too young for pox party?

If you don't want the jab, then I would go.

DS came home with CP when DD was about 13 weeks. We live in the UK where wild CP is common among children, although you get ranted nowadays if you go out when your child is known to be contagious.

Anyway, DD was 100% breastfed (& I know that I had immunity) but came out with spots 2 weeks later. Only had about 6 ugly spots.

DD was fine with it, woke up more at night but that could have been coincidence. She has been immune in several subsequent outbreaks (she's now almost 8yo). I thought the big risk of CP was to infants under 2 months, because of the slight chance of high fever. I would get antihistamine syrup if I were you, btw, if they do get it. I didn't need the syrup with DS1 or DD, but it was a bit of a lifesaver with DS2 & DS3.

Yes, too risky for your 5 mo old. Wouldn't even DREAM of courting a chicken pox in a 5 mo old.

5 months is too young for me, I'd prefer over 2.

thank you all for your thoughts. swiw, my kids are 3yo & 5mos (the 6yo is my friend's kid w/ the pox). It did occur to me that the 5mo might not get it since I'm exclusively BF'ing & then we'll be back in this position (trying to get him the pox) in a few years.

I personally would not feel comfortable exposing my infant to CP. My comfort zone is after 2 years old.

I doubt he'd get it..or if he got it, it would be extremely mild due to your antibodies in the breast-milk. I'd do it. I exposed my kids to cp when my youngest (at that time) was 18mo. He was still almost exclusively breastfed at that time. He got it and it was so easy that he never even had a measurable fever. Just about 10 pox.