10 week old has a cold picked up from big sister

[ChloeMcE96]

My 10 week old son has picked up a cold from his big sister which I’m only assuming she’s picked up from play groups.

My daughter was breastfed until well over a year, so when she came down with something I was reassured knowing how my milk helped her immune system fight it off.

For the first 8 weeks of his life my son was exclusively breastfed and always fed well however, at 8 PP I suffered a stroke and needed to stop fed instantly due to being taking into hospital. He's now on formula due to my medication being passed through breast milk and I’m worried he won’t be able to fight this cold in the same way my daughter previously would have.

Is there anything additional I can do to help or is it just a ride the wave and watch out for worrying signs?

I am hoping I am just over worrying due to the sudden increase in hormones.

thank you in advance 🙂

Just watch out for red flags but I’m guessing he will be fine…..most uk babies are formula fed ….they get colds and recover well

Second babies are demons for this because of the germ factory older siblings. My second got a cold at 4 weeks and it was grim, but ultimately he was fine and it didn't last too long.

You've already given your baby some of the protective elements of breastfeeding, and it's likely that in a few days he'll be good as new. With babies of this age a lot of it is just cuddles plus any relief you can give such as steam/the horror of the snot sucker etc.

You sound like you've been through the absolute wringer - I'm so sorry! What a nightmare for you. Please don't let this cold become more than it really is in your head - you sound like you've got enough going on.

Don't beat yourself up so much. Your baby will be ok. Older siblings are total germs agents and their baby brothers and sisters cope with colds and viruses remarkably well.

Look after yourself as well as your babies, OP.

I think it's normal for second sibling bf or not so I wouldn't be internalising anything there.

Just to give you an idea DS2 before 1 had 4 infections, 3 colds and chickenpox at 1 month old and was bf til 2.5 years! The joy of an older brother bringing everything home.

The chickenpox the HV and GP didn't believe me as I've had chicken pox and was bf......saw him in person and then confirmed was chickenpox!

You will have passed on some good immunities from the time you were breastfeeding. Your baby will now be starting to build his own immune system, and part of that process involves being exposed to his siblings germs and his body learning to deal with them effectively.

I hope you are recovering from your stroke, it must have been very frightening, especially with two young children to worry about as well. Take care of yourself.