Old wives tale

mightymousy · October 2013

I'm curious if any of you have heard this one before...

I'm hanging out with some of my family and my grandma starts talking about how my cousin's 4 month old has been coughing and not wanting to swallow his milk, almost like his throat is sore. She says that my cousin's wife took the baby to see the doctor and the doctor said it was nothing without even looking at the baby's throat or anything, because "babies can't get sick in the first 3 months". My grandma was all concerned saying she knew babies couldn't get sick in the first 3 months but that he's 4 months.....wait WHAT?! My aunts and I all chimed in with versions of "what do you mean can't get sick in he first 3 months?", "of course a newborn can get sick, and it's very dangerous!". I had never heard someone say that before! We told her very clearly that my cousin needs to find a new doctor for his kids immediately.

Have you ladies heard this one before?

cherylnicole · October 2013

Weirddddd...Never heard that one before!

HerbanMom · October 2013

No, definitely never heard that one before. DS1 definitely got sick a few times in his first 3 months :-/

leahraewku · October 2013

That's a new one.

jamrosj · October 2013

Yeah tell that to my friends family member who got RSV at 4 days old...

Brandi81012 · October 2013

Yeah, I have also never heard of that one. As a pediatric nurse on a floor for newborns to 5yr ish, babies under 3
months can get sick. That is the majority of my floors population.

KFiori1 · October 2013

Both my kids had colds by 4 weeks old.

Lawren · October 2013

I've never heard that one.

mightymousy · October 2013

arnold94 said:
Second on the RSV ... DS got it when he was 3 weeks old. It can happen, trust me. Your cousin needs a new Pedi ASAP!

I agree :S

lzponce · October 2013

That is crazy. I can't believe a doctor would say that!

northport6 · October 2013

I have no words. Only gifs.

limeblue44 · October 2013

Never heard this... Is the Dr. old school?

mightymousy · October 2013

limeblue44 said:

Never heard this... Is the Dr. old school?

Must be, since my 70 something grandma thought this was perfectly normal :S

limeblue44 · October 2013

mightymousy said:

limeblue44 said:

Never heard this... Is the Dr. old school?

Must be, since my 70 something grandma thought this was perfectly normal :S

I would be on the hunt for a new Dr if I were her... the fact that the Dr was just like "nope... can't get sick" seems so wrong to me. Hell, the world would be a much better place if infants couldn't get sick.

grannyweatherwax · October 2013

That is the dumbest thing I have ever heard a doctor say. Of course a baby can get sick in the first 3 months. They're not magically protected from the flu or pertussis or whatever. What kind of doctor do they go to?

They need a new pedi immediately.

Ktrue85 · October 2013

I've never heard that before because it's total crap!! I hope your cousin does the right thing as finds a new pedi!!

Ansleyturner · October 2013

Holy horrible doctor, batman..

AGriffin620 · October 2013

Wow, what a weird thing to say. Time to find a new doctor!

airsica · October 2013

Nope never heard that, and one of my girls got pneumonia at 2 months old...

vande2006 · October 2013

My first had croup a bit before turning 2 months old. I'd be looking for a new doctor.

lp0 · October 2013

Definitely hadn't heard that one before.

melco19 · October 2013

My mother-in-law told me this! She said she didn't need the flu shot or tdap because the baby can't get sick in the first 3 months. No idea where she came up with it

AnnikaD20 · October 2013

I kind of wonder if that's not exactly what the doctor said, and by the time your cousin told your grandma who told you, it got scrambled somehow. Because I have a hard time believing that there's a real doctor practicing real medicine who would say that. If it's true, it's time for a new doctor.

willowprincess · October 2013

That's insane, but of course babies can get sick during the first 3 months. It's definitely time for a new doctor.

KELLILOVESJOSH · October 2013

Never heard that one! I second what PP said. Maybe she misunderstood. Maybe doc just meant there isn't much you can do for an infant that young, other than monitor and make sure they are getting enough liquid and not running a high fever. Many docs won't prescribe anything to babies that young for cold symptoms other than saline drops or infants Tylenol. Hopefully it was miscommunication.

mh89 · October 2013

I know it used to be believed that babies that young couldn't feel pain (they were operated on without anesthesia until the 1970s or 80s). Maybe she heard that myth and confused it with what she told you.

Ark2013 · October 2013

I've heard this before.

When I brought my youngest in for her 2month appointment I told my dr that she had a stuffy nose and a bit Of a cough. He said that because I was ebf it was unlikely that she had a cold under three months of age. He said he just doesn't see it very often. Sure enough, it was a cold. I also had two older children coming home from school covered in germs everyday so I'm sure that contributed to it. My older two didn't get sick until they were closer to a year old.

The fact that her dr said babies that age CAN'T get sick is crazy though.

esf60 · October 2013

The only thing I've heard is that breastfeeding babies do get certain antibodies from the mother, which helps protect them in the first few months. Maybe somehow that got confused by the doc, or by Grandma, to mean that babies CAN'T get sick in the first few months, which is most definitely not true. If it were, we wouldn't all be freaking out about babies being born in the middle of flu season!

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