Visiting Olivia--the Rules!

We have enjoyed some time as a family of 3 to adjust to our new normal, so we appreciate you allowing us the freedom to do that.  As time continues to go on, we are sure people will want to stop in to visit Olivia, and because of her prematurity that comes with certain challenges.  So though we would love for everyone to come and see her right away, we are probably going to limit visitors for awhile to close friends and family.  Among the pages of follow up appointments and instructions for her discharge from the NICU, we were also warned of the dangers of having too many people around her especially in these first few months.  We have been told no Target runs, grocery store trips, church or church activities, or really any gatherings with a large number of people present.  Basically Olivia is on house arrest until early June, the exception to that being her doctors visits (and boy does she have a lot--7 in the first three weeks of her being home in fact).

As you probably know newborn babies have little to no immune system and in a full term baby, their immune system will begin to develop around three months of age.  In Olivia's case that is much longer and with RSV and this deadly flu season, we are not taking any chances.  Because Olivia's lungs were underdeveloped, she is more susceptible to respiratory problems.  Interestingly enough, most babies contract RSV by the age two, however in full term babies (or even adults) the symptoms are similar to those of the common cold, but since preemies (especially those born before 30 weeks) don't have the antibodies to fight off the infection, they often require hospitalization and in serious cases, it can mean death.  The last thing we want is for our little girl who has already had to fight so hard in life so far to end up back at the hospital or worse.  So though you may think you just have a silly cough or cold, it could be much more dangerous to Olivia. 

As I have mentioned in the past we are looking past weeks for Olivia to catch up to her full-term counterparts (though she is starting to fill out more and put on weight, it does seem she is caught up to "normal"), it is more like months or years and that is particularly true when it comes to antibodies. I am in a NICU mom's support group on Facebook and everyone has their own timeline for visitors, most everyone erring on the side of caution, some not allowing anyone, even grandparents, in to see their babies for months.  Though we believe, less visitors is better, we still want to keep the option open for some close friends and family to stop in.  The main concern is that each person that comes to visit Olivia carries with them germs from every other person they have come in contact with recently.  So say you work in a large office building, it is likely a number of the people there have been out with colds and even the flu in the last week, so just cause you may not have symptoms does not mean you are not carrying something from someone else.  As such, we have decided on the follow rules for visiting Olivia:

1. Wash hands for 1 minute when you arrive and frequently during your time in our house, we have been told repeatedly this is the BEST way to prevent the spread of germs.

2. We ask you to not visit if you are sick, or have been sick with a cold.  Please wait a full week of being symptom free before coming over.

3. If you have had the Flu or RSV, our doctor suggests a two month wait to visit. (And no, he was not kidding, I double checked to be sure). 

4. We ask you to not visit if you have had close contact with someone who has been sick in the last 4 days.

5. If you smoke, you would need to shower and change clothes before coming over and not smoke before or during the visit here.  Again, Olivia's lungs are sensitive and especially so to smoke.

6. We ask that only adults visit, leaving children at home until Olivia is a little bit bigger.

7. We will limit visitors to no more than two sets per day, as Olivia still needs lots of down time and too much stimulation is not ideal for preemies.

Remember, a little cold for you or me can be a big threat to Olivia.  In addition to the above, it is important to remember that Olivia'a main goals are growing and resting, so it may not always be feasible to hold her when you visit and it is best to keep visits short and sweet especially in the first few months.  We do hope that by late May/early June, most of these rules will not apply as much.  We so appreciate you all working with us to ensure Olivia has a quiet, clean environment to continue to grow healthily. 

If you are interested in more reading, here are a few great articles:

https://www.reallyareyouserious.com/rsv-and-world-prematurity-awareness-day/

http://www.preemiebabies101.com/rsv-101-every-parent-needs-know/