So annoyed

[Willow82]

I went to baby massage this morning and DD ended up laying next to the most ridiculously congested baby who was coughing and sneezing everywhere. I'm so paranoid she's going to get it especially as we're going on holiday on Friday.

I'm so annoyed with the mother for taking him. Ok, a minor cold and a bit of a runny nose is fine.

Sorry, just wanted to vent!

 

[Teri7489]

My friend done this for months until I told her not to. Our boys are 6 weeks apart and she would come to visit even when her son had colds, tummy bugs, infections and chicken pox. One of us always caught it and it drove me mad. When he got croup and conjunctivitis I said she was to stay away. To me its rude and selfish. Not saying they should stay indoors but limit close contact with other people where possible. Hope your LO doesn't catch it x

 

[george83]

Maybe the poor mother had been stuck at home for days on end with a poorly, miserable baby who - as some babies do - wasn't coping well with being ill and that was the one trip out she'd been able to face up to to give herself a slight break from a horrible situation. Unless you know the full situation you really shouldn't judge

 

[loeylo]

Maybe the poor mother had been stuck at home for days on end with a poorly, miserable baby who - as some babies do - wasn't coping well with being ill and that was the one trip out she'd been able to face up to to give herself a slight break from a horrible situation. Unless you know the full situation you really shouldn't judge

Still, there are far more appropriate places than a small room with lots of other babies, trapped together for an hour. A trip to the park, to the shops etc was a far more appropriate place to take an unwell child to. Id have moved tbh, I recently had a bad cold myself and I true to minimise contact with my wee one so she didn't catch it. Similarly I have asked other unwell family members to stay away.

 

[Teri7489]

Maybe the poor mother had been stuck at home for days on end with a poorly, miserable baby who - as some babies do - wasn't coping well with being ill and that was the one trip out she'd been able to face up to to give herself a slight break from a horrible situation. Unless you know the full situation you really shouldn't judge

Little bit harsh. Yeah the mother could have been as you say but there are plenty of places with less contact with others. Baby could potentially pass it on to the other babies which really isn't fair, and I actually find it selfish.

 

[minties]

If you were that worried you could have left or sat elsewhere?

 

[zorak]

Throwing out another perspective. My son has asthma and since he was tiny any time he caught a slight sniffle he got an awful cough. People used to comment on it all the time, it was well meant but got very annoying. If I had to stay home with him whenever this happened we'd be home for months on end.

Personally I'm not a germ phobe and just try and take a sensible approach.

 

[_Meep_]

I also think it is selfish to be honest. I'm not a germ-phobe either - I just don't relish the idea of my child having to feel like shit and no doubt pass it on to the whole household. Only my partner currently works so that I can be at home to look after our daughter, and we get by ok, but he is self-employed and paid-per-job, so if and when he gets ill he basically has to battle on through to avoid losing money.

Personally, and people may well slam me for this, I think that sitting at home and caring for your sick kid through the sleeplessness and misery is one of the things you sign up for when you decide to have a baby. It's rubbish, but you suck it up and you deal with it. If you absolutely have to get out, then choose something appropriate!

There's a difference between taking your poorly baby out for a walk/to the supermarket, and taking him or her along to a class packed full of other young babies or newborns with immature immune systems.

If my baby (when she WAS still a baby) had contracted a virus from another child in such a setting, which then developed, say, into life-threatening pneumonia, I think it would be hard not to feel blameful towards the mother.

 

[Yo_Yo]

That would have annoyed me too!

 

[JumpingIn]

Throwing out another perspective. My son has asthma and since he was tiny any time he caught a slight sniffle he got an awful cough. People used to comment on it all the time, it was well meant but got very annoying. If I had to stay home with him whenever this happened we'd be home for months on end.

Personally I'm not a germ phobe and just try and take a sensible approach.

My son had an incredibly hoarse voice and a smoker's cough up until he was 6 months old due to his GERD. People would comment ALL the time about how he should have been at home in bed because he clearly has flu. I'd get filthy looks. Babies look sick for all kinds of unexpected reasons.

 

[Septie]

I would have changed seats or left...But yeah, I do think it's inconsiderate exposing a room full of babies with immature immune systems to a bad cold, for the sake of a massage (and if by chance it were an allergy and not a cold - unlikely, IMO - as a mother, I would have told the people sitting next to me, to alleviate their worries!). To alleviate your worries - babies and kids can sound awful many days into a cold, when they are already less infectious, so your LO may be lucky. Do let us know how it goes!

 

[mandy81]

I would have moved seats or left completely especially if i was going on holidays a matter of days later...

 

[Willow82]

There were unfortunately no mats left or I would have considered moving. I would have felt really rude if I left especially as it was a small class rather than baby group, as such it never occurred to me to leave.

Thankfully all was well though! DD never got the cold and we had a wonderful holiday! This was despite the same baby turning up again at another class the following day and again sitting next to DD! What are the chances?!

I think I did get overly annoyed at the time but I still think she should not have taken him. I have taken my pre-schooler to groups when he has had a slight cold but anything worse and we've stayed away. I don't really have much of a mummy support network so unless I go to these groups and classes, I don't get adult company. I rely on them for my sanity and I still would not have taken DD to a class if she had sounded like that.

I chatted to the mother and it was very much a cold rather than asthma, allergies etc which some people suggested might be the case.