started carrying with a newborn?

[esquare]

So, I don't carry currently, but in several months I'll be having a newborn and something is tugging on me saying, "do whatever you can to protect it." So, I'll probably start carrying, but I wanted to see who else started carrying around the time they had a child and what your experience was and any advice you would offer.

I'll leave it pretty open to feedback and see where the discussion takes us.

 

[hso]

Start carrying so that it becomes part of your wardrobe instead of something alien. You'll have to make adjustments for the new family member anyway and you don't want to have to be adapting to too many new things at once.

As to having a new life you feel responsible for motivating you to carry, it's not unusual. People get motivated to try to make life safer in general in these situations. You'll drive more safely, move things around the house to prevent falls or things falling/dropping, child-proof your cabinets, etc.

 

[HKUSP45C]

I agree with hso.

The only person I ever knew who rabidly anti, not luke warm, not ambivalent but, a proud supporter of HCI kind of anti had an epiphany and a total one hundred and eighty degree change of heart about a week after his little girl was born.

He came to me asking to help him pick out a pistol and teach him to shoot just a year after vowing never to speak to me again because of my gun lovin' ways. I helped him out because I believed in the good thing he was doing and the reasons he was doing it.

Do, start carrying now. You'll have plenty to worry about with the baby to add any more stress needlessly.

 

[Sam1911]

Start carrying so that it becomes part of your wardrobe instead of something alien.

This. And a WHOLE LOT more. Start practicing now with how you'll use that defensive sidearm. Simply having a gun may indeed be the mythical "first rule" of a gunfight, but it is far from the ONLY one. HOW to carry the gun is only a small part of the puzzle.

Learning to draw, reload, clear failures, move to cover, move off the line of force, shoot on the move, shoot from retention -- to say nothing of learning to be situationally aware, to anticipate trouble, and to know when to act/react, (oh, and what the LAW says about your options) -- represent a large commitment to training and to the development of your skillset and mindset. That's a sizable challenge when you AREN'T faced with the cataclysmic upheaval of a 1st child in your life. It sure doesn't get simpler or easier once Jr. arrives! (And Jr's brothers and sisters ... !)

Yes, becoming responsible for the life of another person -- a small, helpless, vulnerable person no less -- does bring out the urge to face these tough issues. Good for you for facing them realistically!

 

[svtruth]

Suggest you go

to Cornered cat, Pax has a lot of excellent advice about guns and children.
Good luck.

 

[Zach S]

I carried long before my daughter was born...

I agree with HSO. Carrying should be second nature before the little one comes along, because that in itself is a whole lotta change at once.

Congrats.

 

[BP Hunter]

My 9 year daughter knows that I always carry. She has never wondered why I carried. I asked her and told her that it was not primarily for my protection but for her and my wife. I added that if ever I had a confrontation, I would rather run and avoid a shooting as much as possible. But with a wife and a 9 year old, I would have to stand my ground and use force with my weapon as necessary. She understood.

 

[MrOldLude]

If you feel you have enough shooting experience and good-sense to not put yourself in more danger by carrying, I'd see nothing wrong with it.

 

[orvpark]

I have always been pro 2a, a hunter, shooter, and supported the right to carry. I have always kept a gun handy at home just in case. Not until my wife got pregnant did I carry outside of my home other than to hunt.

My wife and I have carried daily for three years since and wouldn't have it any other way. You can't just play the odds and run if you are carrying a kid. Even when the kids/wife are not with me, they depend on me to get home safely.

It isn't at all uncommon. Before that, I didn't see the need. We all make fun of our women "nesting" when a baby is on the way, but I was much worse than my wife. She fretted over what the baby should wear on the way home, I fretted over what class to take and 9mm vs .45

 

[ColdDeadHand]

Make sure you plan for the "what-ifs" too. You can't plan for all of them, but you can plan for a few. My wife doesn't carry yet. She knows that if I roll down the car windows or reach for the pistol, her one job is to make sure the baby is safe and has her ears covered.

I don't know what a .40 S&W inside the car would do to unprotected, 15-month-old ears, and I don't want to find out.

 

[rosewood151]

Remember, guns make you brave when you should be afraid. You need to decide before you start carrying ,whether it will make more sense to stand and fight or run and hide. Trying to run and gun with a child poses many many problems.

 

[Corporal K]

Remember, guns make you brave when you should be afraid

Guns are inanimate objects. They don't make you anything.

 

[esquare]

whether it will make more sense to stand and fight or run and hide

Thanks for all the comments so far! I thought I would comment on this one as this is one reason that I will be carrying. How do you run away with baby and stroller? When it's just me, I would try to get away by any other means, but I just don't see that happening with someone else to look out for.

 

[Captcurt]

I hope that you get the kid some earplugs.