-547769 Sun, 03 Feb 2013 22:04:04 +0000 betsyboop 547769@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>It's so interesting reading everyone's responses since it seems like everyone sees the situation in a different way. I think with #2 I will offer if I'm getting the vibe that they want to hold the baby. It's also nice to know I wasn't committing some big faux-pas by not asking guests if they wanted to hold baby #1. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/newborn-etiquette-question#post-547746 Sun, 03 Feb 2013 21:54:33 +0000 heffalump 547746@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I always asked if people wanted to hold lo.... our friends had no problem saying no to us if they didn't want to. </p> <p>And I will usually ask to hold a baby if I'm close with the parent. Especially now, I think back to when lo was a newborn and if they held her I want to hold their baby too so I ask. They can always make up an excuse like its time to eat if they don't want me to. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/newborn-etiquette-question#post-547736 Sun, 03 Feb 2013 21:51:29 +0000 sera_87 547736@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'd only hand him over if they ask. I would never just assume someone wanted to hold my baby - seems a bit narcissistic/ self involved to me! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/newborn-etiquette-question#post-547733 Sun, 03 Feb 2013 21:49:12 +0000 shopaholic 547733@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I've never asked and would only hold NB if mom offered. I think I would offer only a few select people, and not sure how I'd feel when the time comes if they just asked. I'd probably just let them hold her if they asked (after they washed their hands and doused themselves in antibacterial sanitizer, of course!) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/newborn-etiquette-question#post-547721 Sun, 03 Feb 2013 21:44:35 +0000 eeh 547721@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I can generally tell if someone wants to hold the baby and in that case I will offer. I have offered and if someone hesitates I'm pretty quick to jump in and say something like "oh, that's completely okay!" My husband doesn't like holding kids besides our daughter. I've never had someone offended over the idea of holding her and they either generally say no or I can read it on their face if they don't want to hold her. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/newborn-etiquette-question#post-547716 Sun, 03 Feb 2013 21:41:36 +0000 Foodnerd81 547716@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I would not ask to hold a newborn-- I'd be afraid the mom didn't really want me to if they didn't ask. But I always wash my hands immediately when I walk in to visit a mom and newborn, and I think that indicates to them that I want to hold the baby if they are comfortable with it. I think it was usually pretty obvious that I was dying to hold the baby though. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/newborn-etiquette-question#post-547713 Sun, 03 Feb 2013 21:39:34 +0000 hilsy85 547713@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>No one actually ever asked to hold LO...I always offered, but watched them to see when they started to look for a way to hand him off. however, when we had visitors, we had small groups of two or three people, max. If it had been larger groups, I wouldn't have passed him around. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/newborn-etiquette-question#post-547710 Sun, 03 Feb 2013 21:38:43 +0000 mrsmate 547710@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I don't think you have to offer up your baby to every visitor. I wasn't that interested in holding babies before I became a mom, and now that I've had one of my own I'm sure from the baby's perspective it's frightening to be passed around. I found people will ask if they can hold LO if they really want to. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/newborn-etiquette-question#post-547698 Sun, 03 Feb 2013 21:33:09 +0000 betsyboop 547698@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Is it considered polite or assumed that you ask visitors if they want to hold your newborn baby? I never really offered my LO up when she was a newborn because I myself never had much interest in holding other people's babies so didn't want to put people in an awkward situation if I asked them if they wanted to hold the baby but they didn't. I figured if people wanted to hold her, they would ask and I would let them! </p> <p>My LO is way past this phase but this is something I always wondered about. (I'm bored since DH is engrossed in the football game.) </p>