DS is sick but what about newborn

[Crazybean]

Last night, DS (3 yrs old) woke up crying and said his throat hurt. I dealt with that and he woke up with a runny nose this AM. As the morning progressed, he said his throat hurt again and still has the runny nose. When we got him up from his pm nap, he was obviously running a fever~ about 102.2.
My issue is I have a 3 week old DS. Older DS has been in his face and "helping" get him stuff throughout the week before he showed signs of being sick. Obviously today I've kept them apart but now I'm paranoid and on the verge of hysterical knowing that my newborn could get this kind of illness and possibly get a high fever too (I know the horrible tests they put them through at the hospital at that young age).
Baby is breastfed- I wonder how well my body is preparing the baby for this.. ahhhhhhh. Any suggestions? I have sick DS on dosages of SA and have been giving him probiotics with more vit c in his unsweetened applesauce.

[TanyaS]

Keep breastfeeding. Frequent handwashing for all family members. And now that you know they are sick, keep DS from very close contact. Chances are the baby is not going to get sick. Many, many times a cold has run through our household, but the baby never got it. And the times that they did, the baby had a milder case than the preschoolers in the house.

[Llyra]

Honestly, the breastfed newborn is the best protected family member when there's illness in the house. I would encourage DS1 to wash his hands, and wash yours frequently. Other than that, I wouldn't worry too much other than to maybe keep them separated when it's practical. I wouldn't even go too overboard on that, though. Your body has been exposed to the illness, and is likely producing antibodies, which pass through your milk to baby. Plus, baby has all the protective benefits of having received colostrum, too.

I would be more concerned if the baby was being formula-fed, partially or totally. In that case, I might be more cautious about separating them.

And I hope your DS gets to feeling better quickly. Poor guy-- it's no fun to be sick.

[leafwood]

your body is working in perfect unison with your baby....any germ baby is exposed to signals your immune system (through receptors on your skin that come in contact with baby's saliva) so you have been producing and naturally vaxing your baby before your son even started showing symptoms. if you want you can even try to irrigate baby's nose with some breastmilk for extra protection, but the reality is that you are doing what your child needs already. just stay hydrated and feed yourself well so you also remain healthy (and consider giving older child some EBM if you can to assist with his healing process).
sending healing and healthy vibes and i hope you have a house full of peacefully sleeping babes right now