How to stop worrying

[jellybeanathome]

I don’t know if this is the right place for this but I'm just at a loss as to how I can stop panicking about every little thing that might make the baby ill. My DS is just over a year old and I've had major days-long panics a few times since he's been born. I panic he's going to get the cold sore virus from my mum but when he was a baby I spent about a month panicking he would develop serious illness from it. I have him playing in the garden because the dog wees and poos there (obviously we clean poos up!) and today he was playing with a box from the garage that I'm sure has had mice all over it and I'm convinced he's going to get really poorly from it because he ate an ice lolly straight after. I know it's not necessarily logical thinking and that the risk is miniscule (I'm quite good at CBTing myself out of everyday anxieties usually) but I can’t stop that pit of worry in my stomach that is sometimes so bad I just feel like crying. Does anyone have any tips for managing these illogical parenting worries?

I relate sooo much to this. I had really bad post natal anxiety and I still feel the drop in my stomach when my DS bumps himself or coughs or swallows a bit of water awkwardly when he’s drinking etc etc
Mine is 2 now and my only advice is that it has got easier for me since he started really talking properly - I can ask him what hurts, how he’s feeling etc etc.
So whereas before I wouldn’t know how bad something was, now he can tell me himself and that seems to have helped.
The other thing is to learn basic first aid so you know what to look out for with rashes etc.
Sending hugs tho, it’s so hard!

Thank you so much for replying. It's strange because I don’t panic at all about him falling over etc. I really advocate for him doing things himself and there's sometimes a consequence to that which I handle quite well... he's never done anything serious obviously. It's almost like the invisible nature of germs makes me feel really panicky. Like.... he could have a bug right now and I wouldn't know and it could get really serious before I realise. This parenting lark is hard isn't it!! Thank you again!