My 3 & 5 y.o. Keep Getiing My 1 y.o Sick!!!

I know you're frustrated, but maybe you are "over" sanitizing. My nephew was sick every month when he was a baby and toddler. When he was around 3 and my sister was telling his doctor she didn't know why as she sanitized everything, used anti-bacterial soap, etc., the doctor told her to knock it off. She said that not being exposed to germs on a daily basis was what was causing him to get sick all the time, his immune system wasn't building properly. Once she cut back on the sanitizing he stopped catching everything that came his way.

first, I'm sorry you are going through this. But, please stop cleaning so much and you really should not be using lysol and other bad chemicals. I would go with a natural cleaner. Bleach and other bad chemicals (same with hand sanitizer) you will become resistant to it (I hope I said that right, lol!) and it will not work. Your body needs those germs to build up your immune system. I bet that since your baby is sick all the time now, that when she goes to school someday, she will hardly ever get sick. The first year is always the hardest. I would not keep your other kids away from the baby or even on a different floor. That seems a little extreme to me. Just go about things normally with out sanitizing everything. Let them share the germs, they will be stronger in the long run

Mommy:

The more you "keep them away" when they do get close - she gets their germs. It could be that you have kept soooo many germs away from her that any time she comes in contact one - she gets sick. Let her immune system get built up. She will be fine.

Frequent hand washing - that helps prevent the spread of germs.
Once one of my kids get sick? I go through the house with a disinfectant and bucket and wash down the stair railings, door knobs, faucets, etc. so keep the germs down.

You will get through this! I do understand your frustration though!!

It's normal for kids to get sick when they enter school. It's a good thing, actually because they're building up anti-bodies so that eventually they won't get sick so often. Look at this as your 1 you building up antibodies now so ehe won't get sick as often once he starts school.

I also suggest you're working too hard to keep them healthy. All of you need exposure to germs so that you'll build up immunity. My daughter's sister was like you. Sanitized everything. Kept the younger ones away from the older one, etc. Her kids were always sick. My daughter, her sister, just went with the flo and her kids were rarely sick.

You could give all of your children probiotics and other immunity building things to help them build up immunity. Vit C is great at preventing illness if you take it regularly.

Well I had older school aged kids and babies and they never infected the baby. The biggest difference is I never sanitized anything. Heck I didn't flinch when the 16 month old was eating pea gravel.

Worth a shot?

Seriously though, I keep my kids healthy but unprotected. I had a cold for a day, yesterday to be exact, before that it was three years since any of us got sick. I really do believe we are sanitizing ourselves to sickness.

Do your older kids go to preschool? Are they in the habit of washing their hands when they get home? That's all you can do to keep them from infecting the baby. Why are they getting sick all the time? Try to keep THEM healthy, make sure they eat healthy, take vitamins, get lots of fresh air. They should not be sick every month.

Teach them to sneeze into the inner corner of their elbow, how to blow their nose, how to wash their hands. Everyone should be taking vitamin c supplements in addition to lots of fresh fruits and veggies and plenty of water, that will help. Also, are the older kids in preschool or school of some sort? That is most likely where they are picking up the illnesses from, so make sure they are practicing good hygiene while there as well to try to prevent them from getting sick.

Ground them.

Wait - do you have proof that you're not the carrier?

Ground yourself.

Don't let them touch the baby on the face, especially. Or on baby's hands.

My son when in Preschool, got sick every month once he started. Then after that, did not get sick. His body got used to it/the environment. But we didn't get sick from him.

Oh, mama. I am still recovering from being terribly ill myself and I only have a 2 year old, I am a SAHM...and he's the one that keeps getting me sick!

Ok, so really all I can say is that this is kind of the nature of the beast. I hate to tell you. You're not alone and YES is really stinks that baby is sick. Nothing worse. There are lots of parents who go through this and if you're doing everything you can, then that's all you can do. Running away certainly isn't the option because baby would be getting sick anyways when she's in preschool and your other munchkins need you. Your baby is building her immunity along with her older siblings and that's just the burden of her birth order. It won't last forever. She'll be older and healthier in no time.

And I agree with the others sentiments. Don't overdo the sanitizing...obviously, clean door handles and light switch plates--frequently touched places...but don't overdo it with antibacterial stuff.

This is a good article, but give a look to google for more info on antibacterial soaps ill effects. The only place I have anti-bacterial soap is in the kitchen and I use it when preparing meats or working with eggs.

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=118140&page=1

It's normal.

If your baby was in daycare, you'd be dealing with it there, too. It's how their immunity is built up. In a couple of years, she'll get sick a lot less, and if she does get sick, it will be way less severe.

The over sanitation also crossed my mind. I have never been a germ freak & I find that I rarely get sick.

.

I only have one and whenever he's sick, I go nuts. I worry. I am getting better at this.... I don't know how you mamas do it, caring for your little gangs and being sick yourself. For me, aside from when my boy is sick, the only thing I hate more is when I am sick and I have to take care of someone else.

feel your pain! I would be INSANE if I were in your shoes and had 3 children to worry about, and had a baby who kept getting sick. I don't have helpful suggestions other than what's already written. I will say that a good friend of mine has the same issue. She took her 2 yr old out of preschool (not for this reason) but even after that, the whole family seems to keep passing germs around and the baby is always sick. He has some gastro-reflux issues, I don't know if that contributes.

Most of my friends who have a few kids or more claim that there comes a point eventually when the whole family is pretty much exposed to everything, and it won't be as often that you all are sick. I wish you all the best!