Sick Babies BF vs FF?

mfsunshine222

I had to take LO to the Dr. for the 2nd time in a week because his "cold" was getting worse. Turns out he has an ear infection and is now on antibiotics.  Happy 4 month b-day Sebastian; sorry you feel like poop!

This got me wondering how the August '14 BF babies are faring compared to the FF babies when it comes to the "sickies"?  DS is now EFF and the thing I was MOST upset about when I had to supplement (due to extremely low supply), was that he was not going to have the antibodies of BM and would be a sicker baby. 

I know a lot of LO's on here have been sick, so what is your situation? 

poofwok

DS had a cold and that's all he's ever had.

He's been EFF since 3 weeks pp.

I've been sick more then he has.

NLewis1

DS and I both had a cold a few weeks ago. He is EBF (until last night when I gave him 2 ounces of formula after he drained me and was still hungry). We were both sick with a stuffy nose and it lasted about a week total, probably 2 really bad days and then the rest of the week to really clear up

amj1053

My FF baby is not in daycare so take this witha grain of salt, but all that she has had is a runny nose and a little bit of congestion that lasted about 3 days.

jamjoyful

My EBF baby ended up in the hospital with severe croup so my antibodies obviously need to get their shit together.

becominggold

LO is EBF and has had one cold around 10 weeks and will be 4 mo on Monday. He has been in daycare since seven weeks. I have not been sick. I am a teacher and work in a germ fest. This doesn't worry me for myself as I am rarely sick, but I have been pleasantly surprised it hadn't affected him more. The first year we were married DH got sick everytime something was going around my school and I did not.

kareik01

EBF and I THOUGHT DD had an ear infection a week ago, but the next morning she was completely fine. She does still tug on her ear several times a day, but I'm now thinking it's just because she's discovered it with her hands, not that it hurts. Had our 4 month check up yesterday and doctor didn't say anything about the ears.

So other than congestion, no real "sickies" yet.

courtniko

DD is BF and has had a cold that never got bad.  Thankfully she has avoided a lot of the worse stuff going around daycare.

mfsunshine222

amj1053 said:

My FF baby is not in daycare so take this witha grain of salt, but all that she has had is a runny nose and a little bit of congestion that lasted about 3 days.

GREAT point!  I guess daycare can be another big sicky factor.

DS isn't in daycare either but DH works at an elementary school; he tries to be very careful around the baby, but he was the first to get sick, then my mom and dad who babysit part-time, then LO (with the cold), then me, now LO with the infection!  Needless to say we will ALL be on antibiotics for the holidays!  Poor DS didn't stand a chance!

amj1053

mfsunshine222 said:

amj1053 said:

My FF baby is not in daycare so take this witha grain of salt, but all that she has had is a runny nose and a little bit of congestion that lasted about 3 days.

GREAT point!  I guess daycare can be another big sicky factor.

DS isn't in daycare either but DH works at an elementary school; he tries to be very careful around the baby, but he was the first to get sick, then my mom and dad who babysit part-time, then LO (with the cold), then me, now LO with the infection!  Needless to say we will ALL be on antibiotics for the holidays!  Poor DS didn't stand a chance!

END QUOTE

Oh, wow! I hope y'all feel better soon! I start an internship in January and MIL will be watching LO but I'm going to be around families with babies and young children so I'm hoping I don't bring anything home with me.

kimberlybethh

I think its just the luck of the draw. DD was EBF for 3 months before switching to EFF and she has been sick (not counting minor colds) 3 times in two years. She goes to daycare so I think she must have a freakishly good immune system. I have friends who both EBF and EFF and their kids are sick all the time. DS has had a cold for about a week. I think the poor kid will have a cold for the next 5 months since DD is constantly kissing him and in his face all the time.

lynds002

Ebf, in daycare, never been sick. Now I've jinxed myself...

becominggold

@weeklyplanner‌ I know exactly how you feel. LO is in daycare 4-5 hrs a day and I still haven't felt comfortable with the idea of gym daycare. I do think I am going to try it in January though.

@amj1053‌ I would strongly advise you to think about doing extra Vitamin C and something like Airborne. I was so sick my first few months teaching!

cachoque

DS is EBF and at DC 9hrs/day 4days/week since 3mo old. He had a real bad cold last week and was sent home with fever. Next day was our 4mo check up and pedi said it was just a cold. It lasted 3-4 days. He's had congestion & snotty noise really since he started DC. I think the BM helps but there's just no stopping it if he picks up a virus at DC. I've only been sick after he was.

JadaBlue

LO was BF to three months, now EFF, never been sick.

mfsunshine222

andrea ri 80  - Thanks for the support!  I hate seeing my happy little boy so miserable, and the cough is just scary! With all of us care takers feeling like s*&% we are really going through it.

Hearing about all these sick LO's is depressing...sorry I started this thread!  Hope there is a "holiday miracle" and all the Aug. '14 LO's, siblings, momma's and papa's get to 100%!

Stephy129

My first was breastfed for 4 months and was sick the entire time. This little guy was never breastfed and hasn't been sick at all. For us there has been no correlation between being brestfed and less illness.

SoSayWeAll

All breastmilk and DC about 36 hrs a week since early November. He had one decent cold but didn't have to miss DC or go to the pedi(never got a fever just congestion and cough).

amj1053

becominggold said:

@weeklyplanner‌ I know exactly how you feel. LO is in daycare 4-5 hrs a day and I still haven't felt comfortable with the idea of gym daycare. I do think I am going to try it in January though.

@amj1053‌ I would strongly advise you to think about doing extra Vitamin C and something like Airborne. I was so sick my first few months teaching!

Thanks! I actually worked in an elementary school until this past June and after the first year I never got sick. I'm a little bit more nervous about the germs now bc I will be going into the families homes so I won't really be able to have any bit of control over the germs like I kind of did at the school where I could spray and wipe everything down at the end of the day.

Eena1242

I read that bottle-fed babies, whether formula or breast milk, are more likely to get ear infections because the bottle can cause pressure differences but the breast doesn't. I'm sure there's more to it than that, but I found that to be interesting. My doctor also told me reflux can cause ear infections because the liquid sitting in the back of the throat can mess with the little ears too. Babies are such complicated little people!

My little guy is breast milk only so far (nurse at home, bottles at daycare). He has been at daycare for about 5 weeks. He caught a cold last week, with sniffles and a cough.

herecomesthesun

EBF... 3 weeks into day care LO caught a cold. It was mild compared with some of his classmate's colds. But many of his classmates are BF or pumped BM.

I think BFing helps a bit with building antibodies and maybe lessening severity a bit- but if it's noticable? I doubt it. Kids catch germs no matter what they eat. Some are more susceptible to certain germs than others.

SLMckinnon

My DD was EBF to one month and combo fed (BF and FF at each feeding) after that due to low supply. She has not been sick once (she's 13.5 weeks). I also SAH though so she's not in daycare

BeachM

Eh, I'm totally convinced it's most influenced by genetics.  My friends who as children were sick often have children who are sick often.  DH has an immune system of steel and so far both boys seem to have inherited that.

LucyLorrai

BeachM said:

Eh, I'm totally convinced it's most influenced by genetics.  My friends who as children were sick often have children who are sick often.  DH has an immune system of steel and so far both boys seem to have inherited that.

You may be on to something with this. A friend of mine has a baby 6 weeks older than mine and she EBF and her child goes to daycare and she has been sick more than she has not been sick. My friend is always catching colds and pink eye. My DS is EFF and I SAH but were always out and about and he hasn't been sick. My husband and I are rarely ever sick.

gahorseygal

Bronchiolitis and RSV for this EBF baby. I work from home so not sure how she got sick. My husband and I have the flu but we both got sick a few days after her.

Robinischo

DS has had a runny nose and a cough for a few weeks. He also just got over an ear infection. He is BF but gets breast milk in bottles when I'm at work. He's been going to daycare about 2.5 day per week since 13 weeks. (he's almost 4 mo, 3 wks). I'm a pharmacist so I'm sure I'm exposed to all sorts of germies. He also has reflux.

BeachM

coffee&wine said:

I think external factors play into this more... ie does LO go to a daycare center, in home, etc. My son started daycare at 4 months and got a crazy number of colds and ear infections for the next year. Now he's super healthy as a three year old - he was FF. DD starts daycare in 2 weeks and will be EBF (as long as I can), so we will see if she fares any better. I'm sure she'll get sick just as often. Maybe the illnesses won't last as long? We will see.

Yes, absolutely this too.  If you SAH enjoy the sick-free run until preschool starts because then all bets are off. 

rockyrollgirl

Stopped bfing with DD1 at 6 months. First time getting sick was at 1 years old. Caught the 24 hr stomach bug at a Christmas Party. That bug took out the whole party though. Very contagious.

Stopped bfing DD2 at 2 months. Caught a cold from DD1, but it wasn't too bad.

becominggold

This may be a UO but I actually believe it is good for LO's to get small illnesses likes colds once in a while. I have had LOs come to preschool who had been basically home and very protected and then catch everything that came through.

leannerivers

EBF never been sick but not in daycare.