2-Postpartum and Newborn Health Tips for the Holidays: Wellness for Mom and Baby
It’s the most wonderful time of the year. The season of gratitude and giving. It’s also the sickest. Navigating the fall and winter months with a newborn or infant can be nerve-wracking and overwhelming.
Let’s start with the biggest concern for most new parents during the holidays: keeping baby healthy.
Baby Wellness
Newborns have brand-new immune systems, and they need to be handled with care. The fall and winter months can be full of visitors, gatherings, and seasonal illnesses, so taking proactive steps to protect your baby is key.
How to Prevent Winter Illnesses
With colds, RSV, and the flu circulating this time of year, there are a few ways to help keep your newborn safe:
Limit exposure: Avoid crowded places like malls, grocery stores, and airports for the first 8 weeks. Also, reduce the frequency and number of visitors.
Hand hygiene: Make sure everyone who touches your baby washes their hands thoroughly with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. This includes older siblings, doulas, midwives, or other caregivers.
Avoid kissing or hand contact: While it’s tempting, avoid both to protect your baby.
Watch for symptoms in visitors: Anyone with even mild symptoms (yes, even simple coughs, runny noses, or “just allergies”) should wait to visit.
Know your baby’s normal breathing: Take a video of your baby’s chest and breathing pattern when healthy to compare if you ever worry about labored breathing.
3 common illnesses make their rounds the most this time of year: colds, RSV, and the flu. They all have some overlapping symptoms, but range in severity.
RSV
Respiratory Syncytial Virus, more commonly known as RSV, is a highly contagious respiratory virus. It is spread through droplets that get in the air through coughs or sneezes, touching a contaminated surface, and then touching your nose, eyes, or mouth without washing your hands. RSV can live for hours on contaminated surfaces. It can also spread through direct contact, such as if someone who has RSV kisses baby.
People with RSV are contagious for 3-8 days after exposure, but because of baby’s newly developing immune system that isn’t as good at fighting the virus, they can be contagious for as long as four weeks (and yes, even if they no longer are showing symptoms).
RSV is the leading cause of infant hospitalization in the US. The younger the child, the more dangerous the illness. This is especially true for infants 6 months and younger.
Also, adults commonly have RSV and never even know it. This is because in adults, the symptoms look almost identical to the common cold. This is why it is extremely important that no matter if someone thinks it’s “just allergies” or thinks it’s just a cold, they should wait to come visit.
ALL of that to say, it is EXTREMELY common among children. Almost every child will have contracted RSV by their second birthday.
RSV usually begins mildly, but can become severe a few days later. Here is what to look for.
Early symptoms to look for:
Runny nose
Eating or drinking less
A cough that can progress to wheezing or difficulty breathing
Symptoms to look for in infants 6 months and younger:
Apnea (pauses in breathing for more than 10 seconds)
Eating or drinking less
Decreased activity
Irritability
Most children with RSV do NOT have a fever
RSV isn’t the only illness that spreads quickly during the holidays, so let’s look at the other big ones.
Flu
Influenza, more commonly referred to as the flu, is spread by droplets when someone with the influenza virus sneezes, coughs, or talks, and the droplets containing the virus get released into the air. It can also be spread by touching contaminated surfaces and then touching your nose, eyes, or mouth. And of course, it is spread by close contact, such as touching or kissing.
It can be difficult to prevent the spread of the flu because it’s very difficult to know how long you’re contagious. People are most contagious during the first three to four days after symptoms start, but you can be contagious a day before your symptoms even start, and up to seven days after the onset of your symptoms.
The common symptoms to look out for in your child:
Fever of 100.4 or higher
If your baby is under the age of 3 months and they develop a fever of 100.4 or higher, they need to go to the emergency room immediately.
If your baby is between 3 and 12 months old and they develop a fever of 102.2 or higher, they need to go to the emergency room immediately.
Aching muscles are usually in the back, arms, and legs
Chills and sweats
Headache
Cough
Runny or stuffy nose
Sore throat
Fatigue and weakness
And of course, the most common of all. The regular old cold.
Colds
The rhinovirus, also known as a cold, is often the most mild of the infant winter illnesses. Even the most healthy of babies can catch up to 6 colds by their first birthday.
These are the common symptoms to look out for:
Runny or stuffy nose
Nasal discharge
Can start clear but then become grey, green, or yellow
Might have a fever at the start
Cough
Hoarse voice
Watery eyes
Swollen Lymph Nodes
With ANY of these illnesses, if your baby’s breathing becomes labored, they need to be taken to the emergency room immediately.
Illness isn’t the only challenge during the holidays. Routines can get disrupted…and fast.
Maintaining Routines & Sleep
During the holidays, whether you have guests or whether YOU are a guest, it can be very easy for babies to get thrown off their rhythm. I am not someone who believes in a strict, timed schedule, BUT I am a stickler for our routines. What is the difference? Essentially, a schedule is all about the time on the clock, whereas the routines focus on the sequence of events regardless of the time on the clock. Babies thrive on consistency and routine! Bring whatever you can from home to help their routine be as close as possible (sound machine, sleep sack, stuffed toy if it’s age appropriate).
An easy way to figure out what your families key routines are is to figure out what your key anchors in the day are. For my family, that looks like:
Morning wake-up and snuggles in bed together
Breakfast & music
Lunch
Bedtime: bath, book, breast, bed
Stick to your key anchors! They can also be as simple as favorite songs and toys.
When it comes to naps, getting those naps in at the same time they normally land can be a challenge. Try and ensure baby gets at least 1-2 good naps if possible. By good naps I mean 1-2 naps that are not in a car seat or stroller. Babies often will go through a temporary regression when traveling. It will likely go back to normal once you get home
Even with good sleep and routines, the holidays can be a lot for little nervous systems.
Protecting Against Overstimulation
Holidays are fun and exciting, but they are often very overstimulating. Especially for babies who honestly have no clue what is happening. They are often loud, crowded, and full of faces they likely don’t really recognize
Watch for cues that the baby is getting overstimulated:
Fussiness
Turning away
Whining
Rubbing eyes
Clinginess
If you start to notice these signs in your baby, it’s time to take them back if they are being held by someone else and to just step out of the room for a reset.
If you are in someone else's space, before you get there, go ahead and ask if there will be a private place to nurse the baby beforehand. You can then use this space to, of course, feed the baby, but if you begin to get overwhelmed with all the love and you just want a second with your baby to yourself. Go to that room and just…be…for a little bit while you snuggle your baby. You don’t have to be “on” for the entire visit. This can be a great reset for both baby and mom!
Baby wearing can also be really great at regulating both the baby’s and the mom’s emotions.
Feeding
While traveling and during overstimulating things such as the holidays, you might see baby wanting to nurse more often for comfort. This is perfectly normal and a regulatory tool.
And while keeping the baby well is a top priority, your wellness matters just as much.
Mama Wellness
Protecting Your Postpartum Body
While traveling, you will likely do more bending, lifting, and walking than you typically do at home. Go slow. Listen to your body If you notice any sign of heaviness, fatigue, or pain, honor that. That is your body asking for a break. If you begin to experience heavy bleeding (soaking through a pad in an hour or passing golf ball-sized clots) or extreme pain, please contact your medical care team or go to the emergency room.
Another challenge while traveling is staying hydrated. As much as I try and encourage moms that they don't HAVE to buy anything, if buying that new water bottle that is ALL the craze will get you to drink water…then buy it. It is very easy to get dehydrated while traveling. Ask your partner or a family member to encourage you to keep up with your water intake.
Finally, make sure you are eating real meals when you can. Not just gas station snacks (although you’re welcome to indulge). But your body needs real nutrients to heal, take care of your baby, and nourish your baby if you breastfeed.
Managing Overwhelm
Even though it is the holidays, you do not HAVE to go to all the parties or activities. No, not even when your family member guilts you over how they never get to see the baby (they never offer to come over), and everyone wants to meet the baby (aka play hot potato with the baby). Here is your free pass from your friendly doula, “get out of social event free card” with unlimited uses. If it doesn’t fill your cup, don’t do it. Not everyone gets access to your energy.
With that said, you might want to get out to do SOMETHING over the holidays or even have people at your house. If you choose to “host”, please remember that during your postpartum season, you are not and should not be “host of the year”. Opening your door and allowing people into your postpartum space is more than generous enough. Lower those expectations, mama.
Remember that tip I told you about, if you go to someone else's space, before you go ahead and ask if there will be a private place to nurse baby? You can also use that space as a reset for yourself, too. Baby isn’t the only one who might get overwhelmed.
If your holiday plans include travel, especially with a newborn, there are a few extra things to keep in mind.
Travel Management
If you are not flying and you are driving instead to avoid crowds with a new baby, take the trip in small bits. Don’t feel like you need to get to one spot in one day if it's not feasible. Driving will likely take up to twice as long in the car with a baby because newborns should not be in a car longer for 2 hours. This is true up until baby can sit up unassisted or has proper head control. This rule doesn’t apply only to time in the car itself, either. This also counts if your baby is in the car seat in the stroller
Let baby get out and stretch, and play for a bit to reset before getting back in the seat.
When you get back home and are ready to find your rhythm again, it can take a few days to recalibrate. Have patience with yourself and your kiddos :) Give yourself space to ease back into routines and take things one day at a time
The holidays can be magical, but they can also be overwhelming. Whether you travel, stay home, host, or simply snuggle with your baby, remember this: you don’t owe anyone a perfect holiday. Protect your peace and trust your instincts. This year might look different than in years past. But different doesn’t mean less meaningful. Slowing down, staying present, and creating space for rest is exactly what makes this season special for you and your little one. And hey…it might just become the most special holiday season you’ve ever spent :)
Sources:
https://www.yalemedicine.org/conditions/rsv-respiratory-syncytial-virus
https://www.cdc.gov/rsv/infants-young-children/index.html
https://www.yalemedicine.org/conditions/flu
https://www.seattlechildrens.org/conditions/a-z/colds-0-12-months/