sick babies :(

[renlenfel]

Hi, I've only been doing childcare in my home since this June. I have a 6 mo old who has older siblings in elementary school and keeps catching cold and coughs from them (says dcm). Ive had a 4 mo old for about a month now and this week is the first week for a 2 mo old. So my hands are full and I am so busy during the day that sometimes I don't get to eat till they leave. I've manage to make it through some difficult first weeks with the 4 mo old who would not take a bottle and I've been feeling good about the whole thing.... until today.
My 6 mo old started with a brand new cold on Tuesday so his dad kept him home on Wednesday (he had the day off anyway). To day, Thursday, all three little babies are coughing, runny noses and miserable! I feel terrible. I really felt like I was/am doing a great job fighting germs but they are all three sick already. This is the 2 mo old's first week too.

[Leigh]

You can't stop babies from catching colds. It's not your fault. They usually have at least 12 colds their first year.

[spinnymarie]

Aww poor babies!
But, very true, nothing you can do. If they catch them now, they are building up their little immune systems and will catch less later on! Just try to keep them comfy and run a humidifier!

[Shell]

That drives me crazy, too. You really want to protect the little ones, but there's really nothing you can do. When I used to work in centers, the babies were always sick. At least in our homes, there are fewer kids to have to clean up after (like all the toys that go into their mouths). They could get the germs from the older siblings, grocery store -there's not much you can do about that!

[renlenfel]

Thanks for your encouraging words.