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Q. I’ve got a germy 2 year old and a newborn! What do I do?

Dr. Zibners' Answer:

Here you all are listening to me preach about keeping our new family members germ free and how a baby under 3 months old with a fever is automatically going to the doctor. But then real life butts in and sometimes there is no way to avoid exposing your little one. The stinker of it is that by the time we realize we (and/or our crusty nosed little darling) are sick, we’ve probably already exposed the most vulnerable members of our family. So shipping your toddler off to Grandma’s might reduce the risk that the new baby will get sick or it might just mean that Grandma, little SnotNose and the rest of the family are stressed and inconvenienced and you still wind up with your newborn in the ER.

When Eva was 3 weeks old, my husband got a cold and was banished to Europe for a week. Seriously, I made him stay in London an extra 3 days. And guess what? I wound up suctioning mountains of green snot and listening to her snort and sniffle anyway. So what I would say is to try and do your best to keep sick folks away from small babies. If that sick person happens to live with you, and it isn’t too stressful to keep them apart, go ahead. But if it is going to cause much angst, remember that it might not make too much of a difference because she already probably rubbed her germy little self all over her new brother the day before you realized she was getting sick.

Note: While common colds and other viral illnesses make up the majority of germs that people pass to infants, certain illnesses do require that you exhibit greater caution to keep small babies and other vulnerable individuals from being exposed. Chicken pox is one. If you are at all worried, call your pediatrician and make sure that it is okay for the siblings to share a roof.

Dr. Lara Zibners, Mar 24, 2010

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