So if my 6 wk old catches the cold her brother has...

[Contrariety]

and spikes a fever of 101.7 like he has... do I really have to take her straight to the ER to have a spinal tap? It just seems so cruel to me to do that to her if we know why she has a fever.

I mean, if she was listless and not acting normal, certainly I wouldn't hesitate to seek medical help ASAP, but her brother is running gangbusters all over the house with his fever and a little cough. Assuming she's still acting normal, it just seems insane to go the spinal tap route.

I don't even know why I worry about this, since she's not sick and there's a good chance DS's cold is the same sore throat I had earlier this week, which if she was going to get I assume she would have gotten by now...

Bah. I hate the stress of having a newborn. I can't wait until she gets a little older, when I don't have to question my instincts because of protocol. Luckily our ped's practice has a weekend clinic. I'll just give them a call if she shows any signs... but I'm still so paranoid in the mean time.

[ssh]

If you're breastfeeding she may not even catch it or it will be a very mild case.

[Contrariety]

Originally Posted by ssh

If you're breastfeeding she may not even catch it or it will be a very mild case.

This is what I'm very much hoping for! I was just telling DH how breastmilk is miraculous and that there's a good chance she'll be fine since I would have passed on any antibodies I formed.

[leaves]

my ds had a pretty high fever at 6 wks that went up and down for three days. my midwife didn't seem concerned (although i was freaking out) and was against taking him to the ER for that very reason (spinal tap). instead, we took him to a clinic that practices alternative medicine and they checked him and said he was just fine, to keep his head sprinkled with water, and to give him luke warm baths. both the dr at the clinic and my midwife said ER is only necessary if his fever goes above 99.5 and won't go down with home treatment.