How long after birth did you baptise your baby

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ElizaE

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I am just wondering how long you waited to baptise your child?

If you had a family member that has a 5 month old daughter that has not yet been Baptised would you say anything?

I guess I am a bit worried. My aunt and uncle had their third daughter almost 5 months ago. She is so beautiful, and I love her very much. My aunt is waiting for her sister to come over from another country (which I just heard will not happen in the near future because she couldn’t get a visa). So far, I have not heard anything about a date for the Baptism. I asked about a month ago, before I went out of town, when they are thinking of Baptising my cousin. She said that they are thinking at the end of August, but so far there is not date. I really don’t want to say anything because the last time I mentioned it to them, my uncle said something along the lines that it can wait until they are ready.

They are very good Catholics, but I think that they are a bit misguided. They are waiting for my aunt’s sister to come so she can be Godmother, but I don’t know when that will be. Meanwhile, the little one really needs the Grace that comes from this very important Sacrament.

They kinda asked my husband (well he is one of two men that they are considering, the other being my brother) to be Godfather. My husband and I are both fourth year medical students and we will be leaving town 3.5 weeks from now and will be gone for 2 months. I was really hoping that the Baptism would occur before we had to leave because we would like to be present. However, either my husband or my brother would be very good choices, but it would be nice if we could be in attendace. But in the end I just want this baby to get Baptised whether we can be there or not.

Should I say something again or keep quiet? I am already considered the “churchy” member of the family.
 
ElizaE said:
I am just wondering how long you waited to baptise your child?

If you had a family member that has a 5 month old daughter that has not yet been Baptised would you say anything?

I guess I am a bit worried. My aunt and uncle had their third daughter almost 5 months ago. She is so beautiful, and I love her very much. My aunt is waiting for her sister to come over from another country (which I just heard will not happen in the near future because she couldn’t get a visa). So far, I have not heard anything about a date for the Baptism. I asked about a month ago, before I went out of town, when they are thinking of Baptising my cousin. She said that they are thinking at the end of August, but so far there is not date. I really don’t want to say anything because the last time I mentioned it to them, my uncle said something along the lines that it can wait until they are ready.

They are very good Catholics, but I think that they are a bit misguided. They are waiting for my aunt’s sister to come so she can be Godmother, but I don’t know when that will be. Meanwhile, the little one really needs the Grace that comes from this very important Sacrament.

They kinda asked my husband (well he is one of two men that they are considering, the other being my brother) to be Godfather. My husband and I are both fourth year medical students and we will be leaving town 3.5 weeks from now and will be gone for 2 months. I was really hoping that the Baptism would occur before we had to leave because we would like to be present. However, either my husband or my brother would be very good choices, but it would be nice if we could be in attendace. But in the end I just want this baby to get Baptised whether we can be there or not.

Should I say something again or keep quiet? I am already considered the “churchy” member of the family.
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I come from a large family. My mother remembered everybody’s Baptismal date because it was always the 2d Sunday after birth. The same is true for my own daughter.
Scheduling Baptism is not as simple now in some of the larger parishes where the pastor asks for 6 months notice before weddings and baptisms. I would not worry. The child is in God’s hands.
 
Our local Catholic newspaper recently had an article on infant baptism and the timing of it.

Here we go. This addresses just what you’re talking about.

Parents Delaying Infant Baptisms.
stlouisreview.com/article.php?id=13231

If I were you, I probably would call them and say something along the lines of: “You said you were having (cousin) baptized in Aug., so I was just wondering what date you have set?”
 
Our daughter, we waited almost 8 months. But it was just because we kept forgetting.

Our son, it was about 6-8 weeks. Much better.
 
In Orthodoxy, it is customary to wait 6 weeks after birth to baptize a baby. 40 days is also the time the mother does not enter a church, and then a “churching” prayer is read for both the mother and child.

My cousin was getting married EXACTLY 6 weeks after my daughter was born, so her baptism had to wait. She was baptized at 7 weeks. 🙂

I wouldn’t worry too much. It’s not like they’re not getting the baby baptized at all. The baby, thank God, is alive and healthy, and there is no real urgent need to pressure them.
 
A lot of people wait now.

My kids were all Baptised around 2 weeks old. I know that “limbo” is in question, but old superstition died hard with me. It scared me with my son because we were living in CO when he was born and weren’t attending Church. My parents arranged the baptisim here in AZ for when I’d be visiting. Getting on the plane with an unbaptised infant really bothered me.

Paradoxy, I think it used to be that way in the RCC as well. A few years ago a visiting priest spoke about his sister’s baptisim. He said something about his mom not being able to attend church until her bleeding stopped. Some deal about a women being unclean during that time. For what it’s worth, he mentioned that he was glad the Church didn’t think that way anymore. This priest was probably in his late 70’s, so it was a long time ago. I was surprised because I’d never heard something like that.

Ahh, I continue to learn new things about the RCC every day.

Kim
 
stlouisreview.com/article.php?id=13231
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**This concerns me from this article: “Father Kempf said he uses partial immersion for infant Baptisms, which means the child is immersed in baptismal water up to his or her neck.”

Are these children truly baptized? Water must flow over the HEAD - not the body. Whether the body gets wet - even the neck - is irrelevant.

This makes it sound as though that’s all Father Kempf does - in which case, these kids aren’t being baptized at all. :eek: If that truly is the case, he should be reported to the bishop.**

Now, to answer the OP - we try to get the kids baptized within the first 2 to 3 weeks.
 
Both of our girls were baptized at almost 2mo old. Our parish only did baptisms one weekend a month, and in both cases it didn’t work out the first month (godparents had to travel, couldn’t get there, etc). I wish it could have been done quicker.
 
Alexander and Kaylin were baptized at the same time. Xander was 3 years, Kaylin was 1 .5 years. With them, I was new to the church and had been raised with some rather skewed viewpoints on infant baptism. I had them baptized as soon as I could after un-learning my upbringing. 😃

Kyle was 5 months old. I wanted to baptize him much sooner, however, he was born not to long before lent. My parish absolutly will not do baptisms during lent. Then, when they are doing baptisms, they only schedule certain days at certain masses. Scheduling was an issue for us. You can have it on a day of your choosing, but if it is not a regularly scheduled day, you have to pay all this money, and we just couldn’t afford it. So, Kyle waited for 5 months.
 
Like one of the posters, my sons were each baptised on the second Sunday after their birth - the oldest at 13 days old (he was born on Easter Monday 1970) and the younger at 10 days old.

According to Canon 867 Parents are obliged to see that their infants are baptised within the first few weeks. As soon as possible after the birth, indeed even before it, they are to approach the parish priest to ask for the sacrament for their child, and to be themselves duly prepared for it.

It would appear to me, therefore, that any parish that requires months to prepare parents of a child for baptism needs to re-think their requirements.

My parish has baptisms on the second Sunday of each month. Usually there are at least 6 and as many as 12 babies to be baptised. Most look like they are at least 4 months or more old. Sometimes they can already walk!
 
I don’t have kids, but I was baptized the day after I was born. My mom wasn’t even present because she had pre-eclampsia and had a hard labor and was bedridden. My siblings were baptized at 4 & 5 mos.
 
All six of our children were baptized around two months of age.I wasn’t up to it before that (“Baby Blues”) and some of the babies frankly were in throes of colic and screamed through the entire sacrament.I worried constantly until they were safely baptized though.
 
Our first baby was baptised within a week or two of being born because my m-in-law organised it before I even got out of hospital - she wouldn’t get away with that now! Our second child was a year old - on her birthday - but that was me rebelling against the m-in-law. Now though - if we have another, I am beyond rebelling and would speak to the priest and arrange to have the baby baptised within a couple of months but not too soon for me to enjoy it. Lesson to be learnt all mother in laws;)
 
Our kids were baptized a few days after they were born. One trusts in God’s mercy, but one is responsible to baptize as soon as possible. I always call several months before I am due. Although the godparents have always been present I would have no qualms over having a proxy there if the godparents can’t make it. Also, I love my family, but would not postpone a baptism so one or another could be there. My baby’s soul/eternal life is much more important.
Some parishes do have different rules and busy schedules, but, for example, if the Church requires 6 month notice, you can possibly do it while you are still pregnant. They may require a birth certificate or something, but I can’t imagine why, under normal circumstances of course, one wouldn’t be able to have one’s child baptized in the first few weeks of his/ her life (like stated in canon law) if one really tries. Like someone else mentioned, if the parish has odd regulations they should probably revise them since Our Church believes in the importance of prompt baptisms. I know I am always nervous until my babies are baptized.
 
BTW - At the time when I was being very rebelious, it wasn’t that I didn’t care about my daughter. I just never believed Baptism as essential as it is. I don’t think I ever fully understood original sin. I think God is a good God and would never punish a new baby anyway.
 
I had my son baptized at three weeks old. He was scheduled for baptism at about 10 days old, but I had been put on full bed rest, my son was exclusively nursing, and the church is an hour’s drive away, which meant that the baby simply couldn’t be separated from me for that long. We did consider sending him with my husband for baptism without me: it is that important.

God is merciful, but it is unchangeable Church doctrine that we are all born with Original Sin and those who did while not in a State of Grace cannot have the Beatific Vision.
 
sanctareparata said:
**This concerns me from this article: “Father Kempf said he uses partial immersion for infant Baptisms, which means the child is immersed in baptismal water up to his or her neck.”

Are these children truly baptized? Water must flow over the HEAD - not the body. Whether the body gets wet - even the neck - is irrelevant.

This makes it sound as though that’s all Father Kempf does - in which case, these kids aren’t being baptized at all. :eek: If that truly is the case, he should be reported to the bishop.**

Now, to answer the OP - we try to get the kids baptized within the first 2 to 3 weeks.
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I do not think that the water “has to flow over the HEAD” to be baptized. Do you have Church documents that state this to be fact? If not, I would be careful to say that “he should be reported to the bishop.” In looking at the picture of Fr. Kempf, it seems like he is submersing the infant in the water and may even be getting the back of his/her wet with the holy water. I do not see the problem.
 
Jack was baptized at 5 days old, but not under circumstances I’d like to repeat. He had developed a life-threatening infection and I was terrifed when they had to put in a breathing tube. So, I called for a priest. 🙂 Unfortunatly, DH wasn’t there for the baptism, because the doctors were preparing to move Jack to another hospital nearby and DH left before they decided Jack needed a breathing tube.

This time around I’d like to baptize the baby 4-6 weeks after birth, but we’ll see. I’m due mid-February and I don’t know what our parish “rules” are about baptism in Lent. I know I COULD insist no matter what, but I’m not overly concerned. At least not yet. We’ll see how I feel in 6 months or so!

MJ
 
MJ - I see you are pregnant! Congratulations!

Okay - I had two Baptized before they were 2 weeks old, the other was Baptized hours after her birth as we didn’t know if she would make it through the night (God is so good and allowed us to have her for 2 1/2 years though!)

I was Baptized on Easter Sunday - sometime within my first two weeks of life.

Honestly, Baptism is not to be taken lightly in my view. If family can not make it in time so be it but it is a very important Sacrament, more than Grace is received from this first Sacrament - the remission of Original Sin is met and if done as an older child or adult, all sins up until that point as well.

Brenda V.
 
Mirror_Mirror said:
I do not think that the water “has to flow over the HEAD” to be baptized. Do you have Church documents that state this to be fact? If not, I would be careful to say that “he should be reported to the bishop.” In looking at the picture of Fr. Kempf, it seems like he is submersing the infant in the water and may even be getting the back of his/her wet with the holy water. I do not see the problem.
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Backs are not baptizable.

In all cases, at all times, water MUST flow over the child’s (or person’s) head. Even if it just rolls across the hair it is not valid. It must flow across the skin of the head/forehead.

Do you really think if I wasn’t 100% sure of this I’d clumsily say Fr Kemp should be reported to the bishop? 😉

I’ll get your Church documents to you… 👍 after I feed kiddo.
 
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