Cold season that is ! And forget Man flu, where they are dying from a wee cough and slight sniffle and need to be tucked up in bed, with a small bell for us to run around after then. ( trust me I have three teen boys who try to get off school, chores and life in general pretending to have a hacking couch that is no louder than the cats attempt at a fur ball ). Im talking about Mama flu, where we have everything , sore throat, streaming nose, head aches we can't see straight, hacking up a lung cough and hot and cold shivers and we still haul our arses out of bed and look after everyone else and get on with it.
What brought this on, the blog not the cold, that was kindly handed to us by our wee ones who cough and sneeze directly into our faces and wipe their green crusted noses on us instead of a tissue. And scream bloody murder if we do wipe their noses, even with a wet wipe so it doesn't get raw. You would think we had violated them and forget the snot sucker, ( although my wee one is coming around as the result she can breath again is almost worth it, almost )! Back to the Blog, Ive been out and about and noticed that every child has a runny nose, it's a right snot fest. So we as Mummies weren't worried about passing on the lurgy to other kids, but every Mum I've seen too was also suffering as well. I have a sore throat where I feel I am swallowing razor blades. My friend has puff eyes and runny nose from allergies, other mums had a cough or sneeze. But we were still there turning up and showing up for each other and our wee ones and our families. If we put the duvet back over our heads like I know I felt like doing on a weekend. Nothing would get done !
You see we don't get sick pay or get sick days, we work 24/7, no holidays , no breaks, we are on call and first port of call for everything and it never ends, see my teens and lost shoes, keys glasses, school books and boxing gloves . Plus we are the transport department, catering, and night watch. We take everything, the good, the bad and they ugly into ourselves like we could have done it better , stopped what ever it was from happening if we had been better. We don't get sick! But we do, we get sick, we get run down and we aren't invincible. And we need to slow down some times. We need to look after ourselves and each other sometimes heck all the time. Be it a sneaky cup of tea and scan of FB in the toilet !
We cannot pour from an empty cup and there is help out there , a neighbour, a friend or another Mummy or family member who can take 'them for a minute' so don't ever think it is weakness to ask and even just plonk them there if it is a really close family member or good friend if you feel like death warmed up and there are a million things to do. You will somehow find the reserve , the maternal drive to return , collect them , and solider on. It may be a thank less at times, unpaid forever job but we love it and won't change it for the world.
Buy up large on lemsip or any brand of your choice. Get shares in tissues brand and cough lozenges and i'll see you in the battle field of cold season. Because you know once you have passed it on to the family members, it will be ( of course ) worse for them. Especially your wee ones who seem to get and give cold repeatedly to each other and us. But never fear. REMEMBER
-They are off their food, as a stuffed up nose wipes out your taste buds and snot fills the stomach so they aren't hungry and can't taste it anyway. They will not starve if food is available. Plus those lovely buddy bellies that they have are for exactly this. Mother nature has provided stores for them to get sick , not eat and be fine. They keep their reserves around the tummy and fight the infections with it. So you will notice that your child will lose a bit of weight but once better they will put it all back on. Just a side note. They store fats and grow extra skin there when they are about Theo grow through a growth spurt too. They get really tubby just before they shoot up. So if your child is going out, its fine they will go up shortly.
- they will want and need a lot of physical contact. Your body heat is what they use to regulate theirs. So if they have a temperature , make sure to keep them close to you skin on skin. Keep their fluids up and keep them bundled up. They may feel like they are burning up , but it is core temperature not body temperature . So don't make the mistake of stripping them off to sleep etc. Once the fever breaks they will cool down very quickly and need to keep their limbs warm regardless of torso temp.
- don't be afraid to medicate them. When you feel horrible and need to get through the day ( see above ) you take something , herbal or over the counter. They need this too. They need all the help and comfort to take the edge off feeling sick that we can offer. They may respond differently to different medicines, some are ibuprofen kids some are paracetamol. But you can safely dose them with both and even at the same time if needed. Or leap frog them to help bring that fever down.
- Prop them to sleep , keeps phlegm down. Use baby Vicks or snuffle baby to help open airways. Vaporisers, steam, oils on pillows. Anything to help them breath at night gives everyone a better nights sleep.
We got this !
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