If someone has a cold!?

I don’t and if I have a cold or something like that then I won’t be round my friends babies either I think it’s just polite to let people know if you’re unwell and then as parents they can decide. But frankly if I can avoid my baby being unwell then I will. I had a cold and my baby has a cold he can’t avoid it when it’s from us who have no choice but to cuddle him anyway! So all the people that say it builds up their immunity I say yeah it does when he gets things from his mum and dad that’s unavoidable but with friends and family I say stay away

@Kimberley what if you turn up and someone has one that didn’t tell you ? Do you leave or not get near them?

I will just keep my distance with baby depending on what it is if it’s just like the sniffles then I’ll just not let them touch or go too close but if it’s like a full on cold/flu/bug whatever then I’d just explain that I don’t want me or the baby to catch anything and go home

But I will add that my baby was a NICU baby so everyone knew how anxious I was about him getting sick again so other than sometimes having to be a bit firmer with certain people I never really had an issue

@Kimberley how long do you think you will do this for? It’s so hard to know I have bad health anxiety but we miss our doing stuff because of it

Well he’s now coming up to 6m and everything goes in his mouth! I’m still no kissing and don’t let him put your hands in his mouth which he tries all the time but other than that I’m way more relaxed. Still don’t let strangers touch him though 😂 it took me a long time to get to this point and im always actively controlling it but seek help from the wellbeing team if you need to they’re awesome

@Kimberley So do you still do the above and not see people if they’ve got a cold? Or just not let them get near him? Do you have health anxiety?

Yes, I definitely don’t let strangers touch him or else they do and I can’t stop them. I wipe his hands.🤣 I’m laughing, but it’s honestly not funny because it really does take over my daily life a lot of the time. I also cancel plans to see people. Also, it’s giving me a lot of anxiety over Christmas we’re supposed to be seeing someone today that’s with my whole family, but they’ve got a slight cold so I’m just not sure what to do.

Honestly if it’s a slight cold keep distance and explain why as it’s Christmas but in other circumstances I’d cancel and yes I have health anxiety I’m constantly working on x

@Kimberley yeah I will say that thank you! It’s so hard for me to think rationally! Did you have it before baby? Have a wonderful Christmas! X

A cold yes.. a chest infection, sickness bug, chickenpox etc no ! They need to be around some sicknesses to build an immunity up otherwise when they start pre school/nursery/school they will be incredibly ill x

No I didn’t have it before but it’s been caused by PTSD from him being so poorly when he was born x

Thanks guys hope you had a lovely Christmas xx

@Kimberley aww yeah I bet that was so hard! Having health anxiety with a baby is hard

It is hard but if it is affecting you going out with baby and having them socialise I’d recommend speaking to the HV about getting some counselling because the longer you go on like it the harder it will be especially as baby starts to get older. I found them really supportive xx

@Kimberley thank you! I have had before baby but maybe I need to get some more

I think maybe having baby has heightened it as you’re just in protective mode all the time at least that is what I find and I have to constantly remind myself to step back! You’ve got this 🩷✨

@Kimberley yes definitely it has I worry about him now not myself! Thank you it’s nice to know I’m not alone in the way I think ☺️

@Kimberley thank you for your comments 😊 nice to know I’m not the only one