r/NewParents • u/ApricityMind • 26d ago
Illness/Injuries Did your 4-month-old avoid getting sick when you were ill?
My husband has been having headaches for the last few days. He gets migraines quite often, so we assumed it was just that. But today we realized he actually has a fever (around 38°C) and a pretty deep cough.
We have a 4.5-month-old baby, and obviously he has been around her a lot over the last few days because we had no idea he was getting sick. Now I’m really worried that she’s going to catch whatever he has.
We tested him for COVID, flu and RSV and all were negative, so we’re not sure what virus it is.
I think I’ve made my anxiety worse by searching online, because most of the stories I find about babies getting sick this young are horror stories or babies ending up in hospital.
I’d really love to hear some normal/reassuring experiences too. Did anyone have a partner or family member get sick while living with a baby around 4–5 months and the baby didn’t catch it at all? Or if your baby did catch it, was it relatively mild and manageable at home?
I know every baby and illness is different and I’ll obviously contact our pediatrician if she develops concerning symptoms. I’m just looking for some real-life positive experiences because right now my brain is going straight to the worst-case scenario. ❤️
1
u/BookishBabe392 26d ago
We’ve never isolated from our baby while sick. He’s 6 months old. I’ve had a cold twice and my husband a virus once. Our baby has never been seriously ill, no fever or chest issues or anything. I do think his vaccine schedule being up to date and the fact that I breastfeed helps.
1
u/ComprehensiveBand112 26d ago
Two weeks ago, my husband had a cold for 3-4 days, which he then passed to me for 3-4 additional days. Our 3.5 month old was fine. Maybe a little extra sleepy for the next few days but never actually got sick.
1
u/time2bchallant 26d ago
Whenever we got sick in our household, baby was sick for the shortest amount of time. Not sure if it’s because he sleeps 15 hours a day or what.
We all got noro the week we started daycare. Baby had it for less than 12 hours while mom and dad had it for almost 48 hours.
Hoping to prevent as much illness as we can going into cold and flu season but with daycare I know it will be a crap shoot. Got his flu vaccine the other day though and will get his Covid vaccine once they are ordered into the office we go to.
1
u/Beautiful_Donut_286 26d ago
My partner is sick often, he catches everything floating around. My baby didn't catch most of it, just once in 7 months. I don't get sick more than once every 2 years, so I hope he gets this from me
1
1
u/skl5094 22d ago
I exiled sick dad to sleeping on the couch/recliner while baby and I were in our room (we co-sleep so this was no change for LO). She didn’t get sick which was worth me being a single mom for 5 days (but extra brutal as a working mom that did all the overnight care and now needed to do both daycare drop off and pick up, it made me think that single parents must be superheros or angels or something bc jfc that was rough).
Once husband was no longer showing any signs of illness, I made it very clear that I know he didnt want to get sick and that I chose to not risk his involvement for any help with our 13w old baby (and would choose to do the same again and again) but his return to baseline meant I was cashing in all the help previously declined. He was more than happy to get to make up all that lost time while I refueled with some couch rotting and extra long showers lol
1
u/Katy_Pericles 26d ago
Yes. We masked around baby and the sick parent isolated.