Coming down with flu and I have a 3 week old baby!

[Littlestbee]

Help!

I feel awful, going hot & cold with sweats abs feel very lethargic & body aches. It's clear I'm coming down with the flu but I have a 3 week old baby that I'm breastfeeding.
How can I protect my baby from getting my flu? Should I see a doctor?

Mastitis?

Can you speak to your doctor? Or your midwife if you've not been signed off yet?

It could be a sign of an infection too (like above ^ mastitis).

I've rung the surgery and they are getting someone to call me back.
Midwife signed me off so can't ring her.

Really worried baby is going to get sick :(

Are you sure it's not mastitis?

I've googled the symptoms for mastitis and I suppose it could be but they aren't painful so doubt it's that?

Oh, I'm sorry. Anecdote isn't data etc, but me, DH, and DS all had flu before Christmas, DS so badly he was hospitalised. DD, then 8 weeks, got away with nothing more than a sniffle.

Doctor advice to me was good hand hygiene, and keep breastfeeding if you can as it means she gets your antibodies, which helps protect her.

Recommend stocking up now with saline nasal spray/drops and a snot sucker in preparation, though. Good for clearing a baby's stuffed up nose.

Like a pp above we all had flu when dd was a newborn. Ds (3) ended up in hospital with pneumonia and obviously wasn’t the best with covering his nose / mouth etc. Dd got cold symptoms and that was it.

(Sorry, I realise that comment about DS being hospitalised was probably a bit terrifying. My point was more to reassure that despite the 3 year old having it that badly the baby was absolutely fine - so it's definitely not inevitable that your DD will catch it)

Did you have the flu jab in pregnancy OP? Baby should have some immunity from that no?

Breastfed babies very often seem to get away with nothing more than very mild symptoms. The protection from your antibodies seems to be considerable. By the time you come down with it she's already been exposed so staying away and not breastfeeding her would just be an own goal anyway. You'll need help to take care of you and do everything else for her but other than that, just lie in bed, rest, and feed.

I'm not trying to scare you, and baby will almost certainly be fine even if they catch your illness, but do be watchful as in similar circs my two week old grandchild ended up in hospital with bronchiolitis. They were fine, but do seek advice if you have any concerns.

Doctor has been out to us, baby is fine but I have a temp of 39 degrees. Given me Antibiotics in case my c section scar is infected as it's weeping a little.

Said to take paracetamol every 6 hours.
Fingers crossed I feel better soon as o don't feel I can even kiss my baby for fear of passing something on :(

Oh I didn't have the flu jab, wasn't offered it.

If you're r breastfeeding then your antibodies will be passed on to baby so she's less likely to get it or at least a milder version.
Sounds like it is an infection though related to your scar.
Also it's really normal to get very hot and have body sweats particularly overnight shortly after birth and in the weeks after. Each growth spurt for baby means more hormones for you which can lead to sweats.

Congratulations on the birth of your baby.