Has anyone managed to improve health anxiety around DC?

[stellarnova]

When I was younger I used to be quite anxious around health. I was particularly (irrationally) worried about being sick - something to do with it being entirely outside of your control.

It got better into adulthood but since having DC (currently a toddler and a newborn) it seems to have reared up again - I worry about them getting ill and also getting ill myself and not being able to look after them. Bizarre thing is it seems to be the uncertainty around all of it that makes me anxious - if one of us does actually get ill I'm normally more practical.

Has anyone successfully managed to nip it in the bud? I'm struggling a bit with newborn being tiny (only just 5lbs) and all the bugs around, not least with the toddler in nursery. Yesterday we were sent to paeds A&E for the baby's breathing and the doctor and nurse separately warned us to be vigilant once we were home because they'd seen a lot of infectious patients come through the waiting area that day.

I really don't want my worries to filter through to the DC and would welcome any words of wisdom - thank you!

Eek, it's hard with a tiny baby and a toddler. Toddlers are absolute germ vectors, no way of dodging it. So I think the best way is to get clued up over what is actually a concern. Sucking in at the ribs and throat and elevated respiration rate (this varies by age so check it) - needs to be seen. Coughing, snuffling, terrible nights - probably fine. Good luck, it's tough.

Thank you, @Sillysoggyspaniel - that's a really helpful way of looking at it. Realistically he is vulnerable, being so small, so I guess it's all about making sure we react proportionately and pick up on what's actually important.

Last night what raised a red flag was indeed him sucking in at the throat and moaning with each breath - something we'd never seen with our first.

The thing is, you can have health anxiety - but also with a little baby extra caution is justified. It's not paranoia if someone is actually after you! Chat gtp has its limitations, but it's very useful for checking symptoms and getting a baseline over whether its something to worry about. What I would say though, is that if it says all is fine and you're not happy, still get checked.

Also not much help with a tiny baby, but a pulse oximeter is a great buy for toddlers onwards. Kids are good at compensating with respiratory issues (until they aren't), but if you have suspicions about their breathing and they are also under 93% saturation you know you need to go to A and E and can skip the GP appointment.