am i wrong? baby sleeping outside - Page 5

[Attila the Honey]

Originally Posted by AugustineM

Huh?? Not unlikely at all? OK, what wild animal is going to hop up on a front porch in suburbia and eat the babies? I mean, really. I'm from Alaska and even bears -- it's SO SO SO unlikely that they ever attack people, and if they do it's out in the woods when they get surprised by someone coming along. I can't think of what other wild animal would eat babies.... I've never even heard of it happening! Besides, the mama says she can see them.

OP, keep doing what you're doing. It's fine, totally fine!

When I read that I immediately pictured a pack of 10 squirrels carrying a baby away.

Maybe a swarm of killer bees?

Yeah, i am with you.

[kalimay]

my concern is more -- wind blows someing into storller, wind blows stroller over.....cat jumps in storller, animal knocks storller over......

babies get bigger and more active and wake up and tip storller before youcan get to them.....

etc etc

but i think -- if someone saw the patteren of leaving the babies in a stroller out side day after day .... hummmmmmm ... i doubt they'd be trolling by and just grab them, but anyone doing the leg work to find trouble to get into.....

Aimee

I cannot imagine how you function on a day to day basis. Do you feel scared all of the time? It seems like that would be really hard. I am not trying to be snide, I just really think that would be difficult to get by thinking of all the bad stuff that could happen at any given time.

To the OP what you are doing sounds fine to me, I'm glad you found a way for the twins to nap together.

[North_Of_60]

Originally Posted by Attila the Honey

When I read that I immediately pictured a pack of 10 squirrels carrying a baby away.

I.. cannot.. help.. myself..

[Aussie accent]

A dingo ate my baby!!

[/Aussie accent]

[Linzie2]

I'm not sure how approachable this man is, but have you talked to him about it? Like explaining just how you are to us, that it's the only way to get them to sleep, you're right inside the door b/c DD1 needs to be attended to? Maybe if you see him milling around outside, just open the door and wave.

I think what you're doing is great, but the old man might worry me a little.

[crysmomofthree]

sounds like a great way for everyone to get their needs met to me

I often think its hard for people to visualize other families needs. If this is working for you I would keep it up. I"m not sure what your neighbors problem is but maybe just ask him, is he upset they are outside? or upset he can't see you and they are outside?

i live in a rural area and if one of my kids falls asleep in the car I'm totally comfortable with the door open sitting inside the door on my front porch reading the mail or talking on the phone, I mean I"m still supervising my sleeping child they just aren't in bed

and my babies all sleep outside in the stroller in the summer, most of the time I park it in the back yard though, but that's cause there is nothing to do in the front

[Momily]

One thing that has suprised me about parenting is how good my instincts are about what is safe, and what is unsafe. Frequently I feel like I just know what's the right choice for my child. Only you know your neighborhood, your babies, your own reaction speed and hearing, etc . . . So, only you can judge whether this is the right choice. If you tell me it feels right to do this, then I'm going to trust your judgement. Right outside the screen door doesn't sound dangerous to me.

I also feel like often we make the decisions about what to allow our kids to do based on fears of disaster, but we don't take into account less dramatic but more likely risks. We never let our kids cross a street, and then wonder why they don't develop the sense of moving vehicles they need to become safe drivers. We never let our kids try new things and the grow up missing a lot of the wonder of the world. I think that not letting our kids outside as much as we can puts them at risk for all sorts of things from health problems from breathing stale indoor air, to obesity and lack of fitness from a sedentary lifestyle. Letting them sleep outside might be the first step in that.

Congratulations on your twins by the way!

[BelgianSheepDog]

Originally Posted by Attila the Honey

When I read that I immediately pictured a pack of 10 squirrels carrying a baby away.

Maybe a swarm of killer bees?

Yeah, i am with you.

: Holy crap, this is the second mention of lethal squirrel attack on MDC...TODAY! The little buggers must be plotting something...

[vloky]

Originally Posted by Ruthla

Honestly, I'd be more afraid of the nosy neighbor calling CPS on me than I would be of kidnapping. For that reason alone, I'd stop leaving the babies out front unless I was outside with them.

Could you put the stroller in the BACK yard while they nap?

[Satori]

Originally Posted by BetsyS

Just this morning, my baby fell asleep as I drove to my mom's house. I left him in the car, asleep, went in the house, peed, mulled around, then came back out, checked on him, rinse, repeat (well, not the peeing), until he woke up. It just seemed the logical thing to do at the time.

And, I'd do it again. :

You do that here and CPS takes your kids and you get 1 yr of court ordered parenting classes. There's also lots of posters every where about NEVER EVER leave a child in the car. To many children die that way around here and its a horrible way to die If my kids are asleep I grab a book and stay in the car with them so I know for a fact what the temp is in the car and not what it feels like for 1 second.

[Satori]

Originally Posted by North_Of_60

I.. cannot.. help.. myself..

[Aussie accent]

A dingo ate my baby!!

[/Aussie accent]

umm, a dingo DID eat her baby so not really funny imo.

[salmontree]

Originally Posted by edamommy

if a mother is with her baby the baby isn't going to be kidnapped...

This isn't true. I'm sure I've seen news reports at one time or another that involved children forcibly kidnapped from their parents. If we are talking about random one in a million chance of kidnappings then not even being in your child's presence 24-7 is going to keep your child safe if someone is set on taking them from you.


OP, I think what you've described sounds like a great solution to the tricky problem of getting twins to sleep with a toddler to entertain. I'd feel comfortable with it.

[BCmamaof6]

That is a totally normal British thing to do. My mum always had us sleep in a pram in the garden. The fresh air is definately good for them.
I agree, only you know your neighbourhood & what is okay to do in it.
In mine we are on acreage in the middle of the forest where bears and cougars are literally in our yard. (Bears have been on our front porch several times) I wouldn't leave my baby outside because of that reason...but on our back balcony I wouldn't worry about it.
I mean honestly, if you can see them the whole time what could possibly happen to them?
Just my 2c.

[amitymama]

Originally Posted by North_Of_60

I.. cannot.. help.. myself..

[Aussie accent]

A dingo ate my baby!!

[/Aussie accent]

Exactly what I was thinking! :

I think it's fantastic that you letting your babies be in the fresh air and with nature. You can see them, you're playing with your older child, they're napping...what's not to love? You're doing a great job, OP. Reassure your neighbour that you are right there with them and then politely tell him to mind his own business (in kinder, more tactful words). If he still gets his undies in a twist over it, tell him in not so kind-and-gentle words to stick it in his eye.

[RockStarMom]

I definitely would not leave them alone. We used to have a nanny who walked my daughter to sleep, and I just had her push the stroller into the house and let her keep sleeing in it. I'd recommend doing that rather than leaving them alone.

[amitymama]

Originally Posted by RockStarMom

I definitely would not leave them alone. We used to have a nanny who walked my daughter to sleep, and I just had her push the stroller into the house and let her keep sleeing in it. I'd recommend doing that rather than leaving them alone.

Did you read the thread? She's not leaving them alone, she's watching them from the other side of a screen door. She's literally a couple/few feet from them and they are in plain view, it's just that they're outside and she's inside, supervising her other DC.

[mamadelbosque]

Having read through this thread, I can't quite believe how paranoid soo much of the US apparently is... If DS slept great outside in his stroller, that is exaclty where he'd be sleeping. The chances of your kid getting kidnapped are SO small, its positivly ridiculous!! Theres just not that many desperate parents out there wanting to 'buy' a baby!!

[pumpkinhead]

Originally Posted by Satori

You do that here and CPS takes your kids and you get 1 yr of court ordered parenting classes. There's also lots of posters every where about NEVER EVER leave a child in the car. To many children die that way around here and its a horrible way to die If my kids are asleep I grab a book and stay in the car with them so I know for a fact what the temp is in the car and not what it feels like for 1 second.

If the child were in the car with the windows shut and no supervision, sure but if CPS is going around taking away children because their parent's left them in the car to nap, that's a system on it's way to burn out. I have *often* left my kids to nap in the car after they fell asleep. If it was a hot day, I'd open all of the windows and find stuff to do outside until they woke. If it was a cold day, I'd crack two windows and find stuff to do outside until they woke. I'm pretty sure CPS isn't on it's way to my house . There are inbetweens here.

[BetsyS]

Originally Posted by Satori

You do that here and CPS takes your kids and you get 1 yr of court ordered parenting classes. There's also lots of posters every where about NEVER EVER leave a child in the car. To many children die that way around here and its a horrible way to die If my kids are asleep I grab a book and stay in the car with them so I know for a fact what the temp is in the car and not what it feels like for 1 second.

Um, I think that's a bit extreme.

The windows were all 4 down. The temperature was a lovely 70 degrees (it was pretty early in the morning). My mom lives in the country, and she has a fenced yard, so my car was behind the locked fence to get into her yard. It was about 10 feet from her back door, in fact.

If CPS wants to investigate me for something like that, well, I guess that's how they get to spend my tax money, you know? But, I would hope that they wouldn't even give that the time of day.

[AllisonR]

Originally Posted by Llyra

I find that the babies sleep much longer and more soundly in the fresh air, and sleep better at night for having been outside during the day. I keep them dressed for the weather, and shaded from the sun, and I am never further away than just on the other side of a screen door.

You are 100% correct. 99.99% of the poulation over here does this, every single day, come rain, sun, snow... as long as it isnt that cold, misty, wet air, babe is outside in the stroller, appropriatly dressed, and they sleep longer and better than inside. You keep doing what you are doing, and if your neighbor mentions it again, roll your eyes, because he is an idiot!

[starry_mama]

This thread reminds me of a conversation I had with my grandmother after Danny was born. She told me to make sure and NEVER leave him outside alone because coyotes might come and take him. That DOES, after all, happen all the time.