After your baby's first month, when she is awake for longer periods of time and getting bigger, it can be tempting to want to take her out and show her off. While fun, this still puts her at risk of getting infections. That doesn't mean that you have to live in a bubble, but you should avoid unnecessarily exposing your infant to a lot of people, especially those who may be sick. This is especially important during the winter cold and flu season. It is also a good idea to delay the start of day care until your infant is at least two to three months old.

Even if you don't take her out, your baby might still get sick if you have older children in school or day care who get sick and bring an illness home. Frequent hand washing, encouraging your kids to cover their mouths when they cough and sneeze, and not sharing toys, bottles, and utensils can help to decrease this risk.

Remember that people are often most contagious the day or two before they actually start showing symptoms, so it is not always helpful to simply avoid people who seem sick. You should practice “universal precautions” as health professionals do, and consider just about any person that you and your baby have contact with to be a possible source of germs that can get your baby sick. Again, this doesn't mean that you have to be totally isolated with your baby, but use good judgment and understand that the more people your baby is around, the higher the chance that she will get sick.