Do that many people still baptize their children within the first few weeks of birth?

[adrift]

When I was baptized my mother was upset. I was the only child that was not baptized in the hospital. Back when I was born (you know before the invention of dirt) women spent two weeks in the hospital, at least my mother did. She was always upset with the modern tendency of getting mothers out fast. She thought it contributed to them being unhealthy.

 

[jilly4ski]

When I was baptized my mother was upset. I was the only child that was not baptized in the hospital. Back when I was born (you know before the invention of dirt) women spent two weeks in the hospital, at least my mother did. She was always upset with the modern tendency of getting mothers out fast. She thought it contributed to them being unhealthy.

Lol, my mother talks about how back we she was born (or maybe it was her parents) the dads would take the babies to the Church to get baptized leaving mom at home, just a few days after birth.

YoungTradCath- I would suggest that you learn a little bit about how a woman recovers after birth or conversely the basic administration of a parish. On both accounts getting a baby baptized within a week of birth is more than impractical except in danger of death. Just getting a mother and the infant out of the house within a week is a near miraculous feat. Otherwise getting the parish staff (and parents) to fill out the necessary paper work, and fit it in the priests schedule, with a week also seems like a miracle ordained by God. (No offense to parish office workers).

 

[anp1215]

Lol, my mother talks about how back we she was born (or maybe it was her parents) the dads would take the babies to the Church to get baptized leaving mom at home, just a few days after birth.

YoungTradCath- I would suggest that you learn a little bit about how a woman recovers after birth or conversely the basic administration of a parish. On both accounts getting a baby baptized within a week of birth is more than impractical except in danger of death. Just getting a mother and the infant out of the house within a week is a near miraculous feat. Otherwise getting the parish staff (and parents) to fill out the necessary paper work, and fit it in the priests schedule, with a week also seems like a miracle ordained by God. (No offense to parish office workers).

It probably is impractical for many people, but as I said, my godmother had her baby baptized at three days old, perfectly healthy. So it is possible, at least in some cases.

 

[Contra_Mundum_1]

My two children were baptised when they were 4 weeks old. All of my practicing Catholic friends coiuldn’t understand why such rush. And I thought 4 weeks was not soon enough. It seems that people don’t see it as necessity and churches often have an masse baptisms every few months. As many other things these days, this is just another sign of how Catholicism is losing its identity and people have no clue about why certain things are done.

 

[ConstantineTG]

Both my sisters are always in the same place when my wife and I have our children. We always plan the baptism about 6 weeks from birth which is also close to the traditional time of 40 days. But my son had to undergo operation and was baptized in the hospital at 5 days old. My daughter was born 2 weeks early so she was baptized at almost 2 months old. But if she was born on time the baptism would have taken place 39 days after birth. It wasn’t intended, but it was the Sunday my sisters can come but a great coincidence it was so close to the traditional day.

 

[babochka]

My parish doesn’t have classes. The pastor knows each of us well and knows that we are catechized. If we had somebody new to the parish, I’m sure he would have a one on one discussion with them to make sure they were prepared.

My oldest was baptized when were in a different city and parish and we were required to go to classes. I had an unexpectedly difficult pregnancy and we were not able to make the class while I was pregnant. They did not allow babies at the class and I was unwilling to leave my colicky, breastfed newborn for an entire evening to attend the class. The class was offered once every other month. Some parishes also require Godparents to attend the classes, which imposes an additional burden. Add to that the fact that many parishes schedule Baptisms during a Sunday Mass and have a set schedule (monthly, quarterly, etc.). It seems that the church really isn’t sending the message that Baptism within the first several weeks is important.

 

[anp1215]

My parish doesn’t have classes. The pastor knows each of us well and knows that we are catechized. If we had somebody new to the parish, I’m sure he would have a one on one discussion with them to make sure they were prepared.

My oldest was baptized when were in a different city and parish and we were required to go to classes. I had an unexpectedly difficult pregnancy and we were not able to make the class while I was pregnant. They did not allow babies at the class and I was unwilling to leave my colicky, breastfed newborn for an entire evening to attend the class. The class was offered once every other month. Some parishes also require Godparents to attend the classes, which imposes an additional burden. Add to that the fact that many parishes schedule Baptisms during a Sunday Mass and have a set schedule (monthly, quarterly, etc.). It seems that the church really isn’t sending the message that Baptism within the first several weeks is important.

I agree. It doesn’t really make since that Canon Law says one thing and then the Church conveys a very different message.

 

[babochka]

Lol, my mother talks about how back we she was born (or maybe it was her parents) the dads would take the babies to the Church to get baptized leaving mom at home, just a few days after birth.

I’ve heard of that happening. Not with my babies! If my baby needs to be baptized so early that I can’t leave the house, the priest can come to me. If it were truly an emergency, I would baptize the baby myself. Outside of a medical emergency, I can’t see any reason to separate a newborn infant from his mother.

 

[jilly4ski]

It probably is impractical for many people, but as I said, my godmother had her baby baptized at three days old, perfectly healthy. So it is possible, at least in some cases.

That is the thing though, it is impractical for most people and most parishes/parish priests. If the person scheduling the baptisms for my second child had not messed up, (and the old priest been willing to step in and perform the baptism) I would have had to wait another 2 weeks for there to be another “baptism day” at the parish, putting my baby closer to 2 months old. Otherwise priests have tight schedules and parish facilities also have tight schedules particularly around holidays (Easter/Christmas) or in the summer (ie wedding season), and can’t just show up for a baptism with 3 days notice.

My current baby is now (in an hour) 3 days overdue. So scheduling a baptism beforehand that close would be impossible (except on accident because the baby came early enough). And if you had a C-section, you would not even be released from the hospital yet.

 

[ConstantineTG]

I didn’t have formal classes. Well, I’m a catechist, so the priest trusts me I know what I have to know I only have to ask questions regarding baptism in the Eastern Rite as this was our first baptism in the Ukrainian-Byzantine Rite.

 

[JGMendes4049]

YoungTradCath- I would suggest that you learn a little bit about how a woman recovers after birth or conversely the basic administration of a parish. On both accounts getting a baby baptized within a week of birth is more than impractical except in danger of death. Just getting a mother and the infant out of the house within a week is a near miraculous feat. Otherwise getting the parish staff (and parents) to fill out the necessary paper work, and fit it in the priests schedule, with a week also seems like a miracle ordained by God. (No offense to parish office workers).

If the preparations are made prior to birth, it is easier. One ought to schedule the baptism and fill out paperwork prenatally.

 

[babochka]

If the preparations are made prior to birth, it is easier. One ought to schedule the baptism and fill out paperwork prenatally.

Yes, because babies come on schedule. I’ve had 5 babies and none have them have arrived “on time”. If I’d scheduled any baptisms for a week after the baby was due, I’d have missed all 5 appointments.

 

[Phemie]

Lol, my mother talks about how back we she was born (or maybe it was her parents) the dads would take the babies to the Church to get baptized leaving mom at home, just a few days after birth.

YoungTradCath- I would suggest that you learn a little bit about how a woman recovers after birth or conversely the basic administration of a parish. On both accounts getting a baby baptized within a week of birth is more than impractical except in danger of death. Just getting a mother and the infant out of the house within a week is a near miraculous feat. Otherwise getting the parish staff (and parents) to fill out the necessary paper work, and fit it in the priests schedule, with a week also seems like a miracle ordained by God. (No offense to parish office workers).

We were born in 1953, 1954 & 1958. We were baptized on the first Sunday after Mom came out of the hospital so we were between 10 & 14 days old. Mom never saw any of those baptisms because back in those days women didn’t leave the house until their 6 week check-up. So in 1958, when my baby brother was baptized, my other brother and I were there along with Dad and the proxy godparents (godparents were off on a day trip) but Mom was home. I still remember it although I was only 5. In those days the baptistry was a fenced off area in the sacristy. I remember the face JL made when the priest put the salt in his mouth.

In this parish, after you’ve done the preparation, all you have to do is call by Wednesday or Thursday and you can have your child baptized at Saturday evening or Sunday morning Mass (if there is a priest in town which, for the past year, hasn’t been a given). We don’t do paperwork until after the baptism, too well aware that there are often last minute changes in the godparents.

 

[Phemie]

If the preparations are made prior to birth, it is easier. One ought to schedule the baptism and fill out paperwork prenatally.

In our parish that’s practically impossible since we never know if a priest will be there or not.

 

[Gena]

If the preparations are made prior to birth, it is easier. One ought to schedule the baptism and fill out paperwork prenatally.

Even then it can be very difficult to schedule a baptism for a week after the birth, especially if the parish is large with many families. (And, as others have pointed out, babies don’t always respect the schedule.)

We took the class and scheduled our son’s baptism while I was still pregnant. The earliest we could get on the schedule was a roughly month after the due date. My due date was just after Easter and the parish does not do baptisms during Lent, so the first several weeks after Easter were already filled up.

I was comfortable having the baptism date set for about a month after the birth, if Baby was healthy. Because it was a high-risk pregnancy, we had already talked to the staff at the Catholic hospital where I would be delivering about what the options were for baptism at the hospital if Baby was not healthy. We were told that all the nurses on the maternity floor were trained in how to administer an emergency baptism in case the chaplain was not available.

As it turned out, Baby was born healthy, and 11 days late. So he was 16 days old when he was baptized at our parish church. There were 10 babies baptized that day, and our son was the youngest. The others ranged from several months old to right around a year. Father commented to us how nice it was to hold a newborn.

 

[MissRose73]

Both my sister and I were baptized when we were less than a month old. Keep in mind this is the early to mid 1970’s. My younger sister was born November 20, and baptized on December 7 (my mother’s birthday). I was born on March 12, and baptized on April 1. My mother tells me she was present for each baptism as our births were without complications.

My mother hasn’t told me how long her parents waited for her and her sister’s baptisms during the era of Pre-Vatican II. I presume there was less time between birth and baptism for each child then. I have no information about my father’s family as his parents are deceased but I presume they were baptized as newborns.

Every church I go lists in the bulletin what their parish requirements are for baptisms and preparation classes for baptism. But there is no real consistency between parishes in the same diocese as some parishes will do baptisms only 1 weekend a month, others, it may not matter & allow parents to choose the Mass of choice.

 

[anp1215]

That is the thing though, it is impractical for most people and most parishes/parish priests. If the person scheduling the baptisms for my second child had not messed up, (and the old priest been willing to step in and perform the baptism) I would have had to wait another 2 weeks for there to be another “baptism day” at the parish, putting my baby closer to 2 months old. Otherwise priests have tight schedules and parish facilities also have tight schedules particularly around holidays (Easter/Christmas) or in the summer (ie wedding season), and can’t just show up for a baptism with 3 days notice.

My current baby is now (in an hour) 3 days overdue. So scheduling a baptism beforehand that close would be impossible (except on accident because the baby came early enough). And if you had a C-section, you would not even be released from the hospital yet.

Right. I’m not disagreeing with you.

 

[ringil]

We had it done for our daughter at six months due to procrastination. Too long I know.

Oh, just remembered that we were waiting on paperwork from the Godfather as well.

 

[JGMendes4049]

Yes, because babies come on schedule. I’ve had 5 babies and none have them have arrived “on time”. If I’d scheduled any baptisms for a week after the baby was due, I’d have missed all 5 appointments.

Obviously if the baby wasn’t born on the scheduled date, it would be postponed.

 

[tafan]

We had all of our kids baptized within a couple of weeks of birth. Get the class done ahead of time, once the baby is born on of the first actions is to call the parish and schedule it. Sometimes we have been a little pushy in order to get it scheduled quickly. I find it very wrong that it is not made a greater priority by bothe the church and parents. Shockingly wrong if I am to be honest.