DH, newborn and a cold

[Mississippilessly]

DH is on his 2nd week of 2 weeks paternity leave.
He has woken up with a sore throat - def the start of a cold.
Should he avoid picking DS up/holding him etc? I feel awful that this is his time with him.

There are going to be germs everywhere you go, especially at the moment. I wouldn't stop your husband from picking up your baby

He should wash his hands more than usual and avoid kissing the baby's hands and face but i don't think it's beneficial for a parent to avoid touching their newborn. They need loving touch to thrive.

If the baby is breastfed it should be ok, also they have some immunity from the placenta. Not sure if this applies to colds but it does to more serious illnesses.

if it was next week and you had the cold what would you do?? parents cant avoid dc when ill unfortunately what i would give to curl up uninterrupted when ill

as pp said just be sensible and you will be ok enjoy you time together

Thats great - thanks guys!

itswinetime I would have no choice, but because we are both here we do have a choice

My DD got a cold when she was a newborn unfortunately it's just the way it is when you have a winter baby! Soon goes away x

if the baby is breastfed

I hate comments like this, breast fed or bottle fed your dh has a normal cold and it's something baby is likely to come into contact with and is fine. BOTH breastfed and bottle fed babies get LOTS of colds in the first year, it'll be one of many so try not to stress too much.

@Namechangemum100 my DD was breastfed and got a cold the first 2 weeks xx

@someonekillbabyshark... precisely my point

Doubt they can avoid all the germs so I'm sure its fine.
I had the d&v bug when i was home alone with my baby for a week- i personally think the only reason she didnt get it was because i was breastfeeding her.

@Namechangemum100 it’s actually a known fact that breastfed babies get some of mums immunity to things so less likely to catch them. It’s not a breast v bottle debate it’s just a known fact that the chances are lower of catching stuff (note I said lower, not impossible)

IS there any immunity to the common cold for mothers ?

Surely bf mothers can only pass on immunity they have ?

I don’t know @paddlingwhenIshouldbeworking but I work with kids so I don’t tend to catch all their colds etc whereas dh does. I’m guessing I have higher immunity to these things

Happened to DH with dc1. He bought a box of surgical masks to wear around the house! Made me giggle a lot but dc1 never caught the cold.

Looneytune253, the research shows this is only certain ear bugs and tummy bugs. Not colds.

No, research says breastfed babies get fewer and less severe colds too. Studies were done by doctors at the University of California, the University of Rochester and the American Academy of Paediatrics' Centre for Child Health Research.

@Namechangemum100 as others have said, this isn't a breast Vs bottle thing - it's just that if you are breastfeeding then the baby will get to share some of the antibodies that you will be producing against your DH's cold, which is helpful. This might prevent the baby from getting it at all, or at least make it milder and shorter if he does. Beyond that, unless it turns into something more than a cold I'd go ahead as usual, just lots of handwashing and no face kissing.

You don't produce antibodies against someone else's cold. You start producing antibodies against it if you caught it though.