tandem germ sharing: 3yo and 5mo

[ElliesMomma]

i need some reassurance and BTDT if you have any. 3 yo nursling has suddenly come down with a *bad* cold. the kind that's making her cry in pain, and she's a tough kid. so far, 5 month old nursling is not sick.

i'm letting both nurse freely. i know 3 yo needs the milk, too, for fighting the germs. at the same time, i'm so scared that 5 mo will get this *bad* bug. i'm giving 3 yo children's tylenol, which is a first for her (usually we don't do medications for colds... just tough it out... but she's really pretty bad off.)

for the 5 mo, i'm more afraid of using infant tylenol. just praying, praying that he doesn't get the bug, or if he does, that it will be mild.

what can i expect in the days to come? do you think he'll get sick? do you think I'LL get sick too? can i be infected by her mouth on my nipples - or do you only get cold bugs from breathing them in?

any advice?? Thanks!

[PatioGardener]

That sucks! Hope she feels better soon!

The best ways to prevent cold virus transer are 1) hand washing, 2) coughing into sleeves, 3) keeping common surfaces disinfected (phones, TV remotes, light switches etc.) and 4) trying to keep hands away from nose/mouth/eyes.

Good luck!

[ChinaDoll]

:

honestly, they're sharing germs whether or not they're sharing milk via tandem nursing. And both are getting antibodies. The baby might get sick (mine did catch a cold early on) but probably not get as sick as he would without nursing. Even if you limited the toddler nursing, however, the newborn could catch the toddler's illness just from living in the same house/sharing the same Mama. Lots of hand-washing and disinfecting the house helps, but there's no guarantee. :

[pbjmama]

Originally Posted by ChinaDoll

honestly, they're sharing germs whether or not they're sharing milk via tandem nursing. And both are getting antibodies.

Yep.

And a btdt story. I was tandem by 2 yo and 5 wo and my toddler got hand foot and mouth. I was stressed to the max worried about the baby - and she never had any symptoms! She has been exposed many times since then and never caught it. I believe that she may have immunity from when her brother was sick.