Handwashing and your preemie

[Penny6]

Hello everyone!

I was just wondering how careful you were with letting other people hold your preemie after he was home from the hospital. My baby is now 8 weeks old (2 weeks adjusted) and my friends are giving me a hard time about having to use Purell and not kissing him. I know I am over protective because we spend 3 1/2 weeks of hell in the NICU, but I really want to avoid him getting sick at this point.

How did/do you deal with handwashing and your preemie?

Thanks, Jess

[BethLS]

I am a handwashing natzi!

And if people don't like it, they can go to you know where! :

In fact, I've had dd home for a little over 2 weeks (she's not even at her due date yet) and we have had no visiters. We have a sign outside our door that says, "Preemature Baby Inside. No Visitors. Doctors Orders." No trips anywhere other than doctors appointments. I just don't feel like satisfying other peoples needs to see their (insert relation here) is worth the risk of going back to the NICU for who knows how long. ykwim?

But for DH and me, scrub scrub scrub!

[jkpmomtoboys]

Originally Posted by BethLS

And if people don't like it, they can go to you know where! :

Ditto, ditto, ditto...

For the first calendar year we didn't let anyone touch ds1 without washing hands. And we allowed NO school-aged kids or kids in daycare in our house. Same for the second winter after the first calendar year.

People who complained were told it was doctor's orders. If they wanted to hold him, they could wash their hands.

BTW, after dh came home from work, he not only washed his hands but changed his clothes. He rode BART (public transportation) and we had no idea what kinds of germs he was carrying...

[sehbub]

We were very careful about the hand washing for about 6 wks after DD came home, and then the visitors stopped.

My DSDs still wash their hands very thoroughly before playing with Sam, since they're 6 and 4 and in daycare all day, and my parents and inlaws wash their hands before holding her now anyway (she's 3 months old, one month adjusted).

Then again, she has also been on antibiotics every day since we came home as a preventative measure for her kidney reflux, so that probably helps. And she'll begetting the RSV vaccine round starting in October to protect her during RSV season.

[boscopup]

I didn't have any problems with people not washing their hands before holding him at our house... When they came over, it was to bring us food that first few weeks after he came home from the hospital. And they all knew that the hospital had told us to keep him home for 6 weeks (which put him at his due date when he got to go out in public). So I didn't have any problems there.

When we started going out, it was Sept, and I didn't let people at church hold him. They all understood, since it was getting to be cold season and such. I think I had the no holding rule until after the new year, probably. Then I treated him like a normal baby. He was getting RSV shots, and I did keep him away from situations where there might be a kid with a cold or something. But otherwise, I treated him normally. Did he get some colds? Yes, a few. But they were minor, thankfully. I think the worst illness he got was one he picked up in the hospital that caused him to lose weight the first week home and he was not feeling good (blood test showed he was fighting a virus - we believe it was a stomach virus).

So I guess I was more careful than I would have been with a full term baby (I'm not into using Purell and sanitizing the environment , so it was hard for me to really get into the hand washing stuff and all that, but I was just more careful until I felt comfortable that he could handle a little illness. Because my deep down belief is that getting little illnesses when they're young makes their immune systems stronger. But obviously you do have to be more careful with a preemie, and you also need to gauge the health of your own child. For example, if your baby has come home on O2, it's probably *really* not a good idea to get that baby exposed to a cold that would make breathing even more difficult. My DS was really quite healthy. He was home at 33w3d gestation, so obviously he was doing really well. I was mostly careful until he was 2-3 months old adjusted age.

Of course, I'm the type that would be taking my full term baby with me to Walmart (in a sling!) 2 days after birth. : But you do what YOU are comfortable with, and if people don't follow your rules, they can't see/touch your baby. That's that. My best friend was neurotic about everyone using purell with her full term newborn, and even SHE was using it before touching her own baby. I didn't say a thing, even though I thought that was majorly overboard (her using it each time). I followed her rules and just kept my opinions to myself. That's the polite thing to do. She later thought she'd been overboard, and I agreed at that point.

[munkeesmama]

Originally Posted by Penny6

Hello everyone!

I was just wondering how careful you were with letting other people hold your preemie after he was home from the hospital. My baby is now 8 weeks old (2 weeks adjusted) and my friends are giving me a hard time about having to use Purell and not kissing him. I know I am over protective because we spend 3 1/2 weeks of hell in the NICU, but I really want to avoid him getting sick at this point. I have a friend who keeps letting him put his hands in/around her mouth after me asking her several times to be more careful.

How did/do you deal with handwashing and your preemie?

Thanks, Jess

Emma was born at 27 weeks 2 days and camne home around 36 weeks and a little over 4 lbs..anyways we had purell on our keychains in our bathrooms on our coffee table in our cars and my husband carried some in his pocket. NOBODY touched her without purelling. nobody kisses her except for immediate family. nobody held her until they had a straight from the dryer clean receciving blanket over them. if thy touched their hair face clothes etc they purelled again before touching her. This lasted for about 8 weeks before we laxed a bit aboout it. We went through too much to get her home. We weren't risking anything

[munkeesmama]

Originally Posted by boscopup

Of course, I'm the type that would be taking my full term baby with me to Walmart (in a sling!) 2 days after birth. : But you do what YOU are comfortable with, and if people don't follow your rules, they can't see/touch your baby. That's that. My best friend was neurotic about everyone using purell with her full term newborn, and even SHE was using it before touching her own baby. I didn't say a thing, even though I thought that was majorly overboard (her using it each time). I followed her rules and just kept my opinions to myself. That's the polite thing to do. She later thought she'd been overboard, and I agreed at that point.

LMAO, that's funny. I'm the same way and we did take em out, but we were very into hand washing. after about 8 weeks though we started treating her like a "normal" baby.

[mimid]

We were trict the first couple weeks, but not anymore. We still have people wash and have purell all over the house, but let people hold them. In fact, there is a group of 7 year old BOYS who always ask to hold them. One told me that I was so lucky because I could hold them whenever I wanted.

[kimisaur]

You aren't being paranoid to purell and be strict about the handwashing. My 28 weeker was my third, and I thought I was way past the baby as a fragile thing mentality. I figured I was breastfeeding, he'd get all those immunities. I certainly didn't seek out germs, but otherwise I treated him as a normal baby.

He got the flu and ended up back in the hospital for two weeks. It weakened both his already weak lungs and his immune system, and even after he "recovered", he didn't. It took almost a full year of constantly battling colds and infections for him to finally consistently be well and gain weight.

In this case, really, better safe than sorry. They aren't just tiny normal babies. :-(

Kimberly

[kondonis]

Originally Posted by BethLS

And if people don't like it, they can go to you know where! :

ditto!

I've literally stopped people from touching my child on the street with my hand out like "stop" and have said as much. people are dirty, and I can't trust that they are clean - or rather clean enough for my child.

[amgirl83]

I'm new here but visited a similar site constantly while I was pg. Hello everyone!! This hand washing thing has got me intriguied... I insisted on LIMITED visitors at my (full term) surprise c-sec. Only mother and mil. DH was enroute from deployment. I insisted even more on hand washing. (MIL is ped nurse!!!) In laws soooooo offended. Still not speaking to me and dd is 9 months!!!

[jenmparrott]

I dont think you are paranoid. My 27 weeker is 6.5 months (3 months adjusted) and we still have those rules and some even stricter. You can not be too careful and just remember your gut is the best reference.

Jennifer

[forkids100]

We had purell in all corners of our home for at LEAST the 1st month! I also told visitors that it was doctor's orders and had no complaints. It's your baby and must do all that you feel you need to in order to protect your child.

The 1st time that I took dd out shopping, 2 ladies (whom I did not know) tried to TOUCH her and after I kinda "freaked out" about it and explained that she was a preemie...they YELLED at me!!!! And they kept YELLING at me as they walked through the store! :

[umami_mommy]

well, my son wasn't a preemie, but i *am* still really really strict about the handwashing thing, and my son is 4. my dh works in a school and the other adult in our household works in a college library. recently, we both caught a stomach virus from her that was really horrible.

i was surprised at the number of people who made faces about having to wash their hands when they came into my house. i am also surprised at the number of people who do not wash their hands when exiting the bathroom. maybe i just worked too many years in hospitals, in health care, around food and around large amounts of people. i would never DREAM of leaving a bathroom without washing my hands with soap and warm water.

we put up a sign by the back door, in the bathroom and i told people... "don't even think about coming into my house without a through washing of your hands." they made faces but i just ignored it.

i think people are just ignorant when it comes to germs. when my son was 6 weeks old we took him to meet his great grandparents. she was sick with something! his g-grandfather kept saying over and over, it's fine, it's nothing. i was livid. not only did i not let her hold the baby but him too, as he was probably sick too. that night i cried myself to sleep, remembering the friend i had who's infant got sck with a cold and stopped nursing. i was terrified he would get sick. we never went over there again without my dh calling and saying "is everyone healthy?"

i think just like you have to educate poeple about being vegetarian (no you shouldn't try to trick them with chicken broth in the food) or about a child with allergies (no, peanut butter in cookies is not okay) you have to do the same with germs. and if they don't cooperate, tell them they can't hold the baby. period. and never ever feel gullity about doing was is best for your children.