Babies and sick people at gatherings

F2M n Spouse

So on Thanksgiving we showed up and BIL walks in with our niece and goes on about how’s shes sick. Been very congested for several days and she doesn’t look the greatest. We have a 4 month old that I don’t want getting sick. I feel that it would be common sense to stay home with a sick child regardless if it’s a holiday or not. I know I would’ve stayed home with our daughter if she was sick with something that was potentially contagious. But if he chose not to stay home with her then I wouldn’t have went.

Opinions please. Do I just seem over paranoid or am I being realistic in my expectations? Would you stay home if you knew someone was showing up sick?

RedHeather

At the very least he should have told you ahead of time and made sure the niece knew to stay away from the baby. I wouldn’t expect them to stay home over a cold (vs something more serious like the flu or a stomach bug), and I would have probably still gone to the event but reminded the niece to stay away from baby and asked everyone else to wash/sanitize their hands before holding baby. My daughter has a strong immune system, though (started day care at 12 weeks with no significant issues). If she were immune-compromised (such as a preemie), that would change things and I’d probably stay home or not want anyone holding her.

momsquared

We do not stay home from events like this because of a cold and don’t expect others to either. Fevers, vomiting, strep, etc yes of course we would skip it. I teach my kids to never touch a baby, even when they are well, without permission. If they had a cold we would keep them completely away from the baby and of course wash hands often etc.
If preschool age kids stayed home every time they had a runny nose they would never leave the house lol

b&kmakebabies

The paranoia over sickness got better for me as the months went on. I would definitely go to the event but I’d be armed with hand sanitizer. Baby ganics makes hand sanitizing wipes for babies. They smell good!

But really, I used to be super stressed about it, but it’s gotten better. The more exposure kids have the more their immune systems are built up. If you are breastfeeding it’ll help. The only time my son got a cold was because he went somewhere without me and people were sick. My breast milk then did not have the antibodies since I wasn’t exposed.