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From: Stacy's Dad
Date: 15 Dec 2006
Time: 00:50:59 -0600
Remote Name: 63.193.210.65
MAJOR bummer on Atrid getting sick so quickly. I know what you mean about wanting to ax the idea of daycare. Astrid's still "at risk" given her early birth, size, and weight. Also, if you're in the same boat as us, no synigis shots this season because she's "too old." That puts her at an even higher risk than she would otherwise have been, we're told. There have been kids at Stacy's Little Gym sessions, swimming classes, and My Gym sessions that have been sick. We try to steer her away from them and keep them away from her but... it doesn't always work that way. The good news is that, after being around some of the germs, she's started to manufacture a resistance to many of the illnesses she'd otherwise be catching. She's rarely sick (knock on wood). Some of the "child books" we've read say it's actually better that kids don't live in too clean an environment. The reason cited is that they don't build up the antibodies, hence they're more suseptable to getting sick more frequently, and worse than kids that are exposed to the germs on a regular basis. It's SO hard to let them "go" places where they're exposed to germs. But, we just came home from Valley Fair where Stacy played in the kids play area with LOTS other kids. I can't help but hope the exposure she's gotten elsewhere will help to proctect her when she's at playgrounds, malls, etc. We're all exposed to germs in grocery stores, at work, and everywhere we go. It's always best if we take precautions to avoid catching anything anywhere we go, but it's also best if we have a healthy immune system. You're a great mom to Astrid. If the "threat level" at that daycare is too high, perhaps another might be better. If it's just a case of "kids and their germs," follow your instincts. We try to keep Stacy home on those days when "the signals" indicate she'd be more prone to catching something (those days when she's too run down, acting a bit too cranky, etc.). To be sure, we've "pulled her out" of situations where we thought the other kids were too sick (sneezing, coughing, etc.) but for the most part, we try to give her the minimum of exposure she needs. No amount of exposure is going to keep her healty all the time. And, sometimes, a little exposure is too much. It's a balancing act. It's a tough call for any parent. And, I don't mean this to sound like I'm trying to sway you one way or another. I certainly wouldn't want someone "hinting" at what we should be doing with Stacy. I'm just saying it's a challenge we've also faced, and this is our approach.