How do you keep newborn from getting toddler's daycare germs?

[Anonymous]

I already try to wash my toddler's hands the first thing when we come in the door every day, but my husband and I have had continual colds for the last month. Newborn is coming soon and I don't want her to catch every germ in the day care swamp. Obviously my method hasn't been too effective. Any suggestions?

[Anonymous]

Are you going to BF? DS was in a mixed age daycare setting for the first year and he hardly had any colds. I put that down to BF, although it might have been because we lived somewhere warmer at the time. Now we are in DC I seem to get every cold that is going around.

[Anonymous]

Have you heard of thieves oil? If you can find some, place it just inside your nostrils and it will help prevent breathing in any infectious pathogens.

Stories Behind the Thieves

The thieves happen to have been merchants and spice traders, and that’s how they knew about the oils because they were importing cinnamon and clove from India and when the plague hit, the kings of the various countries sent out a mandate closing down inter-national commerce and shipping. So all of the ships were docked and they couldn’t sell and they couldn’t engage in their business and they were going broke.

The spice trade was a very lucrative trade and they made money at it, so they decided, “Well–all of these people are dying and they are afraid to touch them. We might as well go loot their bodies and take the things off and go into the homes where everybody is dead and take the things out of the homes, like pots and pans and jewelry and clothing and set up a pawn shop trade…” that’s when pawn shops evolved.

Of course, you have heard the story when the king issued the proclamation to have the thieves captured, but the constables were afraid to touch them because they knew they had been touching the dead bodies and going in the homes of the dead people, and they didn’t want the plague.
It became so severe that the king even executed a few of the constables that refused.

Finally, it was a life or death issue, and as the story goes on there were four of them who were caught. The king gave them an opportunity to confess the secret of their immunity, either with the choice of burning at the stake or being hung by the neck, meaning if they didn’t give up their secret they would be burned at the stake, and worse if they gave up their secret they would be hung by the neck–and they chose hanging. They gave up their secret and it was published and plastered all through the town.

[Anonymous]

Most newborns have immunity both from their connection with mom and the colostrum if you breastfeed. It's unusual for newborns to come down with toddler-born illnesses like colds, flu, tummy upset.

[Anonymous]

My second had her first cold at 3 weeks, and my third had hers at 4 weeks. It really wasn't that bad (and yes, both were EBF). There's only so much you can do. Be sure to get some extra bulb syringes from the hospital--they work way better than the ones you can buy at stores.

[Anonymous]

Get a nanny.

[Anonymous]

Mine caught a cold pretty early on (also EBF) and has been sick ever since- 3 ear infections since Sept. and all the attendant side effects (diarrhea, yeast infection, etc) that go with antibiotics. I guess it must depend on the kid, since obviously breast milk is not preventing him from catching this stuff.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Get a nanny.

This.

I also recommend Vitamin D, Vitamin C, fish oil, and probiotics. Especially probiotics.

http://www.suite101.com/content/probiotics-may-reduce-colds-and-flu-in-children-a135097

http://www.wholehealth.com/health-articles/probiotics-may-help-stave-off-the-common-cold

Interest in the possible impact of probiotics for respiratory health dates back to 2001 when a study published in the British Medical Journal found that probiotics may reduce the occurrence and severity of respiratory infection among children in day care.1

More recently, a study published in the journal Pediatrics at the end of August reported even stronger findings: probiotics may reduce the incident and length of illness with common cold and flu-like symptoms.2 The double-blind, placebo-controlled study randomly assigned 326 children (3-5 years of age) to receive either a placebo, Lactobacillus acidophilus, or L. acidophilus in combination with Bifidobacterium animalis lactis twice daily for six months.

Compared to the children in the placebo group, the children who received either the single or the combination of probiotics experienced a reduced incidence of fever by as much as 72.7%, reduced incidence of coughing by as much as 62.1%, and reduced incidence of runny nose by 58.8%. Duration of fever, coughing, and runny nose was also significantly shortened in the two probiotic groups by as much as 48%. Further, the use of antibiotics was reduced by as much as 84.2%, and the number of missed days of day care was reduced by as much as 31.8%. In conclusion, the researchers stated that "daily dietary probiotic supplementation for 6 months was a safe effective way to reduce fever, rhinorrhea [runny nose], and cough incidence and duration and antibiotic prescription incidence, as well as the number of missed school days attributable to illness, for children 3 to 5 years of age."

It's not just children who seem to benefit from probiotics. A double-blind, placebo-controlled study published in the British Journal of Nutrition in September found that the children's grandparents may also benefit.3 The study involved 1072 volunteers with a median age of 76.0 years, who where randomly assigned either a daily fermented dairy product containing Lactobacillus casei or an unfermented dairy product that did not contain probiotics, for three months. When the researchers looked at all "common infectious diseases", the average duration of these illnesses was reduced by one and a half days. The researchers also reported that both the incidence and the cumulative durations of all upper respiratory tract infections and rhinopharyngitis (runny nose & sore throat) was significantly reduced in the probiotic group.