My daughter is 1.5 years old and has been in daycare since she was 12 weeks old. I know its the norm for daycare kids to constantly be sick, but at what point does their immune system get stronger? i feel like she's always either puking, rashy, has a severe cold, a fever, or any combination of the above, and she seriously never goes more than 4-5 days between being sick. And of course she's not allowed at daycare with any of those things which means my husband and i have to take turns calling out of work, but its like twice a week, which seems like way too often. if any of you have made it out of the constantly-sick-from-daycare fog, how old was your LO by the time their immune system toughened up? i just feel so bad for her all the time.
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I'm right there with you. No advice, just commiseration. DS is 15 months old and is ALWAYS sick. He just had tubes put in last week and has been seeing a pulmonologist for the last 9 months because he caught rsv/bronchiolitis the first week in daycare at 12 weeks old and the damage has permanently affected his lungs. He was actually hospitalized overnight 3 weeks ago for rsv AGAIN. I feel so bad for him and so guilty. I'm crossing my fingers that it'll get better soon for both of us! I hope some people chime in that are "on the other side"
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@MissLace: it should slow down soon - after age 2 my kids were sick WAY less!!
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Hang in there!! Our LO was constantly sick from 13 months to 24 months. She started daycare at 13 months, and it was a non-stop battle with roseola, ear infections, random fevers, HFMD, stomach bugs, etc. Our daycare follows strict sanitation guidelines, but kids are so effective at spreading illness.
It might be worth a check-in with her provider to see what precautions they take each day (sanitizing, hand-washing, etc.), and also ask them to send a note out reminding parents of the sick policy.
On your end, ensuring she has lots of sleep, a rainbow of foods each day, and probiotics might help a bit.
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When we started daycare our pediatrician told us this: expect a new cold every two weeks the first winter, every three weeks the second, and after that it gets better. And that each new cold can last 10 days so it feels like they are always sick. The third winter was so much better for us.
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Since starting daycare at 14 weeks LO has had two colds, five ear infections, one fever and near constant congestion. He's almost 10 months now. Thankfully, he has only not been allowed to attend school twice. I don't know when his immune system will get better, but we try to minimize the effects of congestion, so it doesn't get worse. I would rather him get 1:1 care if he's truly miserable, but we still have to work. At night, we use a Dyson humidifier, and saline spray and a mechanical nose sucker thing that works better than the manual ones for us anyway.
Not too long ago he was sent home with a fever. My dad watched him for two days, so my husband and I didn't have to scramble at work. That was a huge help. Do you have another person that can step in sometimes in a pinch?
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Hang in there, it gets better. We went through this with LO1. She started daycare when she was 3 months old in January (so right in the middle of cold/flu season) and then it felt like she was sick for the next 1.5 straight years. She got HFM, roseola, flu, countless stomach bugs, and pretty much had a constant cold. I specifically remember having to cancel a summer trip that we had planned because her fever was 105 deg on the morning of our flight. She was 21 months old and I couldn't believe she was still getting sick so often. But then...that was it. She didn't get sick again for months and since then, it's been mostly minor things like colds. She is almost 3.5 years now and I think the last time we called the doctor for an illness was a full year ago. Granted, she is still out of daycare sometimes for fevers due to colds, but it's been much better the past couple years. There have even been a large number of nasty viruses going around this year and (knock on wood), she hasn't gotten any of them.
LO2 is about to start daycare in 2 weeks so I'm bracing myself for this to start all over again but at least I know there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
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@MissLace: DD started daycare at 12 weeks too and was sick a lot in the beginning with colds, congestion and ear infections but by the time she was a year old it had really improved and she wasnt as sick as often. I guess it depends on the daycare too and how often they have new kids joining and also the kids have older siblings that go to school.
DD is 5 months and after a month of daycare already has been through 2 bouts of congestion but I keep reminding myself that it gets better -
Normal -- DS1 stopped getting so sick around age 2.5. DS2 is 26 months, and while he has been exposed to every germ courtesy of his brother, he didn't start school until 21 months. He still has a constant cold. I'm hoping by the summer it will slow down (and he will be 2.5).
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Totally normal, frustratingly so. DS #1 was sick up until 2 years old a lot. Then we moved and acquired a ton of new viruses and colds. He got the flu this year despite having a flu shot. It's been a brutal cold season despite the slightly warmer temps. I had two weeks where I was one with each kid on different weeks because of illness. Even I had a bout of two weeks of being sick. I'm finally coming out of it. I'm blaming a rough cold season for sure.
DS #2 got hit the hardest with colds and illness between two daycares. He's slowly getting better as he's getting closer to 2 years old.
I'm nervous about starting kindergarten in the fall because it's a new bunch of kids and viruses.
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My son just started daycare a few weeks ago (17 months old) and he's already had his first ear infection - like it only took a week and a half. I am really dreading the constant illness and I feel so guilty.
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so it seems like by 2 years old, she should hopefully have a stronger immune system. Here's hoping! I'm due with #2 in April so I'm really hoping he doesn't catch everything she brings home from daycare. my daughter had bronchiolitis when she was 3 months old and the dr did warn that every cold she gets from that point on will probably affect her lungs/breathing more than a kid who never had it.
@littlejoy our daycare is pretty clean, we see them vacuuming and lysol-ing everything around pickup time (my daughter is one of the last ones to get picked up), and they have a strict no toys in the mouth policy unless that specific toy belongs to a specific person.
@kt326 our doctor said the same thing but she seems to be sick way more often than that. i don't think she even knows what it feels like to be able to breathe normally through her nose.
@mrs. lemon-lime it seems like most of my friend's daycares only send kids home if they're puking or have a rash WITH a fever. Ours is super strict that even a minor rash gets sent home and needs a doctor note to come back, which i see how thats a good thing, but its super annoying when your kid gets sent home and you have to leave work for a dry patch of skin on her arm with no other side effects.
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@MissLace: DS2 also had bronchiolitis at 11 weeks and I have to say that colds seem to last longer and affect him more than my first son. It's been constant since Sept.! I can remember one week without a cough or runny nose since he started school. Not exaggerating!
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From 2 to 3, LO1 only got sent home once and stayed home once due to illness. It does get better!
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My son started daycare at 16 months and was pretty much sick nonstop (with ear infections each time) for like a solid 7 months. He got tubes at 22 months because his speech and hearing were impacted and he's been working through a 6 month speech delay, but like everyone else, he's been awesome since turning 2 years old. He started a brand new school in September with a totally new pool of kids and he's only been out twice. He was sent home for a fever one day and the second time he got HMF very mildly so we kept him home a few days to prevent spreading. And he's the kid that puts EVERYTHING in his mouth (his teachers actually complain about it).
We wipe his face and hands down with baby wipes as soon as we get to the car, we make him wash his face and hands as soon as we walk in the door, we run his humidifier pretty much constantly, and when he started preschool in September we added one of those immunity/zinc/vitamin C gummies to his daily vitamins (he gets gummy multi, DHA, probiotic, and the immunity ones). I feel like since we started those, he gets over his winter colds faster and they are much milder. DS1 also drinks a LOT of water every day - I feel like that helps a lot. We also keep Lysol wipes EVERYWHERE and wipe everything down constantly. So many wipes.
DS2 is 9 months old and stays at home with me while I'm on leave, but he's basically had a runny nose nonstop, a few really bad pleghmy colds, and has now had 5 ear infections since he was 3 months old (when DS1 started his new school) JUST from whatever his brother brought home. We had to keep him quarantined from DS1 in our master bedroom for THREE WEEKS when he got HMF and that was a huge pain, but he did manage to avoid getting it. Soooo I don't know that you can avoid having the baby get sick, but it shows DS1's immune system is getting stronger.
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DD started at 6 months and was constantly sick like you're describing until about 17 months. She's now been healthy for 2 months straight and I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop. I think part of it might be that her immune system is maturing, but I honestly think another piece of it is that she is completely done teething (yes, even 2 year molars!).
She always seemed to get a fever for a day or two when she had a tooth pop through and she's chewing on daycare toys less now too.
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Honestly, as the mom of a kindergartener, it keeps on coming! I think the first break in the sickness comes when they aren't mouthing everything.
This year has been bad though, the principal has said that this year, more kids and teachers have been out sick. I think kids are bad with hand washing though.
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DD1 started daycare at 10 months and she is now 26 months. I wouldn't say she is sick ALL the time, more than kids who don't go to school, but not as much as some other kids seem to get sick though.
I feel like so much factors into it.. Whether teachers cross handle kids in diff classes a lot.. How many kids are in class... How good all the parents are with not sending their kids in when they shouldn't.. For example DD1's teacher told me the kids that stay later in the day seem to get sick more because at some point they combine some classes so cross contaminating haha. Also the kid's immune system too.. DD1's cousin doesn't go to school but went to the hospital twice from RSV/pneumonia!
We do essential oils, vitamins, and wash hands/sanitize as best as we can.... This season so far DD1 had coxsackie and then the flu. So only really sick twice, but then both were heavy hitters.
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@MissLace: My 3.5 year old has been a little less sick in the last year. She still seems to have a runny nose or a little cough a lot, but it only progresses to full blown cold once a month or every other month. When she first started she was sick all. the. time.
I have hand sanitizer wipes in my car and I change their clothes as soon as we get home. I have no idea if this helps but it makes me feel like I'm doing something, haha.
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Each year has gotten a little better for us. This is his third daycare winter and it's definitely been the fewest illnesses. Although it's a mild winter, there are plenty of viruses going around.
He's 3 in April, and I think it also helps that they have a slightly better understanding of hygiene. Not that my kid is great at it...but he at least knows you're supposed to cough into your arm, wash your hands, etc.
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I'd say it gets better around 2.5, but it probably also depends on where you live. Right now it's winter and my kids are constantly sick again, including the 4 year old.
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I'm on the later side of things and felt like things really got better closer to 4. My judgment might be clouded as LO2 was born when the older was 3 and she had a really rough first year.
But I second @looch: as I'm also a mom of a Kindergartener now. My 5 year old went all of her 4 year old year virtually well (one stomach bug that lasted a day - Halloween! and an ear infection during her Christmas break). She started Kinder at 5 and spent the first 4 months sick. Two rounds of strep throat, two ear infections and a sinus infection. She also shared the strep throat with the 2 year old. The older kid was exposed to flu and strep at her daycare but never caught it there, but did in the public school where sanitization isn't as high as the daycare environment.
My younger had rsv her first week of daycare at 9 weeks. She did suffer more with colds than the older girl did. She also suffered with ear infections on top of the respiratory stuff and got her tubes at 13 months. RSV and bronchiolitis will hang around with them for awhile.
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DD is 2.5 and was sick nonstop last winter. Her doctor told us that's normal and to expect each kid to go through about a "year of sickness" as she called it. DD got a few nasty colds back to back this fall and then the flu, but since then she has been pretty healthy, so what our doctor told us seems to hold up.
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Have you tried vitamins? We've had DD on a steady diet of vitamin c and d, a multivitamin and recently echinacea when I feel like she's coming down with something.
We also make juice - with ginger - when any of us is sick. It helps. We still get sick but it's not usually very bad or doesn't last as long.
Here's me dreading kindergarten!
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DS1 is 2.5 and has been sick the past 2 months with various germs from daycare. He wasn't sick from May to mid December but since that awful stomach bug hit in December he has had an ear infection that took 2 rounds of antibiotics, another stomach virus, and a high fever (103).
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I want to look into elderberry syrup and see if that helps reduce all the illnesses.
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@autumnleaves: I'm convinced it helps. My girl took it all last winter and faired well. I didn't start it this school year until she had been through five rounds of antibiotics. We have both girls on it daily now for about 8 weeks and they still get colds but not so severe.
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@MamaG: which brand of elderberry syrup do you use?
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@peaches1038: we take the zarbees immune support chewables. They are pricey but I've been able to grab them for a decent price on amazon.
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Sounds like you've been hit with a double whammy: daycare with a really strict send-home policy, and a kid who's getting sick a bit worse even than normal. That's super tough. DD was sick A LOT her first winter in daycare but it was just runny nose/cough, not puking or rashes. So far her second winter has been a lot easier but still plenty of coughing and runny nose. It does get better.
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We added in an immune boosting gummy and a daily probiotic and it really helped. A nightly bath to wash off the daycare germs and heavy lotion to avoid any rash spots helped too. But it just sucks that first winter.
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How many kids are in the class? Th first daycare we went to had 12-15 babies in one room at a time and our LO was CONSTANTLY sick and out. But we switched to a daycare that had only 4 babies per room (same ratio of teacher to child just fewer in the room) and our kids have gotten significantly less sick. We've only missed a few days
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@MrsSRS: what kind of gummy and probiotic do you use?
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@travellingbee: thats a good point. There are only 6 kids in her class, but at the end of the day they combine classes for the kids that are picked up later, so she's probably around 10-12 kids all day.
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I want to know about the gummies too!
My son was out Mon and Tues with fever due to ear infection. He's halfway through 10 days of antibiotics. And today he's been soooo fussy, and tonight here comes the green snot faucet and congestion, *again*... (plus he won't sleep).... seriously?!?
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My daughter without fail will have a coughing fit about an hour or two after she goes to bed every night that will last a full hour until she makes herself puke, then once she's cleaned up and back asleep it happens again after an hour... on repeat until morning. She's currently asleep on me in the glider and it's 2am right now.
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@MissLace: an olly gummy and a renew life probiotic. And the hyland's nighttime homeopathic cough syrup.
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