The baby must stay at home, and not go to public places, until the doctor gives permission. The baby is still very vulnerable to infection and germs must be controlled as much as possible.

Parents must consider guidelines for travel, visitors, food preparation, home cleaning, and mold remediation. All families are different and suggested ideas on visitors and cleaning will vary with doctor recommendations and family lifestyle.

Travel

• When the baby rides in the car, keep the vehicle windows up and set the heat or air conditioning to recirculate the inside air instead of pulling in the outside air. This is particularly important when driving past construction sites, which can throw mold and fungal spores into the air.

Visitors

• Limit visitors to those who live in the house and any regular caretakers of the baby, such as grandmothers or nannies, and nurses.
• Visitors must not have been sick for at least seven days prior to visiting, as they could still be contagious.
• No visitors beyond caretakers should be allowed in the home, especially children, as they are often exposed to illness at school, and may be have a sickness that is contagious.
• Any people, including visitors and parents, who enter the home must wash their hands before touching objects in the home, and handwashing should occur just before touching the baby.
• When parents arrive home each day from activities like school, work, or shopping, they should put on fresh clothes.
• Visitors, as well as parents, must be careful not to cough or sneeze near the baby.
• If parents get sick, they should avoid direct care of the baby, they should avoid touching the baby (unless they've washed their hands immediately), they should not be within six feet (coughing distance) of the baby, and they should wear a breathing mask

Food preparation

If you are feeding the baby formula, consider following the recommendations.

• Ready-to-feed single serving liquid is safest, as it is manufactured to be sterile. Any unused formula should be discarded within an hour of breaking the seal on the container.
• Powdered formula is less safe because it is not sterile. However, if a ready-to-feed liquid alternative cannot be used and you must use powder then:
• Option 1: Use with boiled water. Bottled water is not acceptable. After boiling, cool the water in a refrigerator so that it can be served soon. Any that isn't consumed should be discarded within an hour of turning off the heat on the boiling water.
• Option 2: Use with bottled water that is filtered (not spring water) and process it further through a reverse osmosis filter before mixing with powder.

Keep these other food-related recommendations in mind.

• The baby should only consume jarred foods or food that has been fully cooked. Do not serve the baby raw vegetables or fruit.
• Avoid keeping fruits and vegetables on the counter, as they may give rise to mold or fungus spores, even if they look edible. Refrigerate fruits and vegetables instead.
• Do not feed the baby honey.
• Do not feed the baby yogurt.
• Do not feed the baby probiotics.

Home cleaning

• Steam clean carpets.
• Regularly mop all hard surface floors.
• Put a HEPA filter in the vacuum.
• Make home a shoeless house.
• Install HEPA filters in HVAC unit and change them monthly.
• Consider purchasing a free-standing HEPA air filter unit for the main room where the baby stays.
• Keep windows and doors closed to minimize entry of mold or fungus.
• Routinely clean all items and surfaces that the baby can touch.
• Routinely clean places that are often touched by others in the home, such as faucets, countertops, doorknobs, window blind rods, and light switches.
• Remove house plants from the home. Plants are sources of mold.
• Pets may remain in the house but should not come in contact with the baby.
• Consult your doctor about pets in the home.

Mold remediation

• If mold is discovered in walls or carpets before the baby comes home, have it professionallly removed and complete all other cleaning several weeks before the baby arrives home.
• If mold is discovered after the baby is home, it is best not to disturb it. Have the severity of the mold problem evaluated by a professional. Consult with your immunologist. Relocation may be necessary.