Baptism ?

pathfindermon

We are planning lo's baptism and I am running into a problem. We would love to invite a lot of family but are really concerned with exposing our lo to everyone and their germs. And of course I don't want anyone we don't invite to be offended. Of course my lo's well being is more important then what people think but I would still like to handle it the right way. So, my question is, how did you handle a baptism (if you had one)? How many people did you invite? Did you have the food after at a restaurant? How did you tactfully handle the people that weren't invited?

 

TIA!!

urbanflowerpot

Hmmm our churches might work differently - at ours the babies are done in batches so I waited until the end of RSV/flu season. It turned out the next batch date was Mother's Day and we had dinner at a friends' home afterwards.

I guess it depends on whether you decide to do it sooner rather than later - and if you take into account that the church has germs all over the place anyway.  

People love to touch baby on that day, though...it's a sign of affectionate congratulations. I'm not sure saying "don't touch" is reasonable. Then, if you're doing food at a restaurant then again, germs with people you know shouldn't be a big deal because restaurants are gross (used to work at many).

Sorry, probably not everything you wanted to hear and not much help but I guess what I'm trying to say I've learned is: if you don't want germs, don't invite them. Wait.  

thishappyhouse

Our church was a big support system for us and we became close with our Priest.  He wanted to baptize our DD on Easter Sunday but we were not comfortable with a crowded church full of germs at the end of RSV season.  We waited until June (7months old; 3.5 adjusted) and had a private baptism with about 60 guests.  We had a brunch at our house prior to the baptism and put hand sanitizer at the doors with a sign asking people to sanitize.  I wiped her hands throughout the day as an extra precaution.  

If I were in your situation, I would probably try to do the baptism before the season starts.   

Belleza907

Our nicu told us no church for a year because of germs, so we had a private baptism. We also only invited immediate family.

lpichach

I hear you!! we've talked this over and over again!!

 My LO was born at 25 wks and had some chronic lung damage so he is highly susceptible to getting sick....

We basically came to the conclusion, we're going to wait until he's a bit older and strong, not do it in winter time when colds and flus are most prevalent, and we're inviting our parents and the godparents... we're still on the fence about our own siblings... it'll depend on how our munchkin is feeling. I also plan to talk to the priest as you can do private baptisms and address our "germ concerns"....  We're hoping to have him baptized in the next month or so.

 Everyone we've talked to about this agrees and they say they understand. Like you said, it's not worth exposing him a and them going back to the hospital!!

Kadyra

DS was baptized at the hospital. He was one or two days old. It was just dh and me there. We plan on doing the same thing with ds2.

jlh123

My pedi said do it before nov 1 or after April. We did it just with immediate family on a Saturday. We are close with the priest. Then went to restaurant that is normally closed at that time. The kids were only 2 1/2 mths old and one was only three weeks out of hospital. NO one touched the kids, they knew better!