Being sick is ONE of the worst things in the world. Having a sick child is THE worst thing in the world. Having sick TRIPLETS IS TORTURE for them and me.
I remember when I was a child and I was sick. On most occasions I didn't even realize I was sick. I insisted that I felt fine- even though I had a fever of 103- and that I could still go play outside in the snow (we lived up north and without fail I always got the flu on the day of the first snow fall; and usually Christmas and the first and last day of school but that's another blog on another day). But the days are always better than the nights. As night falls, the stuffiness always sets in. Moms...you know what I'm talking about. You're tired and strung out from chasing them all day and wiping their noses. They've been cranky and moody all day (the Jekyll and Hyde phenomenon) and now with nightfall approaching and your hope of sleep, you quickly realize that neither you or the baby (ies) will be sleeping if the stuffiness continues.
So what do we do?
We bust out the big guns....
1. the vapor bath
2. baby vapor rub (bottom of the feet..why? because mom and grandma said so)(chest and back)
3. suction, suction, suction (the blue bulb from the hospital is the best one no matter what anyone else tells you....get as many as you can before you leave).
4. saline (saline in the nostrils before bedtime will allow the mucus to break up enough to allow breathing during sleep. Also they will be able to suck on the Binky :)
5. Humidifier (we always keep ours on every nap and bedtime. It is listed as one of the factors that may help reduce the chance of SIDS. FYI: a ceiling fan is also listed however we choose not to use ours when the kids have colds/stuffiness as we have found it only contributes to more stuffiness).
This has become my routine every time the kids get sick.
So tell me that your one baby has a cold and you got no sleep last night and I'll raise you two more babies and a husband (along with two old dogs who have bladder issues). The chances of an overtired, undernourished mommy whose children have been climbing all over her rubbing their snotty noses all over her and putting their fingers in her mouth getting sick??? I'd say 98.5%
So if you find me to be,
obsessive
anal retentive
overbearing
slightly moody
You may be right, but I'm raising triplets here. We run a tight ship and we do everything we can to keep our kids healthy. Don't get me wrong, I get that they have to be exposed to germs now and then. We take them out, they go on play dates, they play outside and at indoor playgrounds. I guess your idea of safe and clean changes A LOT after you get pregnant and have kids.
When I was pregnant, I armed myself with a can of Lysol and a bottle of hand sanitizer (I teach). I threatened any one who came near me. After the kids were born, we started stashing bottles of Lysol and hand sanitizer all around the house. We have a playroom that the kids practically live in that gets cleaned and sanitized every week (Lysoled every night) with a special overhaul clean anytime they are sick or anyone comes for a play date. But that is us. That's how we run our house.
So I sit here listening to a quiet monitor with the hopes that my OCD routine will help the kids sleep tonight. So far so good but they've only been down for an hour and a half. There is a long night ahead of me. This mommy is feeling the sore throat and stuffiness set in and we are ALL set for the doctor's office tomorrow.
So here's to the hopes of at least 4-5 hours of sleep tonight....that's a reasonable request right?
Jess
No comments:
Post a Comment