? for those with older preemies

lwmooney87

I'm having a hard time deciding what to do for the holidays. I know my DD is a little older now but I still feel hesitant for her to be around a large crowd (especially children). Other children don't understand. The other day a 2.5 year old in our family fed my daughter a potato chip...that she had already had in her mouth! I almost had a panic attack right there. I had no clue she was going to do that. I immediately scooped her up and made an excuse to leave. The child wasn't sick or anything but it still grossed me out.

My family already thinks I overreact and shelter DD too much but we've been very fortunate that she's only been sick twice in her life so far. I want to keep it that way.

My family is having a gathering at my aunt's house- about 35 people. Would you take your 19 month old (former 29 weeker)? If so, do you have any tips on how to keep her from getting so germ infested by these walking petri dishes?

Thanks!

Cara03

With my DS, 24 weeker, it was around the 18 month mark that we started easing into actaully taking him places. It was under the instruction from his doctors that we stay isolated that long and then start going out because he seemed ready to fight germs, etc, by 18 months. It was a hard transition for us in that we were so used to being so cautios and nervous about germs, etc. It helped that the 18 month mark for us was the beginning of summer so there weren't as many germs flying around. If possible, I'd ask our pedi for advice. Then if the doc says don't go, or it would be risky, etc, you can use that as our excuse to your family so maybe they will take the news a little better. We did that a lot, but of course got a lot of comments from people who just don't understand the preemie world.

KatFCo

What does your doctor say? DD was 19 months (15 months adjusted) her second Christmas and we went out of state to visit family. We went to a few largeish family gatherings and it was fine.

For the most part, we communicated that she couldn't be around anyone with a cold and made sure she wasn't passed around a lot. Hand sanitizer was plentiful and because family members were aware of the struggle she'd gone through, they were okay with it.

Definitely keep an eye out when she's around the little ones because they will "share" whatever they have.

At some point, your preemie will lead a normal life, but it all depends on your child's circumstances when that can be.