Here's the pre-story:
A couple-friend of ours has a 6 month old baby. We invited a few friends(10) over to our place for New Years this year because I don't feel like going out. This friend called me today saying she didn't realize that we were planning the party so late (7pm) and they don't think they'll be able to come now.
I set up the nursery with our Pack n Play (I don't want her baby in my crib before my baby gets to use it) and thought they would be spending the evening here. She's concerned that this will disrupt the baby's sleeping patterns, sleeping in a different setting. So now they're coming, but only staying for an hour.
And now my question:
This seems a little bit extreme to me. I am a FTM, so I really don't know, but I imagined that if I had a 6 month old, as long as there was somewhere safe to put them to sleep, I'd take them with me. Am I crazy to think that this is possible?
Re: Going out after baby
I'm a FTM too so take what I say with a grain of salt. Honestly I probably wouldn't take my LO to sleep over at a friend's house. Some babies have a very hard time getting into a sleep routine and I don't blame your friend for not wanting to disrupt it.
My in laws have a vacation home and DH and I visit them there several times a year but we'll probably put off visiting with LO for several months (and their house has EVERYTHING we could possibly need to be comfortable including an extra master bedroom with bathroom for DH and I).
ETA: If I was your friend I'd ask the grandparents to babysit and attend your party without LO.
I'm a FTM too, but I think it depends on the child. When my nephew was an infant, we could put him down(to sleep) anywhere. My niece is currently 6 months old and we can put her down anywhere too, but she usually fights it if there is a lot of commotion. She wants to be involved. But maybe her baby is a terrible sleeper and she's uncomfortable with trying to put him down over there with him screaming and crying. Maybe it took a really long time to get him on a schedule that works and she doesn't want to rock the boat.
Personally, I really hope my child is the kind that I can put down to sleep wherever we are.
We used to do this when our baby was that little. We are the first of our friends to have kids, and I sometimes just needed to get out and see other people. We'd bring our own Pack n Play, pop it in a guest room, and enjoy the evening. But our son was a very good sleeper at that age, was used to sleeping in Pack n Play at the sitter's, and didn't need complete quiet to sleep (in fact last year, we had people at our condo for NYE, and ate and partied and played games all night, and he slept through the entire thing, even though we were just outside his room.) Now, he's 20 months, and we declined an invitation to our friend's house because we know it won't go as well anymore. Every kid is different. It isn't crazy to think that it is possible, but you will find that sometimes it isn't worth the hassle.
***Nestie Bestie w/ TheDeatons***
When my DD was young, I could not have done it. She was/is a light sleeper and it would have made for a miserable night for us and her.
It does depend on the child.
TTC #2 since 10/2013
BFP #1 (4.14.14) ~ CP (4.18.14)
BFP #2 (6.27.14) ~ EDD 3.7.15
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This is totally one of those things that you can't know until you are actually a mom. I said so many times that LO would sleep wherever and whenever I said so he could come along to whatever we needed him to. Once you get your LO on a sleep schedule it seriously feels like a fate worse than death to mess them up. Like PP's said, some are flexible, some are not. But, all mothers worry about anything messing up their LO's sleep schedule.
And, I agree with the PP that said your friend would have to spend the night because transporting the baby home would wake him/her up and they would have to re-do her whole bedtime routine.