Need Advice--Toddler is sick and we've got a newborn in the house

[kimbe]

DD has a fever so I took her to the Dr. today. Her tonsils are red and swollen. 1st run Strep was negative thank goodness. (She isn't even acting sick so that is a good thing!) I am not worried about DD all that much, but we've got a 2 month old now and I am freaking out worrying that he is going to get a fever.

We are washing hands even more than usual and we are keeping DD in the playroom most of the time.

What else can I do to keep DS well and me from freaking out! Dr. said it doesn't happen often...is that true?

TIA!!!

[ritacheetah]

I have an almost 4 year old DD and a 5 1/2 month old DD. My 4 yr. old DD has had a fever and sore throat almost every other weekend since she started preschool in June. I think it's because she still sucks her thumb. 5 1/2 mo. old has only had one cold so far (knock on wood) despite the 4 yr. old sneezing on her.

Are you BF? If so, hopefully that should help (although I kept getting sick instead - figures!!) Don't freak out too much. Just keep up with the handwashing or keep them separated. I'm sure this will happen lots more in the future.

[kimbe]

Thanks for your post. Yes, I am BFing and that is the only thing keeping me sane at the moment. When we nurse now, I tell him about all the good antibodies that he is getting and we talking about them fighting off DD's germs. LOL! I didn't think that I would be dealing with this so soon and I was hoping to get out of the "spinal tap" age before having to deal!

[nfowife]

I think nursing and washing hands are pretty much all you can do and it will most likely be fine. When DS was 6 weeks old, DD got rotavirus. She had to be hospitalized for 3 days for the dehydration. I was/am nursing and my ped forbid me to bring DS up to her room because of the ped. floor germs so DH had to stay with DD while I stayed home and visited for 1 hour spots here and there (while friends would watch DS in the lobby of the hospital so I could be there in case he got hungry!). It was no fun, but in the end DS was fine, he never got the virus or had any problems. I was super vigilant about handwashing, especially with rota. It is probably easier to have a newborn because they aren't trying to mouth everything and share toys and whatnot. They are still in what I like to call the "meatloaf" stage (as in, they are kind of like a little meatloaf...don't do much but lay there :) ).

[nfowife]

I think nursing and washing hands are pretty much all you can do and it will most likely be fine. When DS was 6 weeks old, DD got rotavirus. She had to be hospitalized for 3 days for the dehydration. I was/am nursing and my ped forbid me to bring DS up to her room because of the ped. floor germs so DH had to stay with DD while I stayed home and visited for 1 hour spots here and there (while friends would watch DS in the lobby of the hospital so I could be there in case he got hungry!). It was no fun, but in the end DS was fine, he never got the virus or had any problems. I was super vigilant about handwashing, especially with rota. It is probably easier to have a newborn because they aren't trying to mouth everything and share toys and whatnot. They are still in what I like to call the "meatloaf" stage (as in, they are kind of like a little meatloaf...don't do much but lay there :) ).

[kimbe]

Meatloaf stage! LOL! Good point about newborns not mouthing stuff...that makes me feel better.

Thanks for your story. That must have been just awful for you to be away from your DD so much while she was sick.

We are still crossing our fingers!

Thanks!

[kimbe]

Meatloaf stage! LOL! Good point about newborns not mouthing stuff...that makes me feel better.

Thanks for your story. That must have been just awful for you to be away from your DD so much while she was sick.

We are still crossing our fingers!

Thanks!

[Piglet]

one handed typing

i think that you hit on one of the biggest things i had to come to grips with with siblings. i remember how fragile ds1 seemed when we first brought him home. everyone was asked to wash his/her hands before holding him, etc. fast forward to ds2... we had a 3 year old in preschool, bringing home germ after germ. we were good about handwashing and it seemed to do the trick. it also helped that ds1 didn't really play with ds2 and ds2 was still a lump (like the meatloaf in the pp, lol). we managed to get through it with flying colours. in fact, we went to the doctors far less with ds2 than with ds1 because we were more experienced parents and didn't freak out about every cold and sniffle! that having been said, we do come down with more family colds now than ever before. ds1 brings germs from school and ds2 brings germs from daycare. the boys had 2 rounds of strep when dd was 1 month old (we were very strict about them not touching the baby when they were sick) and dd has just gotten over her first cold :( we are definitely better at managing her symptoms and are much better at figuring out what is normal vs. requiring medical attention.

good luck!

[Piglet]

one handed typing

i think that you hit on one of the biggest things i had to come to grips with with siblings. i remember how fragile ds1 seemed when we first brought him home. everyone was asked to wash his/her hands before holding him, etc. fast forward to ds2... we had a 3 year old in preschool, bringing home germ after germ. we were good about handwashing and it seemed to do the trick. it also helped that ds1 didn't really play with ds2 and ds2 was still a lump (like the meatloaf in the pp, lol). we managed to get through it with flying colours. in fact, we went to the doctors far less with ds2 than with ds1 because we were more experienced parents and didn't freak out about every cold and sniffle! that having been said, we do come down with more family colds now than ever before. ds1 brings germs from school and ds2 brings germs from daycare. the boys had 2 rounds of strep when dd was 1 month old (we were very strict about them not touching the baby when they were sick) and dd has just gotten over her first cold :( we are definitely better at managing her symptoms and are much better at figuring out what is normal vs. requiring medical attention.

good luck!

[noahsmommy]

I would say you are already doing everything that you can do. Washing hands, separating them as much as possible. So don't worry to much. My DD was also between 3-6months during last winter and when her then 2.5 yo brother got sick, that's all I could do. One thing that I had to remember was to watch my "mommy kisses" from one child to the other. Needless to say, DD didn't have much except for one runny nose last winter. Now, this cold season's already begun and DD is 1 and DS is 3.5...and it's a whole another ballgame. I couldn't keep them from getting sick from another unless I put them in separate bubbles all day and night. They just pass every running nose, cough, etc..just from playing around each other. What can you do? Not much except what you are already doing now. Wash hands, and hope that they get over the colds at the same time, so you can get some rest!




Ann

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[kimbe]

Thank you! I appreciate your post!

[kimbe]

Good point about mommy kisses...never thought of that. Thanks for your post. Next winter should be fun when DD and DS are just like yours now. I am just trying to make it though the "full workup if he gets a fever" stage, then I think that I will be fine.

[table4three]

When DD was 5 weeks old, my 2yo DS was sick for a few days - had a fever of 104 for 3 days, then got a rash that determined it was Roseola. I wore my newborn in the sling just about all day for the few days DS was sick to try to minimize their contact (DS REALLY likes to kiss and hug his baby sister and accost her when she is in the crib/bouncy/etc). That in addition to hand washing. DD is fine. As it turns out, children under 6 mo don't often get roseola because of maternal antibodies.


DS - 2.5 yr
DD - brand new!

[marit]

Just a quick note: If it is strep throat the chances that a baby catching it is very very slim. I had strep 4 times and the doctors always said that. A baby is more likely to catch a cold than a strep.

In any case, I think you're doing great, washing hands and nursing is the best way to go. The other thing you can try doing is be in acceptance that that's life from now on with more than 1 child :)

{{{Hugs to you mama}}}

[lisams]

I think you're doing everything you can - washing hands, keeping them a good distance apart and breastfeeding! I'm guessing the baby will be totally fine. DD got Coxsackie (aka Hand Foot Mouth) when DS was about 6 weeks old and we did exactly what you're doing and he never got it. I was stressed about it though, that's for sure!

Fast forward and DS (now 8 months) has had 3 little mini colds that are from DD bringing stuff home from pre-k. I guess there's no way around it, but at least it hasn't been anything major. He started getting them around the time he discovered his hands and everythng in sight can go in his mouth.

Hope the baby stays healthy and that your DD is feeling better.

[kimbe]

Thank you table4three, Marit and Lisa for your posts. Thanks again to everyone for calming me down. I knew that if I posted y'all would help me come back down to earth. DD still has a raging fever, but I am hoping that breaks soon.

Thanks again!

[kimbe]

sorry