Chicken pox and siblings

[LightminTheQueem]

DD1 (5) has chicken pox and so far DD2 (7mo and still breastfed, if that makes a difference) isn't showing symptoms. Should I be trying to keep them apart, bath them separately etc. or is that pointless (and stressful)?

It usually comes out 2 weeks after the first ones spots have come out.

It's pointless trying to keep them apart, the contagious time is before the spots appear anyway.

Your DC2 may not even get it.

My PFB had it as a baby and it was stressful but we got through it. Good luck!

I think it's usually pretty inevitable. DD1 had it, we thought DD2 had escaped it and then exactly 2 weeks later she came out in spots.

A 7 month old might escape it though, isn't there some theory about babies still having some of their mother's immunity? Or is that just newborns?

Blackandwhite, I wondered if the bfing might help. Oh well, easier not to have to think about it I think. Poor DD1, I promised her lots of play dates with friends coming over and that's all going to be a washout now. Poo.

Ds2 got it exactly 14 days after ds1 got spots.

Dd caught it 15 days after ds, it was crappy but on the plus side its going round now and touch wood we won't get it again so just think of the future when you won't need to worry about it. Also much better for them to have it as children.

I bf and no, it didn't help. Maybe bf helped it to be a mild case.

It's pointless and stressful trying to keep them apart. Something to be aware of is that, unfortunately, if a baby catches CP under the age of about 18-24m, they may not develop immunity. Which means that they are highly likely to have it again when it does the rounds at their school.

Our (then) ebf 6-week old DTs caught chicken pox from DS1 this summer. They both had max 5 spots each.

My DD had CP when she was 3yr and DS was about 8m old, and he did not catch it. I was told that (regardless of breastfeeding, which I was not doing) that babies under a year old still carry some of their mothers antibodies, so if the mother has antibodies to Chicken Pox is reduces the likelihood of the baby catching them.

My niece (DN2) caught it a few years ago and gave it to DN1 and DN3. DN3 was only 7 or 8 monts old and my SIL said she coped best with it and was just a bit grumpy even though she was covered in spots. My SIL kept her in sleep suits with built in mitts to stop her scratching. The older two DNs were worse in themselves and were grumpy and itchy.

DS1 got his chicken pox 3 weeks after DS2 got first stop.
No point of keeping them separated, I would say.