DH and I were discussing this the other night and I was curious how old your LO was/will be. I'm not talking day care. I'm talking while you go out to dinner. And the sitter could be a friend or family member or someone else. No specifications here. 
I should add that MIL said she "expects" us to leave the baby with her on Valentine's Day so we can go out for dinner. He'll be 4-6w old at that point and I just don't know.
hostess / wonderful honeydew / 32460 posts
We didn't leave our LO with a sitter until.. I forget. I think she was 9 months old?
We left out after I put her down for the night.
GOLD / wonderful pea / 17697 posts
We left DS with my SIL to go see Skyfall over Thanksgiving. He was...3.5 months, give or take a few days. DH had to practically push me out of the house, lol. We haven't left him with a non-family member yet.
pomegranate / 3053 posts
If I had the chance to leave our kids with family I'd do it. Unfortunately, all of our family live between 3 hours to half way around the world for us. 
So suffice to say we never go out w/o our kids. I'm okay with it when my oldest is good. LOL!
coconut / 8475 posts
I will probably only ever leave my child with a relative...that being said, at this point I've only ever left him with my MIL and mom. He is 9w old. I don't know when I could leave him for a long-term thing though. I can only do 1-2hours right now! I can't imagine leaving town or something without him.
hostess / wonderful watermelon / 39513 posts
I think she was 20 days old when we left her with my MIL for a date night.
pomegranate / 3983 posts
Our first real date was at 6 months when we were visiting family. We live too far away and I wasn't ready to leave him with a "stranger" beforehand.
persimmon / 1026 posts
3 weeks when we left him with my sister for a couple hours while we saw a movie. 4 months old when we left him with a non-family member - she's a local college grad student.
pineapple / 12526 posts
I think the first time we left C, she was about 3 months old and we left her with a good friend, not a baby sitter. She's 8.5 months old and I think we've left her maybe 5 times.
honeydew / 7444 posts
It was around 4 months, when she was able to sleep for a long stretch. I put her to sleep and then we went out.
blogger / wonderful cherry / 21616 posts
He was six weeks old I think?? We left him with my brother while we hung out with some friends. the funny thing was, we were cosleeping at the time and that's the only way DS would sleep (we'd tried his bed - believe me!) and my brother kept trying to lay him in his bed once he fell asleep, he would wake up - he tried for about three times before calling me and asking me where he should sleep haha. Poor brother had to hold him all night 
bananas / 9357 posts
Around when he was 5 weeks we left him with my grandma for a couple of hours while we went out to dinner.
GOLD / cantaloupe / 6703 posts
We'll start leaving LO with a friend of ours who is going to be our nanny when she's 6-8 weeks old.
GOLD / squash / 13464 posts
Um.. I left her with my mom when she was like six days old . Hubs and I were gone for about an hour. We ran to Babies R Us to get some stuff. Baby girl slept the whole time.
apricot / 475 posts
DS is 5 months and we haven't left him yet. He's EBF and eats every 2-3 hours so I'm not comfortable leaving him at night until he a) takes a bottle and b) sleeps a bit longer between feeds. Don't want him waking up in the dark without his mum or dad around!
Should add DS is usually down for the night by 6.30-7pm, if he had a later bed time I'd be ok with someone watching him until bed time
nectarine / 2163 posts
Yeah, my Mum stayed with us for the first 6 weeks, so probably a few days old? But only for an hour or so at a time. My sister babysat for 3 hours when he was 3.5 months old.
A sitter I don't know, on the other hand... I'm not sure.
blogger / pear / 1964 posts
My mom watched him for a couple hours when he was two weeks old so we could run some errands and my FIL watched him for a couple of hours when he was just over three weeks old so we could do some Christmas shopping. I'm all about leaving the baby with competent relatives so DH and I can spend some time together.
coconut / 8498 posts
We left her in the church nursery at 11 weeks, my parents at 4 months, and a non-family sitter at 7 months. If we had any family nearby it would have been a lot earlier and definitely more than twice.
pomegranate / 3383 posts
We went to see Cirque du Soleil when LO was 8 weeks. My sister watched him after we put him down for the night.
GOLD / wonderful grape / 20289 posts
I don't remember. DH and I didn't go on our first date until she was like 3 months, wow! But I went to the doctors before that and my mom watched her.
clementine / 773 posts
DS was about 6 weeks old the first time I left him with my parents, but I had to bring him to their house - we had workers coming and I didn't want him around because of noise, smells, etc.. He's 12 weeks now, and I've brought him there at least 4 times (more workers). My parents came over to our place last Saturday to watch him - no workers, we went to a party.
nectarine / 2085 posts
We take our LO with us when we go out. LO went to a bistro for dinner around 2 months and has been going to restaurants etc. with us ever since (so, for two years). We avoid "fancy" places where children are not typically welcome.
squash / 13199 posts
At 2 months we left her with my mom to go to a theme park. Before then I had left her with my mom at 2 weeks and 6 weeks pp for my doctor appointments
squash / 13764 posts
We went out for date night when LO was either 3 or 4 weeks old...we left him with my MIL and FIL. As for a non family member sitter, I think I would feel comfortable maybe around 9 months?
grapefruit / 4823 posts
5 weeks we left him with my mom for the whole day because we were in a wedding.
GOLD / cantaloupe / 6581 posts
Luckily I have two sisters and my BIL's family in town, so I fully expect to leave the baby with them pretty early on, probably within a few weeks. I don't think I'll need a non-family babysitter until my sisters graduate college and leave me!
blogger / pomegranate / 3491 posts
We went to dinner and left LO with my mom within a week of him being born, because I knew we wouldn't always have the luxury of having family around (both sets of parents live out of town). We left him with my parents for a weekend for a wedding I stood up in when he was 3.5 months, and started using non-family sitters soon thereafter, although 99% of the time with non-family sitters, they come when he is already sleeping for the night and just sit on our couch with the monitor.
pomegranate / 3604 posts
we left him with my best friend overnight when he was 5?ish weeks old so we could celebrate our 1 year anniversary. left him with a sitter when he was 6 weeks old for a couple hours for a wedding reception. I've also left him with my best friend on occasion for an hour or so if he was beyond fussy and I had to go pick up DH
pomegranate / 3314 posts
At around 6 weeks we left LO with MIL to go to dinner and then I would leave her with friends maybe around 2.5/3 months? Usually it was the kind of thing where we would put her to bed and then one of our friends would come around to be there for a few hours while we had dinner - nothing major.
As far as leaving her with a non-friend/non-relative babysitter, I think we will be comfortable around 8 or 9 months. We don't have any family nearby, so it's something we're going to have to come to terms with, unless we want to never go out. And that, for me, is just not realistic.
cherry / 237 posts
Simon was 7 months before we went left him the first time! We went out to lunch with friends and he stayed with my mom for a few hours. Just last week was the second time, at 9 months; friends watched him while we went out to a business meeting, of all things. We have family nearby, but we just like hanging out with our boy. It's never really bothered us.
cherry / 122 posts
I have left my LO with my mom when he was about 2 weeks to run errands during the day. With SIL at 3 weeks for 3 hrs. We left him at 3 weeks at night for a wedding and h e gone on 2 date nights. He is 2 months. My mom will be watching him when I go back to work so I like letting him bond now.
pomegranate / 3872 posts
LO isn't here yet so take it with a grain of salt, but I would think we'd leave her for a short while with my parents as soon as she isn't nursing around the clock. I don't think we'll be comfortable leaving her with someone outside of the family until she's much older, maybe 4 or 5?
eggplant / 11287 posts
We went out to dinner when she was three weeks old and left her with my mom.
We didn't go out again til she was six months.
pomegranate / 3716 posts
No LO's yet, but in my head, I think I would be ok leaving my (non-existant) baby with either set of our parents after maybe 2 - 3 months? And then a responsible sitter when they are 18 months - 2 years old? I just remember that I used to babysit kids that age when I was in High School and it didn't seem like a big deal back then.
persimmon / 1427 posts
I left LO with my mom and MIL for short periods (1-2 hours) when she was 2 weeks old. When LO was 4 weeks old, we had our first date outing (we were gone 3-4 hours). LO had her first overnight at 8 weeks (with my parents) and we used our first non family babysitter around 12 weeks.
clementine / 961 posts
DD is 11weeks and we still haven't left her. I don't think we will leave her until she is around 6 months. She is EBF and rejects the bottle
pomegranate / 3414 posts
We left DD with a sitter the first time at 4 weeks. We left DS with a sitter the first time at 2 weeks. Both times the sitters were adult friends from church.
We left DD overnight the first time when she was 18m. We left DS overnight for the first time when he was 5w. Both times my parents watched them.
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