Sick again..

[BountyIsUnderrated]

Is this normal? Since starting nursery in January my DS has been sick every 1-3 weeks with a new cold/infection. He has had a recurring cough for 4 months but it always coincides with a new illness.

Me and dh are also catching it off him so are sick every couple weeks as well.
We have had about 6 covid tests and are just wishing we could feel normal again!
I've literally lost count of the amount of times he been ill, we've gone through a whole bottle and a half of calpol in 6 months.
Also done antibiotics just in case he had a chest infection, another new cold this week but thankfully no temp this time..

Yep it’s normal

Yep totally normal unfortunately. On our fourth visit to the GP in two months he said they actually refer to it as nursery sickness. DS had everything going - conjunctivitis, chest infection, ear infection, severe vomiting and prolonged raised temperature etc etc. It's not a fun time but does get better once their immune systems get built up a bit.

Ugh it sucks so much. The worst thing is most of the time he seems to get a temperature/cough so we are having to test for covid (so far they have mainly been colds).
I've started only using the calpol if his temp gets up to 39 now or he seems in pain as I felt we were using too much. He's had a lot of high temps lol.
I hope he builds up some immunity soon as my sinuses can't take it!

Yep unfortunately. Ds has viral induced wheeze evrrytime he gets a cold, it was exhausting. Its all amplified with covid as well and having to test for every cough/temp etc.

If it helps, once my children got through that awful phase where they seemed to be sick for a full year on starting nursery (both started around 9 months old) they hardly ever got sick.
My 4 year old had a temp the other day and it was very weird, best we can remember she was about 18 months old the last time she was sick.

Oh yeah horrendous, lost count of the times DC was sick, me and DH were sick, work completely unsympathetic... it does get better and DC develop a bomb proof immune system (eventually).

Exactly the same here.

Do you have giant calpol bottles?! We got through the same amount in 6 weeks sometimes with teething 😬

Also yes it’s normal if my DD is anything to go by. The repeated covid tests are awful. It’s just shit isn’t it 💐

Totally normal. My DD was SO ill for the entire first winter at Nursery (Oct-Mar). Cold after cold after infection, cough, hand foot mouth 😫 we were also ill for a decent chunk of that winter as well! It was grim!

But the following spring/summer, we were illness free and the following winter, much much better. We still got some colds but it was all bearable!

My youngest DD started in March this year, she’s been ill continually! She’s had 4 lots of tonsillitis, coughs, colds & now chicken pox 🤦🏼‍♀️ I was hoping we might have an OK run with her initial few months being spring/summer but alas!

I feel you with covid, it’s so much harder. My DD has missed so much Nursery with both being ill & waiting for covid tests to come back 🤦🏼‍♀️

It will get better! Just gotta hang in there for a year!

@somebodysmum

We have been alternating nurofen as well, and luckily he's not been bad with teething.
We are a little sparing with it, only give it if his temp is high.
I thought I was going through a lot but maybe I'm wrong haha!
It's awful we've had to use so much of our annual leave, bosses are not impressed so we've had to start making up last minute excuses.
Nothing we can do though because of covid.

This was our experience too. DD started early October and up until March was back to back illnesses, many of which she passed onto me.

She went through 2 vomiting bugs, 3 colds, one of which gave her bronchiolitis, 2 mystery viral rashes and, just in time for Christmas, flu. It was grim and I started to wonder about taking her out of nursery!

Only glimmer of hope I can offer is that, since that initial phase, we've done ok and managed to swerve many of the lurgies that have gone round.

Completely normal. I ended up in a second stage warning for sickness absence at work because of it - we just got stomach bug after stomach bug, it was horrendous. Occupational health told me they see it all the time.

Could you look at another setting with less mixing? My DS has been going to a childminder with 3 other children since January and has had 1 cold. Her setting is 100% outside which probably helps but I am sure less children is a big factor.

I’m a nanny and my now 3 year old charge started nursery at 1 on the days I wasn’t here and working for another family and he was so sick consistently for at least 6 months. In the end I started to have him with my other family because he wouldn’t last week without going downhill and me and mum were worried sick about him as he looked pale and lost so much weight through all the illness 😩
My boss was lucky to have a nanny as I could cover and have him whilst he was sick. I really don’t know how parents cope with that first year as it felt he constantly was off nursery.

@indigopearl

Unfortunately this nursery worked out as the most affordable, childminders here cost £10 an hour minimum and I work 10 hour days 4 x a week so that would have cost a fortune.
We have some help with family and 2 half days at nursery a week which gets us by.
Wish I could afford a nanny.

Wow that is expensive. Our childminder is £7.50 an hour and I thought that was bad. If you only need 2 half days a week maybe you could look at a nanny share, it is a shame having to suffer so much illlness for the sake of 2 half days.

I could have written this
Ds is sick every 3 weeks like clockwork
We're in hospital now
I've just been using annual leave to cover it but that means I daren't take any holiday for anything else
Trouble is if you don't let them mix and catch these things then they're not building up immunities

That sounds like hardly any Calpol at all.