We spent the day at a lake with DH's family. Before going up there they conveniently forgot to mention that my MIL is very sick. She has some kind of cold/flu. I spent the day trying to avoid any kind of contact with the stuff she was in contact with but I'm not sure how successful I was. My husband on the other hand stayed away from her but didn't consider things like grabbing the door handle on the cabin and then having dinner without washing his hands. Today he has the sniffles. My MIL went on and on about how horrible she felt yesterday and how she hasn't been this sick in years (WHY wouldn't she warn us that she was sick before we made the 1.5 hour drive to their cabin!!! She was miserable with medicine, medicine that I couldn't even take while pregnant!!!!). I'm 38 weeks pregnant and planning a home birth. I'm scared to death that my husband is getting sick and that I am going to get sick too. Even if I manage to avoid it, I'm scared that our house is going to be full of flu germs and we could potentially have a newborn baby at anytime 
I'm incredibly pissed that my MIL would expose us to this without any kind of warning knowing that I am fast approaching my due date. Such a selfish move just to spend the day with all of her kids together! Ugh, well now that I have the rant out of my system, what can I do to prevent a cold while pregnant and to help DH ward one off too?
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First off, that's super lame of your mil. When my mil was sick, she agreed that we should stay away because of potential pregnancy problems.
I would start drinking as much oj as possible, send DH to a different room to sleep and try and keep his icky germs contained. I would also commission a BFF or my mom to come in and disinfect the whole house (vinegar and h2o should do the trick without being harmful fume wise) so that your birthing area is relatively germ free.
Good luck!
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That is quite poor form on your MIL's part, everyone knows you shouldn't expose a pregnant lady to sickness!! I'm sorry
I'm a teacher and therefore always getting sick and I swear by Zicam for when I feel something coming on, along with TONS of fluids (Gatorade, chicken broth, water, ginger ale) and SLEEP! -
Ugh, that is my pet peeve...when people are sick and don't mention that beforehand! I would be so annoyed if I were you!!!
I agree with @trailmix, lots and lots of sleep and lots of fluids. Good luck!
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Ugh. That sucks. I hate when people don't warn us that they're sick or that their kids are sick!!!!!!!
Drink lots of fluids, Oj, load up on vitamin C and rest! -
Lots and lots of Clorox wipes, hand washing, sleep and fluids. Have you had your flu vaccine?
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Vitamin c and sanitize everything!! Also wash/change sheets when you're going into labor (or have someone else do it) and keep DH away from the nursery and baby stuff at least until baby is born! Idk if that'll help but that's what I would do! Oh and I'd also stay away from DH for a day or two.
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Mil is a bad sport...she should have postponed!
Only thing you can do is wash,wash,wash and avoid DH:( however- my husband was sick too and he's been sleeping on the couch and yet: I still woke up this weekend sick. It may be unavoidable.
Good luck to you:) -
I am a firm believer in water and rest! Recruit your husband to clean the house and rememebr to do little things like boil toothbrushes.
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You are a better person than me bc I would have to say something to her to "let her know" that wasn't cool. I can't let people get away with stuff like that. I would feel compelled to tell her that I wish we would have known she was so sick because I'm so worried now about getting sick with the baby. I'd probably say, "No offense, but I just wish I would have known beforehand so I could have prevented being exposed. I'm really worried now about getting sick."
That would urk the piss out of me!
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all of the above - and maybe buy some of those masks and if he starts coughing/sneezing, make him wear them??
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Cold/flu germs only live on surfaces for about 8 hrs, so I don't think you have to worry too much about your house unless someone is sick when the baby comes. Drink water, moderate exercise, take zinc, sleep, wash hands, and don't stress about it. Stress decreases your immune system.
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I don't have any advice (other than Zicam, which I really think works wonders if it is used in time)...but just wanted to validate your venting! I would be so upset. I hope you guys stay healthy!
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My husband, who NEVER gets sick, had a cold when I was induced, and he was terrified to touch me or the baby when she was born, but neither of us got sick. Lots of hand washing.
Good luck!
Also, (sarcastic) way to go mother-in-law! Geez!
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ugh that would make me so mad!!! I'm so sorry :(:(
the one thing that kept me from getting sick my entire pregnancy, and now I swear by it, is vitamin D supplements. I took 5,000 IUs each day and it was the first winter in my entire life I didn't get sick once. I normally am sick all winter long...
Both you and your DH should take it to build your immune system back up... Vitamin C and echinacea are great for your immune system as well.
I hope you don't get sick!
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That is so aggrieving! When Sawyer was a newborn, my IL's pulled that crap on us. GMIL had nausea/vomiting/diarrhea, and everyone knew it, but didn't say a word when we were bringing Sawyer over for a visit.
No one took any extra handwashing precautions, and no one told us she was sick, until SIL overhead GMIL taking about it as we were leaving and texted us a heads up.
Sawyer managed to avoid getting sick, but I am still so mad that they were so selfish about seeing Sawyer that they would risk him getting sick.
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I'd be super irritated, too. That was very selfish of your MIL.
I don't have any great suggestions that haven't already been mentioned. And not to poo-poo others' advice, but I'm pretty sure you shouldn't take Zicam when pregnant - the zinc levels are too high. I'd double check with your midwife/OB/etc before taking any medication or supplements.
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Eat lots of garlic, drink lots of water with fresh squeezed lemon in it, and get lots of rest.
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Lots of good advice - I second Arden's suggestion of taking garlic, water and lots of rest! I don't know about this during pregnancy, but when I feel like I am starting to get sick, I will actually eat a raw clove of garlic. It does wonders! (Warning: it does burn and you will smell like garlic afterwards!) You could have your DH do that.
Maybe also ask your OB/midwife if there are immune boosters that are safe to take during pregnancy. I would normally take elderberry syrup for immune boosting (I know they have kdis versions of this, which might be good for pregnancy) and echinacea to knock any sickness out. Definitely ask about this though, and if echinacea is safe, make sure to get one without goldenseal since I know that is NOT safe during pregnancy.
Good luck!!
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Booo. Everybody seems sick this time of year. As long as she didn't breathe directly on you, you were hopefully only exposed to as many germs as you would be at, say, the grocery store! Lots of rest, eat good, get some C (i don't care if they say it doesn't work, I'm still all for it!), and relax! Hopefully you can avoid a bug!
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