Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Parenting

For free parenting resources please check out the Early Years Alliance's Family Corner.

Flip

Original poster

How long does it take for a 13 month old's immune system to get stronger???

16 replies

lovingpickles · 23/03/2011 20:01

I spent the first 11 months at home with DS and he was generally very healthy during that time, a couple of colds and that was all. I have now been back at work for 2 months and he is almost constantly sick. Every week is a new viral/bacterial infection which affects his sleeping and appetite, etc. He is so miserable and we are all exhausted. I know it is because his immune system is weak because he is so little and suddenly exposed to a lot of germs. Can anyone give me an idea how long it will take for his immune system to get strong and more resilient to all these germs??

OP posts:

stressheaderic · 23/03/2011 20:08

I could written this exact post. DD flew through the first year without so much as a sniffle and has been constantly ill for about 6 weeks now. We are all on our knees. The doctor is sick of the sight of me.

My poor girl is currently lolling about on DPs knee, crying, knackered, hungry, in pain and miserable and I feel so sorry for her. When will it get easier?!

babyapplejack · 23/03/2011 20:10

I think the immune system is really much better by the age of 6.

Both mine pick up a fair few bugs still, they are 5 and 3. However they were both at home with me until they turned so the eldest didn't catch much before then.

babyapplejack · 23/03/2011 20:11

until they turned THREE!

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about these subjects:

Families General parenting

ScarlettWalking · 23/03/2011 20:12

DD was constantly ill at this age - the worst age ever for bugs. For us the gaps between bugs got longer and longer and at 3 her immune system was good. Summer is always better so not too long to go...

babyapplejack · 23/03/2011 20:12

The thing is, people are naughty when they have bugs and some don't isolate their kids for long enough. A kid at school recentlywent in with diarrhoea (not clear of D&V bug) so we all got that one. This is fairly common.

angel1976 · 23/03/2011 20:16

12-18 months is particularly bad for colds and coughs. I remember DS1 getting much better after one and a half years old. And he is now 3 and rarely get ill. DS2 is now almost 17 months old and is just coming out of illnesses through the whole winter (literally! As I remember him first getting ill with the first snow and been sick since...).

mousymouse · 23/03/2011 20:16

with both mine the first winter in nursery was like this. ds is now 4 and is hardly ever sick (I hope it stays like that when he starts school). and ds (15m) is sprouting a snotty nose and a cough since september.

Imnotaslimjim · 23/03/2011 20:16

I'm assuming if you've gone to work, DC is in nursery/childcare etc?

They will pick up a lot of bugs in a new setting, but don't worry, it only takes a few months for them to get used to "sharing germs"

My DD was almost permanently ill from 12 months to about 2 and a half, it just didn't stop. We had three 1 week stints in hospital with chest infections, always had a sniffle and then to top it off she got chicken pox at christmas!

She's now about to turn 3 and hasn't been ill since the CP at christmas. DS is at school so is always picking up something, but shes managed to avoid it all

quickchat · 24/03/2011 19:44

My DS was at home with me until nursery at 3.3. Before then, he probably caught 3-4 viruses a year (most of them December-March)

Since starting nursery he has been ill. I mean, literally since joining in September last year I have not had a snot free day between him and him passing bugs onto DD (15 months).

My poor DD has had so many more colds and viruses than DS ever had. I HATE IT.

I want a day where I don't have snot on my shoulder and calpol stains on the carpet. When one of them isn't coughing in the night or grumpy and snotty all day.

Im just hoping that because DD is going through all of this now (like your DD) that by the time she goes to nursery she will be a bit hardier.

As for people bringing kids in with really bad viruses, coughs or sickness bugs - I give up. I still follow the 48 hour rule but I don't feel as angry and upset about it now. It seems Im the minority!

quickchat · 24/03/2011 19:46

Oh sorry, I meant your DS.

and I meant im in the minority when I keep my kids in with bad bugs etc. Not that im in the minority of not getting angry and upset!

headfairy · 24/03/2011 19:50

my poor 15 month old dd still hasn't had her hib Men C booster or her MMR because she's been endlessly ill and the gps don't like giving jabs to children with colds and fevers.... I'm sooo looking forward to the summer when all those nasty cold viruses disappear. Ds seemed to get through the worst of it by 18 months.

Mellowfruitfulness · 24/03/2011 20:01

My grand daughter is 8 months old and has been ill constantly since starting nursery 2 months ago. Her nursery seem to accept her, even with a runny nose and hacking cough, and as they do the same for all the children, they all seem to catch one bug after another.

However, my own son went to nursery from six months and didn't catch a thing. I don't have any memories of him having a snotty nose or anything until he got a cough at the age of 2.

I was wondering if there is a lack of hygiene at my grand daughter's nursery? Or is she maybe allergic to the carpet or something there? The reason I say this is that as soon as I take her out into the fresh air, the runny nose stops running, her face loses its patchiness and she doesn't cough as much.

The other thing that occurred to me is that my daughter's immune system is compromised after a splenectomy when she was a child, and although her baby is partly breastfed now, maybe she is not getting enough immunities from her mother. I also worry that my daughter will catch something from her daughter that her own immune system won't be able to cope with.

Is there anyone out there who knows about things like this (I'd be grateful for some advice).

Mellowfruitfulness · 24/03/2011 20:03

Btw I feel really sorry for all of you whose kids are forever suffering with colds etc. But I do think most children just grow out of it as their immune systems get more resilient. Good luck.

AngelDog · 24/03/2011 23:00

Yes, it's at around 6 that the immune system is fully developed.

ShushBaby · 25/03/2011 09:59

Have just been wondering the same thing myself. My dd had nothing, not a sniffle, for her first year, then I went back to work and BAM! Cold after tummy bug after eye infection ensued.

I'm starting to feel awkward about the number of times dp and I have had to leave work to pick her up.

To make it worse my mil, who is into holistic health and general lentil weavery (and didn't go out to work at all when bringing her kids up) helpfully tells me that it is the anxiety of being separated from me that brings about these symptoms! Bring on the guilt...

mamsnet · 25/03/2011 10:05

My kids went to nursery from 8 or 9 months and we didn't get all that.. Snot for months, yes.. But the rest,no.. I have to say I really resented the scaremongering that had gone on amongst my ILs beforehand.. They were both fine!
Your baby will probably be fine as soon as the weather picks up too.

Flip

Swipe left for the next trending thread