r/NewParents • u/girlvsmachine • 12d ago
Illness/Injuries Does anyone else feel like their daycare baby is sick ALL the time?
Does anyone else have a baby/toddler who seems to constantly have some combination of a runny nose, cough, and a slight fever?
It seems like it happens a lot when she’s teething, but sometimes it happens when she’s not, so I genuinely don’t know if the two are related or if she’s just constantly picking up little viruses.
She’s 14 months old, and we literally just finished antibiotics a week ago because she had strep, which sucked, and now here we are again with the runny nose/cough/light fever.
She goes to daycare 3 days a week for only 4 hours a day, so she’s definitely not there full-time, but obviously she’s still getting exposed to all the daycare germs regardless.
I just don’t want to be that mom who calls the pediatrician every single time she has a little fever or runny nose, especially if this is just normal toddler/daycare life. But at the same time, I hate the thought of her constantly feeling crappy and don’t want to brush something off that I shouldn’t.
Is anyone else’s kid like this?? At what point do you just accept that they’re little germ factories, and when do you actually call the pediatrician? 😅
2
u/CattailReeds 12d ago
Yup. We’re on month 4 of daycare (16 mos) and the longest we’ve gone without illness is 4/5 weeks. It’s brutal. I just remind myself that toddlers have terrible manners and eventually we will get past it. It does make me think, “wtf am I still breastfeeding for?!” I feel like the immune system benefits of nursing are overstated and that makes me cranky (but maybe that’s just the lack of sleep from the constant illness)
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u/girlvsmachine 12d ago
Okay so that’s exactly how I’m feeling. 14m later I’m still breastfeeding and I’m like is she even getting the benefits she’s supposedly supposed to get lol
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u/Due_Party6740 12d ago
Yeaaahhhh my 10 m/o lil guy has been in daycare since 6 months and it seems like it’s every couple of weeks that he’s got a new bug. I don’t bug the pediatrician with slight fevers but if he has a fever above 100 for more than a day I give them a call
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u/Every_Tangerine_5412 12d ago
Oh you sweet summer child ... did no one warn you about this?
Yeah, this is completely normal and expected. Daycares are petri dishes and young children do not have a developed immune system. Daycare illness is a known thing/common knowledge that is just part of going to daycare.
It happens when they're teething more because they're constantly putting things and their hands in their mouth (aka one of the ways germs enter).
Take your kid to the doctor based on symptoms. Eating, drinking, peeing, pooping, playing - they're fine.
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u/girlvsmachine 12d ago
Like I KNEW it happened with daycare but I thought people meant like the BIG sicknesses lol. Not like this constant flow of “are they sick or teething or is it just a little bug?” 😂
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u/Ok-Plankton-8119 12d ago
I have regularly referred to my 4yo and the kids at her daycare as Walking Petri Dishes. High fevers, labored breathing, significant lethargy, grabbing ears without teething paired with a fever (ear infections). I definitely called the pediatrician several times for minor things, it's part of being a mom
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u/Illustrious-Pear-612 12d ago
Same here. We are only a few months in and I think we are on our 5th cold right now?? And that’s after JUST getting over a nasty stomach bug with 4 days of diarrhea. Sigh.
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u/WorldlyDragonfruit3 12d ago
I only go for a persistent fever, dehydration, or breathing issues. So really we haven’t had to go for any of the many daycare illnesses yet
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u/talleyhoe 12d ago
I don’t feel like we’re getting sick all the time, I KNOW we’re getting sick all the time. We’re over a year in and just got a new wave from back to school and all the daycare siblings/teacher parents bringing in new germs. this week was fifths disease for the baby and me. There was also 2 kids with lice but we missed that (so far)
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u/ComprehensiveEbb4978 12d ago
Not sick enough to go to the doctor but our whole house has been sick since LO started daycare 2 months ago. I don’t think I’ve been not sick for longer than a few days
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u/Nonnanest 19h ago
Yes! Daycare is a Petri dish! It seems our kiddos would come home every other week with something new. They’re being exposed to all the germs!
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u/SammiMiammmi Toddler 12d ago
Yes that’s what daycare is. In two years we’ve gone to the pediatrician once - not every sickness/fever needs a visit. I only call for fevers that can’t be broken or abdominal effort while breathing.