 | Parents7 Things I Learned While My Kids Were SickPosted Thursday, January 24th, 2008 and visited 703 times, 1 so far today by MInTheGap |
This past weekend was the worst in terms of trying to manage sickness in our house. It seems like everyone was either sick with the head cold or stomach bug, and let me tell you, that’s not fun. Fortunately we’re on the the other side, right now, but as I was sharing this with Mrs. Meg Logan she asked:
You learn anything in it?
To which I have to say– yes. Yes I have.
7. Watching kids stick their fingers in their nose and then their mouth is both disgusting and amusing at the same time.
Our middle child puts everything in his mouth– he was known for eating fuzz off of fuzzy blankets when he was a little younger. So, what does he do when his nose runs? Stick his middle and index finger up his nose and then in his mouth!
No matter how many times we tell him how unhealthy it is, he keeps doing it. And when you see it happen, you almost want to laugh or get a picture, and at the same time it grosses you out and you want to explain to him that it’s not going to get him any better!
6. That sleep schedule you had before everyone was sick? Forget it.
Before everyone was sick, we were able to get everyone down to sleep around 8:00 pm, and that gave us time to relax before checking on them and then joining them. We also had gotten our youngest to sleep through the night without having to wake up to nurse.
Now, she’s up at 5:00 am, the kids are up through the night with coughing, and we’re losing sleep. This also means that it’s harder to blog, because you never know when they’ll be up.
5. Some kids will have super-kid powers to be able to stay awake long after nap/bed time.
For some strange reason, children who needed sleep when they weren’t sick now seem to need no sleep now that they are.
My usual tactic when a child is awakened by coughing is to take them out into the living room, put in a DVD TV series (for me) and let them rest on my chest while the mucus drains. That worked for my oldest child, because he gets lethargic when he’s sick, but not so much with the others. Even our one year old was staying up to watch A-Team reruns. That’s not good. She shouldn’t know how to flip a jeep until she’s at least 16.
4. Young children do not know the difference between blowing out and sucking in.
I’m a pro at the “nose-sucky thing”. I can get snot out like a champ, and I know how to immobilize a baby so that they don’t get hurt. But, when it’s an almost four year old that needs his nose sucked out, that’s a different story. You’d like him to use a tissue, but every time you hold the tissue up to his nose, he sucks in instead of blows out.
The other, humorous/annoying, side effect is that now he’s going around saying “I need to get my boogers out”, “I need the nose-sucky thing”, “can you get me a tissue…”
3. One of the sweetest things you’ll ever see is one brother praying that another will get better.
This is one of the greatest blessings that I’ll ever have as a parent. Hearing my children saying “I’ll pray for you” and then hearing them pray (on their own, without being prompted) for their brother/sister to get better.
2. Never have more than one type of sickness going on in the house at the same time.
We had both the 24 hour stomach bug and the 1 week head cold going at the same time. And we passed them around. This means that we had it coming out both ends– and that was not fun! I won’t plan it that way next time.
1. When one child has a doctor’s appointment, have dad watch the other two instead of trying to bring them along.
I think this is where it all started. Our oldest was in the doctor’s office for shots. His next sibling was playing on the floor (head cold) and the baby was chewing on an armrest (stomach bug, now head cold).
Let this be a lesson to you– it’s not worth trying to bring them all into the office, especially when there’s not a “well” side of the office!
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January 24th, 2008 at 4:38 pm
Oh no! I hope everyone is doing well and is on the mend! We have thankfully not had any sickness here lately, but poor Peapod is cutting EIGHT molars all at the same time, so sleep is not the be had here, either. Hopefully February will bring better health & sleep for all :D
January 25th, 2008 at 8:24 am
Cutting teeth is the worst! Whew! I pray that it all goes well, and that it’s over soon!
January 25th, 2008 at 9:46 pm
Sounds like a hard learning curve! So sorry you guys had to go through that, but glad you are on the other side…we’re in the midst of our own stramash currently, so I sympathize!
January 28th, 2008 at 3:56 pm
What’s a stramash?