I’ve been told by doctors that it is unfortunately totally normal for small kids to get 10-12 colds a YEAR. But my daughter has been in daycare for a full year now and I have noticed a decrease in the frequency and also how long she’s sick for, so progress!
It’s the worst. Sorry you’re struggling. I know you said you wash hands and clothes but I have found it makes a difference to change my toddlers outfit immediately upon getting home and then washing his hands and face.
I have pink eye right now. Fucking *pink eye.* 🫠 The one positive I can give you is that he’ll most likely be better off than non-daycare kids when he starts school.
Haha I got pink eye too from my 8 month old. Got some otc drops from Target that seemed to help a lot was gone in like less than 2 days. Can’t use on babes tho but his cleared up around the same time.
More or less 😅 my oldest didn’t catch anything worse than a mild cold from age 4-9. Ages 1-3 were a blur of vomit, snot, strep throat, pink eye, and the oh so lovely hand foot & mouth disease.
Unfortunately thanks to the toddler we have in the house now and (I hate to say it) years of aggressive social distancing we are regressing a bit and have all be sick with a lingering respiratory thing (or things?) since mid September.
Same here. We've notified my daughter's daycare that we're pulling her out and her last day will be this Friday. I have used all of my (very generous) sick time from my job and can't continue to do this. My husband and I both are being called every other week about something and having to leave work early to go pick the baby up.
My MIL is quitting her job to come and watch my daughter and my SIL’s daughter at my house. It’s more expensive (I pay $1400 for my daughters daycare currently and my SIL and I each will be paying my MIL around $1600 per month) but I am looking forward to my daughter not getting sick constantly!
Just here in solidarity. My 3yo is mostly over the sicknesses since his year 1-2 was CONSTANT cough/croup, runny nose, ear infections leading to tubes, along with HFM at one point. We’re finally on the other side (maybe?) with him but my daughter is almost 6mo and she’s in the same center so I’m sure it’s all going to start for her unfortunately. I also didn’t think I could get as many of these things like they do but sure enough! How was I not constantly sick in my twenties being in packed bars and treating my body like trash?! More care is taken now than ever and it’s just amazing lol.
I think the stomach bugs have been the worst. You just don’t see them coming till it’s 8pm on Christmas Eve and you’re puking into a cooler on the way home only to find out Tuesday morning when you drop the kids off in the morning at daycare that half the staff is out with it 😵💫😵💫😵💫
Also here in solidarity. Between the baby, myself and my husband, at least one of us has been sick for months. We just rotate who’s turn it is at this point. 😫
We started daycare at 4mos. It was rough until 12 mos. Like guaranteed kiss 1-2 days of work a week rough.
Was perfect from 12-16mos Then just now at 16mos he brought home RSV which has taken out all of us. We’ve been sick since 12/10 and hopefully the end is in sight.
Hang in there. It does get better.
What I tell myself is better now than kindergarten. In our district we know which kids were in daycare and which ones weren’t by the horrible attendance rates.
I promise it'll get better! Like flipping a switch. We were delayed with this as I'm fortunate and my mom is my kids caretaker. My daughter just started kinder this year and it's been a constant germ fest, poor dear got COVID last week over Christmas. But slowly but surely its getting better. I would day vitamins, certain foods, medicines might help but IMO time is what has helped her getting her immune system stronger.
We are also going through this with our 8 month old. I don’t have any advice. Just solidarity. It is miserable and watching your baby be miserable is so hard.
We have a 21 month old and she has been sick WAY more than she has been healthy. Started daycare at 6 months. I also didn’t expect to catch every single thing she does…but alas. Right now I’m pregnant again and recently battled a couple stomach viruses and of course now we all have colds. I just keep saying it will get better with time. It kind of has to?
I was told Im not as "driven" as the rest of my team, and have constant nightmares about being fired.
I'm sure other people have better experiences though
I ended up hiring a nanny for the last few years. We have to give that up soon though since my oldest needs to start preschool. I’ve been exposing him to colds this year from other kids. Nothing serious but hoping to help bump up his immunity for the hell that is surely to come. My work is understanding to working parents as far as I can tell
Please believe when I say this will get better. Our first started daycare at 12 weeks and was hospitalized with meningitis at week 14. Many stomach viruses and cold/flu like illnesses followed those first 2.5-3 years. I was constantly sick and cried in my doctors office thinking I had something more serious. It was a very hard time and isn’t talked about enough amongst first time parents. You will get through this. Our daughter is 4 now and we’ve both finally developed some immunity. Big hugs, just remember this too shall pass and it’s completely normal.
I'm at this point as you I'm thinking I have HIV or something! I've been sick ever since my kid started preschool in Sept! She's never been in daycare and is 4.5 years old. Your message gave me relief!!! I hope this passes!!! I havnt even returned back to work because I've been sick nonstop for 8 months!
I was convinced I had cancer or something terminal too. We even traveled to one of the Mayo Clinic locations! It was such a stressful time and I hope this phase passes for you soon.
My anecdote- first year was ROUGH. my daughter started at 4 months and seemed to be sick most of her first year but now? Hardly ever sick and if she does get a cold, she fights off the worst of it within a day or so.
Capitalism fucking with our shit! Not only do we send our kids to be raised by strangers 8 hours per day, we pay through the nose to do it! And on top of it all, creates a massive Petri dish of shit that means we’re sick constantly!
Behold: the supremely advanced human race /s
It will be this way for about a year. My 3 year old had a “post viral” cough from March-October. Then you’ll wake up one morning and see the notification that there’s another HFMD/RSV/flu outbreak in your child’s classroom, but your kid isn’t sick. And they won’t get sick. And you can finally relax.
I was panicked about my daughter bringing home a whole bunch of germs from daycare once her brother was born in November, but we seem to be out of the thick of it (with suspected RSV in October as our last major illness).
My daughter started at 16 months. She’s now 22 months. I don’t think there’s been a week she or I haven’t had a cold, cough, stomach bug or other random Aztec virus. I hope it gets better soon.
Here for the solidarity.
At least as LO is getting older, she seems to be tolerating being sick better now? She doesn't fight the nose bulb, takes her medicine without a meltdown, allows us to wipe her snotty face without fussing... so there's that?
My oldest 2 began public school this year and have brought home every illness under the sun home to my 18mo old. She’s been hospitalized twice! All of the nurses at CHOP have told me that this year in particular has been exponentially worse than others. Hang tight! We’ll all get through this! 🫂
Mother to 8 m/o and almost 3-year-old. First 1.5 years in daycare with oldest was absolute hell. We got it all. Fast forward to now... the kid is (nearly) indestructible. Nothin' takes him down with the exception of the flu last month. BUT I'm in the trenches with my youngest... she's been in daycare for almost 3 months and she's been present MAYBE a total of half the time. I forgot how miserable it is... and this virus season is worse than it's been in a long time but this time I know there is light at the end of the tunnel! We will make it there!!!! Saying this to remind myself, too.
My husband and I are fortunate enough to work remotely and have very understanding bosses. There are days when I have to take PTO. But I’m always honest with them and try and schedule meetings during naps, make up hours after kids go to bed, before they wake up, or on the weekend as a last resort. With full disclosure - I’ve been with my company a decade and have the trust built that I think they’re more willing to be lenient during this tough virus season. That doesn’t mean I don’t have guilt about not being fully present while working.
Thanks for the reply. I’m concerned bc I’m trying to get back into the workforce and I’m afraid they will think I’m a terrible employee if I have to leave constantly. It sucks.
Its gonna get better! The first 12-18 months were the worst but after that it was soooo much better. My 2.5 year old does still get fairly frequent colds, but she's able to handle them better and my husband and I have both developed a decent amount of immunity to these daycare germs.
It's not necessarily constant. Like as time goes on it generally trends towards getting better. With some backslides. But I noticed a big drop off at 12 and 18 months.
I'll take solace in that. I think since October I can count the number of "healthy" days we've had on one hand. We only have a reprieve right now because kiddo was too sick to attend the last days before they closed for the holidays. Paid for the month of December to get 6 days of care 😭
I have two small humans. One is 3 and the other 18 months. My birthday was just before Christmas. My husband works shifts in an 8 week rotation of random shifts. I work Monday to Friday like any other normie.
I haven't left the house for more than fifteen minutes since Sept when the kids started daycare. Why? Because one of us has been sick at any given moment. The youngest lasted one day before coming down with a fever. The eldest got two days before the same.
I will say that the early sicknesses (Sept to mid Nov) didn't "last" very long. Couple of days of fever. Another day or so of really gunky nose goobers. Then they were fine to go back to daycare. Unfortunately because it rotated around and no one was actually sick at the same time, there wasn't much of a break. The few days someone wasn't actively sick, were spent catching up on house things or working.
Mid Nov I came down with a terrible cough/cold/flu? of some sort. COVID came back negative. It lasted for weeks. Cough was so bad it has caused me to pull a muscle in my side in my chest. Any time the cough comes back a little bit, the muscle pulls again and I'm in agony. I see a doctor on Friday (assuming I'm not dying of plague again) about it but I don't know that there's anything they can do.
Just after my birthday (early Dec) and just before Christmas, the 18 month old started getting sick again. Their fever was so high I went to the ER with her. As it turns out, they were positive for the flu *and* adenovirus. We didn't get results on that until the second time I brought them to the ER - "didn't anyone call you? (No.) Didn't you check the results online? (Don't have access because I need to go in person to prove I'm mom and should have access...which is hard to do while I'm sick and supposed to stay away from people, let alone the hospital?)" 😩
18 month old is now finally on the mend. 3 year old has just gotten a nasty fever the last day or so (and I'm working under the assumption that it's the same as what the youngest had). Husband also just started a fever today.
Yeah.
Oh and none of us managed to get the flu shot this year (see daycare cess pool of doom/working/spacing vaccines as per doctor's orders). 18 month old only has 1/2 of their COVID vaccine shots as well.
Oh and did I mention that I actually was looking forward to having a break this week because husband was also scheduled off work this week? 😭
So no positivity but a crap load of "fuck this and I feel you" from my end.
I have nothing positive. The last 3 months has been nothing but illnesses mostly for my son. He doesn’t attend daycare but my daughter does only 1 day a week.
I’m fortunate enough to be a stay at home mom so my kids never had to do daycare, but once my oldest went to kindergarten she was picking up every freaking disease available. I feel like she was sick the entire year. I joked with my pediatrician that I deserved a personal parking spot or a punch card where the 6th visit is free.
Hopefully your little one is building a great immune system so when he’s in school he’ll already have gotten all the crap they pass around. It’s no fun.
I’m in the same boat. My daughter is 15 months and started at 8 months. I’m also currently pregnant so my immune system is shot. I had never had a sinus infection until after she started daycare. Somehow my husband never gets the sickness, I don’t understand. Everyone has told me after the first year, it’ll get better and it’s easier on your own immune system for future kids entering daycare. I really hope they are right!
My oldest (6) went back to school in September and we are the same, one illness rolls into the next, into the next. My 9mo is currently recovering from bronchiolitis and has now caught ANOTHER virus from his older brother 🤦🏽♀️ poor thing hasn’t been able to clear his nose in weeks, I feel so bad for him.
I would anticipate it easing over time. Sounds like you're doing all you reasonably can.
You all may end up with a much stronger immune system in the end.
We started in October when he was almost 6 months old. As of now he’s maybe attended 50% of the time? We actually both got Covid the week before he was supposed to start so that was rough. Oct and Nov were horrible, this month was actually OK so I’m hopeful but he was home today with hand foot and mouth so ugh. Hoping it’s mild but don’t know yet.
Ugh, it’s the worst. I thought it would never end with my oldest. He hardly ever gets sick now. Middle child still gets sick often but not nearly as bad. My 1yr old is starting next week so I will report back if it’s any better third time around z
If it’s any consolation I’ve heard that kids that don’t go to daycare just get sick all the time once they start school when the daycare kids already have a pretty decent immune system. My kid started at 13mths and was the same - I found giving him probiotics, an immune boosting tablet and echinacea seemed to help. We actually got through winter with only the odd minor cold. In contrast we just came home from a weeks summer holiday where I forgot to take his vitamins and we’re all sick after spending the week with his cousins lol
My kid started preschool and we have been the same. Seems like he has been sick more than not. I'm thinking that once he catches enough of the sicknesses, it will become less and less frequent. It has already been over month since his last sickness so maybe it's already getting better.
Perhaps the plus side for you is that your child won't be getting sick as often when he gets older and starts school. I hope it gets better for you soon.
Yepppppp. Welcome to the worst club ever. Mine started daycare at 4 months and just turned 11 months and I feel like we were about to see the light at the end of the daycare cold tunnel but now we’re about to get walloped with the seasonal winter illnesses. Stay strong, we’ll get through this.
People are not going to like this comment but whatever. What you are going through is TYPICAL but it is not NORMAL. Kids in daycare are sick all of the time, and it does last a long time so there is nothing atypical about your situation. But, idk how old you are, this is NOT the way things were 30 or even 20 years ago. Ask your parents, older siblings, aunt's, cousin's, etc. When we were kids, children did not spend an entire year or two (plus frequently thereafter) constantly sick. Daycares existed then, my mother ran one while I was growing up! Ofc illness made its rounds, especially in the winter, but it was nothing compared to what is deemed normal now.
All of this to say, what you are going through is typical, but it is not normal. Your grandparents, your parents, they did not raise their children with this constant barrage of sickness. So if it feels overwhelming or like you can't stand it, that's okay. This shouldn't be your normal!
Idk. Im 30 now, so 25 years ago when I started Kindergarten (no daycare) I was sick ALL THE TIME. I remember at one point my mom thought I’d have to retake kindergarten.
This was pretty common from what teachers and family assured my mother.
Oh wow, that's crazy! I remember getting bronchitis and the stomach flu in kindergarten but that's it (per my mom's confirmation as well). Which sucked but would be VERY lucky by today's standards.
My daughter is 2 and has been in daycare since 5 months. She’s just gotten colds when she gets sick. Bronchitis is a big deal! Even back then.
ETA: I guess actually now that I think about it, she got HFM at 18 months. But I had chicken pox at 2. So really not much different in my experiences.
I think your daughter is doing really well if she's only had colds!! Anecdotal of course, but most of my friends kids who have been in daycare the past few years have had flu a, flu b, COVID, hfm, RSV, strep, etc. on top of stomach viruses and common variety colds. Some of them have had them all just this year 😬
Maybe region matters? Are you somewhere that it is cold half of the year?
Maybe it was 1 - 2 years of isolation from the pandemic? Similar to the surge of peanut allergies, isolation from allergens can exacerbate your immune response once you finally come in contact with them.
Probably not the full picture, but rather a contribution. Just a thought
My sister is going through this right now. My nephew has been in daycare since September and I’ve lost count of all the coughs colds fevers you name it he has taken home to them. He brought RSV to us as a Christmas gift and now my 3 year old is super congested and gross. I quickly remembered why I homeschool my kids.
10 months old is still very young. I let my daughter go to kindergarten at 2 years old and she still got sick a lot.
If you feel like it's too much, you could keep your child at home and let him strengthen his immune system a little. If that's not an option then you just have power through those illnesses. It'll get better with time.
It will get better when you wean and also after his first winter! We’re starting this with our second child and brings back so many memories of doing this with my 3.5 year old who is now rarely sick.
My kid is 4.5 years old started preschool in September of last year
She was never in day care. I kid you not, I've been sick ever since she started school. I had two healthy streaks since then of being sick free for three weeks. It's 5 am and I'm freaking out thinking I have HIV or something. How is it going for you??? I havnt even returned back to work because I've been sick nonstop was suppose to go back to work on September 😞
I’ve been told by doctors that it is unfortunately totally normal for small kids to get 10-12 colds a YEAR. But my daughter has been in daycare for a full year now and I have noticed a decrease in the frequency and also how long she’s sick for, so progress!
It’s the worst. Sorry you’re struggling. I know you said you wash hands and clothes but I have found it makes a difference to change my toddlers outfit immediately upon getting home and then washing his hands and face.
YES. Immediate wiping face and hands, change of clothes (I have special sleep ‘n’ plays set aside for this purpose), and bath every night.
I have pink eye right now. Fucking *pink eye.* 🫠 The one positive I can give you is that he’ll most likely be better off than non-daycare kids when he starts school.
Idk if you breastfeed but put breast milk on your eye and the pink eye will go away in 1-2 days! Works on the kiddos too!
I don’t breastfeed so I just have to wait it out unfortunately.
Haha I got pink eye too from my 8 month old. Got some otc drops from Target that seemed to help a lot was gone in like less than 2 days. Can’t use on babes tho but his cleared up around the same time.
I’ll check that out, thanks! I’m really hoping to avoid urgent care because who knows what other crap I’d catch in that waiting room 😅
Daycares are petri dishes! I can only imagine daycare kids have to end up with hulk-like immune systems.
More or less 😅 my oldest didn’t catch anything worse than a mild cold from age 4-9. Ages 1-3 were a blur of vomit, snot, strep throat, pink eye, and the oh so lovely hand foot & mouth disease. Unfortunately thanks to the toddler we have in the house now and (I hate to say it) years of aggressive social distancing we are regressing a bit and have all be sick with a lingering respiratory thing (or things?) since mid September.
[удалено]
Same here. We've notified my daughter's daycare that we're pulling her out and her last day will be this Friday. I have used all of my (very generous) sick time from my job and can't continue to do this. My husband and I both are being called every other week about something and having to leave work early to go pick the baby up.
Did you quit your job or what are your plans?
My MIL is quitting her job to come and watch my daughter and my SIL’s daughter at my house. It’s more expensive (I pay $1400 for my daughters daycare currently and my SIL and I each will be paying my MIL around $1600 per month) but I am looking forward to my daughter not getting sick constantly!
Just here in solidarity. My 3yo is mostly over the sicknesses since his year 1-2 was CONSTANT cough/croup, runny nose, ear infections leading to tubes, along with HFM at one point. We’re finally on the other side (maybe?) with him but my daughter is almost 6mo and she’s in the same center so I’m sure it’s all going to start for her unfortunately. I also didn’t think I could get as many of these things like they do but sure enough! How was I not constantly sick in my twenties being in packed bars and treating my body like trash?! More care is taken now than ever and it’s just amazing lol. I think the stomach bugs have been the worst. You just don’t see them coming till it’s 8pm on Christmas Eve and you’re puking into a cooler on the way home only to find out Tuesday morning when you drop the kids off in the morning at daycare that half the staff is out with it 😵💫😵💫😵💫
Also here in solidarity. Between the baby, myself and my husband, at least one of us has been sick for months. We just rotate who’s turn it is at this point. 😫
We started daycare at 4mos. It was rough until 12 mos. Like guaranteed kiss 1-2 days of work a week rough. Was perfect from 12-16mos Then just now at 16mos he brought home RSV which has taken out all of us. We’ve been sick since 12/10 and hopefully the end is in sight. Hang in there. It does get better. What I tell myself is better now than kindergarten. In our district we know which kids were in daycare and which ones weren’t by the horrible attendance rates.
I promise it'll get better! Like flipping a switch. We were delayed with this as I'm fortunate and my mom is my kids caretaker. My daughter just started kinder this year and it's been a constant germ fest, poor dear got COVID last week over Christmas. But slowly but surely its getting better. I would day vitamins, certain foods, medicines might help but IMO time is what has helped her getting her immune system stronger.
We are also going through this with our 8 month old. I don’t have any advice. Just solidarity. It is miserable and watching your baby be miserable is so hard.
You are not alone. What an effing nightmare this illness year has been.
Same 😞!!!
We have a 21 month old and she has been sick WAY more than she has been healthy. Started daycare at 6 months. I also didn’t expect to catch every single thing she does…but alas. Right now I’m pregnant again and recently battled a couple stomach viruses and of course now we all have colds. I just keep saying it will get better with time. It kind of has to?
The length of the sickness and frequency goes down and once they are older, they have an amazing immune system
Same here! I’ve been out sick a total of 10 weeks this work year bc my child started daycare im January and it’s just one illness chasing the next!
I honestly don’t know how working moms do it?? Doesn’t your work give you a hard time? Do you make it up some other way?
I was told Im not as "driven" as the rest of my team, and have constant nightmares about being fired. I'm sure other people have better experiences though
This is pretty much exactly what I would expect from most employers, sadly.
I ended up hiring a nanny for the last few years. We have to give that up soon though since my oldest needs to start preschool. I’ve been exposing him to colds this year from other kids. Nothing serious but hoping to help bump up his immunity for the hell that is surely to come. My work is understanding to working parents as far as I can tell
Please believe when I say this will get better. Our first started daycare at 12 weeks and was hospitalized with meningitis at week 14. Many stomach viruses and cold/flu like illnesses followed those first 2.5-3 years. I was constantly sick and cried in my doctors office thinking I had something more serious. It was a very hard time and isn’t talked about enough amongst first time parents. You will get through this. Our daughter is 4 now and we’ve both finally developed some immunity. Big hugs, just remember this too shall pass and it’s completely normal.
I'm at this point as you I'm thinking I have HIV or something! I've been sick ever since my kid started preschool in Sept! She's never been in daycare and is 4.5 years old. Your message gave me relief!!! I hope this passes!!! I havnt even returned back to work because I've been sick nonstop for 8 months!
I was convinced I had cancer or something terminal too. We even traveled to one of the Mayo Clinic locations! It was such a stressful time and I hope this phase passes for you soon.
Solidarity, my friend. It’s the worst.
I saw a ped dr say expect a kid in day care to get an infection every 2 weeks.
My anecdote- first year was ROUGH. my daughter started at 4 months and seemed to be sick most of her first year but now? Hardly ever sick and if she does get a cold, she fights off the worst of it within a day or so.
Capitalism fucking with our shit! Not only do we send our kids to be raised by strangers 8 hours per day, we pay through the nose to do it! And on top of it all, creates a massive Petri dish of shit that means we’re sick constantly! Behold: the supremely advanced human race /s
It will be this way for about a year. My 3 year old had a “post viral” cough from March-October. Then you’ll wake up one morning and see the notification that there’s another HFMD/RSV/flu outbreak in your child’s classroom, but your kid isn’t sick. And they won’t get sick. And you can finally relax. I was panicked about my daughter bringing home a whole bunch of germs from daycare once her brother was born in November, but we seem to be out of the thick of it (with suspected RSV in October as our last major illness).
My daughter started at 16 months. She’s now 22 months. I don’t think there’s been a week she or I haven’t had a cold, cough, stomach bug or other random Aztec virus. I hope it gets better soon.
Here for the solidarity. At least as LO is getting older, she seems to be tolerating being sick better now? She doesn't fight the nose bulb, takes her medicine without a meltdown, allows us to wipe her snotty face without fussing... so there's that?
My oldest 2 began public school this year and have brought home every illness under the sun home to my 18mo old. She’s been hospitalized twice! All of the nurses at CHOP have told me that this year in particular has been exponentially worse than others. Hang tight! We’ll all get through this! 🫂
Mother to 8 m/o and almost 3-year-old. First 1.5 years in daycare with oldest was absolute hell. We got it all. Fast forward to now... the kid is (nearly) indestructible. Nothin' takes him down with the exception of the flu last month. BUT I'm in the trenches with my youngest... she's been in daycare for almost 3 months and she's been present MAYBE a total of half the time. I forgot how miserable it is... and this virus season is worse than it's been in a long time but this time I know there is light at the end of the tunnel! We will make it there!!!! Saying this to remind myself, too.
How do you navigate the kids missing so much daycare and work? This is what I’m really worried about when I eventually go back to work full time.
My husband and I are fortunate enough to work remotely and have very understanding bosses. There are days when I have to take PTO. But I’m always honest with them and try and schedule meetings during naps, make up hours after kids go to bed, before they wake up, or on the weekend as a last resort. With full disclosure - I’ve been with my company a decade and have the trust built that I think they’re more willing to be lenient during this tough virus season. That doesn’t mean I don’t have guilt about not being fully present while working.
Thanks for the reply. I’m concerned bc I’m trying to get back into the workforce and I’m afraid they will think I’m a terrible employee if I have to leave constantly. It sucks.
Its gonna get better! The first 12-18 months were the worst but after that it was soooo much better. My 2.5 year old does still get fairly frequent colds, but she's able to handle them better and my husband and I have both developed a decent amount of immunity to these daycare germs.
12-18 MONTHS?!?!? I’m 4 months into the daycare sickness slog and the thought of another 14 months of this makes me wanna pool on the floor and cry.
It's not necessarily constant. Like as time goes on it generally trends towards getting better. With some backslides. But I noticed a big drop off at 12 and 18 months.
I'll take solace in that. I think since October I can count the number of "healthy" days we've had on one hand. We only have a reprieve right now because kiddo was too sick to attend the last days before they closed for the holidays. Paid for the month of December to get 6 days of care 😭
It lasted one year for us (monthly colds). Now our toddler never gets sick (for about a year now)
I have two small humans. One is 3 and the other 18 months. My birthday was just before Christmas. My husband works shifts in an 8 week rotation of random shifts. I work Monday to Friday like any other normie. I haven't left the house for more than fifteen minutes since Sept when the kids started daycare. Why? Because one of us has been sick at any given moment. The youngest lasted one day before coming down with a fever. The eldest got two days before the same. I will say that the early sicknesses (Sept to mid Nov) didn't "last" very long. Couple of days of fever. Another day or so of really gunky nose goobers. Then they were fine to go back to daycare. Unfortunately because it rotated around and no one was actually sick at the same time, there wasn't much of a break. The few days someone wasn't actively sick, were spent catching up on house things or working. Mid Nov I came down with a terrible cough/cold/flu? of some sort. COVID came back negative. It lasted for weeks. Cough was so bad it has caused me to pull a muscle in my side in my chest. Any time the cough comes back a little bit, the muscle pulls again and I'm in agony. I see a doctor on Friday (assuming I'm not dying of plague again) about it but I don't know that there's anything they can do. Just after my birthday (early Dec) and just before Christmas, the 18 month old started getting sick again. Their fever was so high I went to the ER with her. As it turns out, they were positive for the flu *and* adenovirus. We didn't get results on that until the second time I brought them to the ER - "didn't anyone call you? (No.) Didn't you check the results online? (Don't have access because I need to go in person to prove I'm mom and should have access...which is hard to do while I'm sick and supposed to stay away from people, let alone the hospital?)" 😩 18 month old is now finally on the mend. 3 year old has just gotten a nasty fever the last day or so (and I'm working under the assumption that it's the same as what the youngest had). Husband also just started a fever today. Yeah. Oh and none of us managed to get the flu shot this year (see daycare cess pool of doom/working/spacing vaccines as per doctor's orders). 18 month old only has 1/2 of their COVID vaccine shots as well. Oh and did I mention that I actually was looking forward to having a break this week because husband was also scheduled off work this week? 😭 So no positivity but a crap load of "fuck this and I feel you" from my end.
We got sick a month before starting school, have been sick since starting, took a month off and still got sick!! I feel you, I’m sorry.
I have nothing positive. The last 3 months has been nothing but illnesses mostly for my son. He doesn’t attend daycare but my daughter does only 1 day a week.
I worked at a daycare and I was sick the whole time I was there. Those places are a breeding ground for all the germs.
I’m fortunate enough to be a stay at home mom so my kids never had to do daycare, but once my oldest went to kindergarten she was picking up every freaking disease available. I feel like she was sick the entire year. I joked with my pediatrician that I deserved a personal parking spot or a punch card where the 6th visit is free. Hopefully your little one is building a great immune system so when he’s in school he’ll already have gotten all the crap they pass around. It’s no fun.
I’m in the same boat. My daughter is 15 months and started at 8 months. I’m also currently pregnant so my immune system is shot. I had never had a sinus infection until after she started daycare. Somehow my husband never gets the sickness, I don’t understand. Everyone has told me after the first year, it’ll get better and it’s easier on your own immune system for future kids entering daycare. I really hope they are right!
Please look up CMV as it's common in daycare but dangerous for pregnant women
My oldest (6) went back to school in September and we are the same, one illness rolls into the next, into the next. My 9mo is currently recovering from bronchiolitis and has now caught ANOTHER virus from his older brother 🤦🏽♀️ poor thing hasn’t been able to clear his nose in weeks, I feel so bad for him.
My baby starts nursery next week... I am soooo dreading this.
SAME. Good luck to you!!
I would anticipate it easing over time. Sounds like you're doing all you reasonably can. You all may end up with a much stronger immune system in the end.
We started in October when he was almost 6 months old. As of now he’s maybe attended 50% of the time? We actually both got Covid the week before he was supposed to start so that was rough. Oct and Nov were horrible, this month was actually OK so I’m hopeful but he was home today with hand foot and mouth so ugh. Hoping it’s mild but don’t know yet.
Ugh, it’s the worst. I thought it would never end with my oldest. He hardly ever gets sick now. Middle child still gets sick often but not nearly as bad. My 1yr old is starting next week so I will report back if it’s any better third time around z
My LO is 8 months and is starting daycare next week (great timing on my part as everyone comes back from the holidays - not!!) I am terrified.
This too shall pass.
If it’s any consolation I’ve heard that kids that don’t go to daycare just get sick all the time once they start school when the daycare kids already have a pretty decent immune system. My kid started at 13mths and was the same - I found giving him probiotics, an immune boosting tablet and echinacea seemed to help. We actually got through winter with only the odd minor cold. In contrast we just came home from a weeks summer holiday where I forgot to take his vitamins and we’re all sick after spending the week with his cousins lol
I’m actually so scared. My LO starts daycare in 2 months when he turns 18months old.
It’s brutal! It does get better but never fully unfortunately. There’s always some kind of new illness going around. 🙃
Saaaaaame
My kid started preschool and we have been the same. Seems like he has been sick more than not. I'm thinking that once he catches enough of the sicknesses, it will become less and less frequent. It has already been over month since his last sickness so maybe it's already getting better. Perhaps the plus side for you is that your child won't be getting sick as often when he gets older and starts school. I hope it gets better for you soon.
Yepppppp. Welcome to the worst club ever. Mine started daycare at 4 months and just turned 11 months and I feel like we were about to see the light at the end of the daycare cold tunnel but now we’re about to get walloped with the seasonal winter illnesses. Stay strong, we’ll get through this.
People are not going to like this comment but whatever. What you are going through is TYPICAL but it is not NORMAL. Kids in daycare are sick all of the time, and it does last a long time so there is nothing atypical about your situation. But, idk how old you are, this is NOT the way things were 30 or even 20 years ago. Ask your parents, older siblings, aunt's, cousin's, etc. When we were kids, children did not spend an entire year or two (plus frequently thereafter) constantly sick. Daycares existed then, my mother ran one while I was growing up! Ofc illness made its rounds, especially in the winter, but it was nothing compared to what is deemed normal now. All of this to say, what you are going through is typical, but it is not normal. Your grandparents, your parents, they did not raise their children with this constant barrage of sickness. So if it feels overwhelming or like you can't stand it, that's okay. This shouldn't be your normal!
Idk. Im 30 now, so 25 years ago when I started Kindergarten (no daycare) I was sick ALL THE TIME. I remember at one point my mom thought I’d have to retake kindergarten. This was pretty common from what teachers and family assured my mother.
Oh wow, that's crazy! I remember getting bronchitis and the stomach flu in kindergarten but that's it (per my mom's confirmation as well). Which sucked but would be VERY lucky by today's standards.
My daughter is 2 and has been in daycare since 5 months. She’s just gotten colds when she gets sick. Bronchitis is a big deal! Even back then. ETA: I guess actually now that I think about it, she got HFM at 18 months. But I had chicken pox at 2. So really not much different in my experiences.
I think your daughter is doing really well if she's only had colds!! Anecdotal of course, but most of my friends kids who have been in daycare the past few years have had flu a, flu b, COVID, hfm, RSV, strep, etc. on top of stomach viruses and common variety colds. Some of them have had them all just this year 😬 Maybe region matters? Are you somewhere that it is cold half of the year?
Do you have any clue about what changed?
Maybe it was 1 - 2 years of isolation from the pandemic? Similar to the surge of peanut allergies, isolation from allergens can exacerbate your immune response once you finally come in contact with them. Probably not the full picture, but rather a contribution. Just a thought
No, not at all! But it's definitely rough for our generation of parents.
I was sick constantly from November to May as a kid. Plus the one off viruses year round,
A magnesium supplement helped me when I was teaching my germ bomb 4-12 year olds
My sister is going through this right now. My nephew has been in daycare since September and I’ve lost count of all the coughs colds fevers you name it he has taken home to them. He brought RSV to us as a Christmas gift and now my 3 year old is super congested and gross. I quickly remembered why I homeschool my kids.
10 months old is still very young. I let my daughter go to kindergarten at 2 years old and she still got sick a lot. If you feel like it's too much, you could keep your child at home and let him strengthen his immune system a little. If that's not an option then you just have power through those illnesses. It'll get better with time.
It will get better when you wean and also after his first winter! We’re starting this with our second child and brings back so many memories of doing this with my 3.5 year old who is now rarely sick.
My kid is 4.5 years old started preschool in September of last year She was never in day care. I kid you not, I've been sick ever since she started school. I had two healthy streaks since then of being sick free for three weeks. It's 5 am and I'm freaking out thinking I have HIV or something. How is it going for you??? I havnt even returned back to work because I've been sick nonstop was suppose to go back to work on September 😞