For one to two months, limit the number of your baby’s visitors, especially children. Your baby needs a little time to build resistance to common infections and develop reliable cues as to when they are seriously ill. Should a very young infant get a fever, quite often many tests (including blood, urine, and a spinal tap) must be done to prove that they do not have a serious bacterial infection. The tests are necessary because the physical exam is not a reliable indicator of serious illness. It is best to avoid getting an infection during this period of vulnerability.
When babies go home from the hospital nursery, everyone wants to see them. New babies generally get a lot of visitors. You don’t know who might have a sore throat, a cough, or other infectious condition. Most of these illnesses are transmitted by contact with people. Therefore, we suggest that unnecessary contact with people, especially children, be limited, and that visitors wash their hands before they touch your baby. In these ways, your baby will hopefully stay well and avoid the tests necessary to work up a fever in a baby so young.