Baby ill from friend's toddler

[Biscuit94]

Hi all,

I have a 5 month old baby. Just over a week before Christmas my friend said she was up for Christmas and asked if she could pop round. She showed up on my doorstep with her toddler coughing and spluttering everywhere. I was surprised and thought maybe it was just a lingering cough, but she cheerily announced that he was always ill from nursery these days and walked straight in.

I understand that my baby is going to get ill and be exposed to all kinds of stuff, but why the hell would you do it just before Christmas?

Anyway, I came down with the cold a couple of days later, followed by my DH and then my poor baby girl on Christmas Eve. I thought she had gotten away with it as I am breastfeeding and thought maybe she had antibodies from me, but the poor little thing has been coughing and sneezing, struggling to sleep from the congestion and having more watery poos than normal :(. Absolutely gutted for her and even worse that it is over Christmas. Making sure to feed often, use Calpol and saline spray/a baby vapour rub. She slept on my DH for 5 hours last night and then me for another 5 as she is so uncomfortable lying flat in her bassinet.

I am so angry upset at my friend for not bothering to give me a heads-up/postpone/leave her toddler with his grandparents who she is staying with.

AIBU?

ZOMBIE THREAD.

When I had my first, I had a friend who always said “just you wait!”, “you won’t sleep again until she’s 2”, “she may seem easy now but it gets worse”. But that wasn’t my experience at all. Interestingly she actually distanced herself from me for a while and later admitted she struggled seeing me not struggle as much as her. Felt weird having a friend that was waiting and essentially wanting motherhood to get harder and harder for a new mother.

Glad you’re going okay, OP x

Totally agree with you op including your update. It is incredibly selfish to do this, especially just before Christmas.

Also I've never agreed with the "just you wait" comments. Parenting is hard but people find different stages more difficult, I personally have loved the teenage years and I'm so glad I didn't listen to all the "just you wait til the teenage years" comments.