Staying sane during RSV season

Susan_KW

We're moving to a new city tomorrow, and I'd like to join a mom's group to meet other moms in the area.  But then I wondered if that would be a mistake due to it being RSV season.  How strict are you being with RSV season and keeping DC away from other children?  Would joining a mom's group be similar to her being in a group daycare, or perhaps not as bad. 

How do you stay sane during RSV season if you are confined to the house all day?  

Aidge

We may be over the top here, but DS is not around any kids/babies ever at all, and won't be until spring time. ?I would have loved a mom's group, but I didn't want to chance it with all of the germs and what not, even with his Synagis shots. ?We just made it work at home for the past 5 months. ?I'll be going back to work on Monday, and my mom will be watching DS, keeping him in the house as well. You can always go on car rides, etc, to break the day up. ?We also are able to bring him to my in-law's and my parent's house, as there are no young children around. ?I know it's difficult, but spring is right around the corner, right? :-)??There is just so way I want to chance anything with him.

KellyMichelle

I wouldn't join a playgroup during RSV season.  While it's not as bad as a daycare there are still many germs.   I joined a playgroup right after DS;s second RSV season, we are still not very active during RSV seasons. If you do join a playgroup I recommend checking to see if they have a "sick-kids" policy and how strict they are.  In ours you are not allowed to attend playdates if your child is at all sick or has been in the last 24 hours. 

For the first RSV season we never left the house.  The second year we still avoided crowds and kids, but we would go grocery shopping/malls etc in the morning hours when they were not busy.  

It doesn't get too cold here so we were able to take daily walks awound the neighborhood which helped me to get out of the house.  Sometimes we would just go drive around.  The main thing that kept me sane was knowing that I was doing best for my baby and keeping him healthy.

Mrs Manners

I'm going to start meeting up with another mom and their baby on an individual basis. Ds is almost a year old and is dying for some socialization. He'll go weeks where he doesn't leave the house and the only people he sees are me, dh, the nanny and sometimes my parents. He's getting cabin fever! I connected with a couple of moms on my local nest board who live in my part of town and we're going to meet one on one with our kids. I also joined a meetup group but they haven't had any meetings yet so I'll have to make a determination about it once they have their next meeting. RSV would really suck but ds is pretty much caught up on weight/height/milestones so other than washing our hands a lot, having a nanny instead of daycare and not deliberately exposing him to sick people - we don't really take any "preemie precautions".

FutureMrsDenman

We're holding off on a playgroup until after RSV season.  I also moved to a new place recently, and it would be SO NICE to meet other Moms in the area right now.  But I'm waiting.  We also quit going to the story time for little ones at the local library during RSV season.  We'll be heading back there as soon as RSV is over.

In the mean time, I am taking DD on little outings that stimulate her, don't completely bore me, but keep her away from other people as much as possible.  Yesterday, for example, we visited a local pond with ducks and I fed the ducks while she watched them and squealed with delight at their behavior.  She also started waving to the ducks and saying "quack" at them ducks while we were there.  It was super cute!  After that she did the whole back arching thing when I tried to put her in her carseat because she really wanted to stay and watch the ducks longer.  I needed a change of scenery by that time so I loaded her up and we went to a local dog park just down the road.  We don't have a dog, but Madeline LOVES to watch the dogs at the dog park.  Some days we watch from outside the fence, but yesterday we went inside and got closer.  NONE of the dogs came anywhere near us.  I had DD in a stroller with mosquito netting pulled over it, so I don't know if that kept the dogs away or what, but they seemed not to even take notice of us as we watched.  She had a great time watching them chase eachother and their toys through the park.  She also enjoyed watching them take baths, etc.

Of course this doesn't give me any more opportunity for adult conversations, but it helps us get out.  I have made a neighbor-friend who has a child much older than DD.  She always sits on her driveway after school to watch her DS play in the yard.  I take DD down in her stroller and sit on the driveway and talk to the Mom while DD watches the kids playing.  She doesn't get close to them and they know to stay away from her. 

HTH.

lauraanddave

I would wait until after RSV season.  DD is only almost a couple weeks old so we're not going out period...the self-imposed isolation does make me go a little crazy, but it's peace of mind at the same time.

The only other child she's been around is our friends' son, born two weeks after her, so they're both snoozing in their car seats whenever we're together.  He was also in the NICU (has a heart condition) so we joke that we can be obsessive about hand sanitizer and good health together.

AviatorJJ

my experience with a moms group is that the moms will bring their kids out to playdates even when they are sick. not over the top sick but coughing, runny noses etc. we decided to join one but only went to outings where my son wouldn't be in close contact with others and if it were held outside. he did get croup and i think it was from a playdate.

the only way i stayed sane and some would doubt that was to get out of the house by myself. i took turns with my husband.