You Can’t Call in Sick!
One of the hardest parts of being a mom is that you can’t call in sick. There are various levels of sick. But for the most part, short of being admitted to the hospital, you are going to have to brave through the illness while still being mommy. Consider yourself lucky if you manage to be the only sick person in the household at any given time. More commonly you will have yourself, your children and possibly your husband to care for all at the same time. It’s not really avoidable; you will all get sick every now and then. Yes, you should eat right, exercise and have healthy habits – washing hands, handling uncooked foods properly, covering coughing mouths (with the crock of your arm, remember, even Elmo knows how), etc. – but despite your best efforts some nasty bug will make it through your firewall and then what?
After determining if a visit to the doctor is called for, you will need to set up some sort of method to make it through the madness. These will all need to be adjusted to meet your family’s needs (based on the age of your children and who all is sick).
- Be a bucket head – if vomiting is part of your illness, put a bucket next to where you will be wallowing. It is not fun to dodge kids and toys as you race to the bathroom. Also get buckets for your children if they are vomiting too. At least you will have something to catch it will other than your hands.
- Be bossy – if daddy was well enough to go to work tell him what needs to get done. Let him run to the store, drop off the bills, get stamps, etc. He will find time on his lunch break, or on the way home.
- Be stationed – put the things you will need in reach. Tissues, medications, diapers, wipes, snacks, drinks, phones, hand sanitizer, remote controls, blankets, pillows, toys, etc. The less times you have to get up the better. You can also enlist daddy to do this before he leaves in the morning.
- Be lazy – you probably won’t be leaving the house so don’t worry about getting the children (or yourself) dressed. The chores can wait till you are feeling better and your family will survive a day or two without home cooked meals. If you push yourself too far you will only prolong your illness and possibly make it worse.
You will find yourself with that extra strength to still do the mommy things even though your head is pounding and spinning. It is going to be a rough couple of days but you will survive the flu or cold. As the mommy, you are the cornerstone of the family, you don’t really get to act sick, unless it’s daddy’s day off and he’s not sick. And even then you will still have to tell him know where everything is and how to do the normal daily things you do while he’s at work. Once again it comes back to this – being a mom is one of the most thankless jobs with no sick leave!
Please don’t misunderstand me, I love my husband. He is the father of my beautiful children. It is just a fact that he does not know where the extra diapers are once the ones on the changer are gone. And instead of having him rummage around, making a mess for me to clean up later, it is just easier to direct traffic.
Side note – I am not a doctor, pediatrician or lactation consultant. I do know that, as long as you are not taking any medication that you have been told is unhealthy for the baby, it is very important to continue to nurse your infant even if you are sick. When you are sick you produce antibodies to fight the illness. The antibodies are found in your blood, and you breast milk is made from your blood. This means that the antibodies your body produces to fight the illness are passed along to the infant to help them get better too.
About the Author Pamela is the mom of three growing boys. She has been a stay-at-home mom for the last five years but is re-entering the work force and the fitness world. Pamela has a passion for water aerobics and is currently becoming a certified instructor. Eventually,Pamela plans to get back to personal training, with which she plans to focus on fitness for moms. Pamela has a Bachelor’s Degree in Kinesiology, with an emphasis on Exercise Science, and a minor in Psychology. Her enthusiasm for the health of her family has lead her to expand her knowledge of fitness, nutrition and other health issues that most families face. Pamela hopes her contributions to Busy Mommy Media will be educational, and maybe a little bit fun, too. For more of Pamela's thoughts on Motherhood in general, please visit her personal blog at http://guidetosurvivingmotherhood.blogspot.com Read more from this authorRelated posts:
