No one wants a sick baby. It is not fun, and I just hate it when my kids are suffering. But sick season is upon us and the germs are everywhere. Here are 5 things I do to help my kids during sick season. As a mom of 3 I have had my fair share of sicknesses run through my home. Its hard! Everyone needs you, and most of the time you are just as equally sick as they are. Snot, puke, coughing, and germs make a huge mess and it can just wipe you out.
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A couple of years ago we were sick for 3 months straight. My older kids were still really little and their immune systems just couldn’t fight off anything, and the ick ran through our house often. We started with RSV, and one child got it, the other child got it, I got it, and then my husband got it. We were sick for a month. Then we brought home Hand Foot & Mouth, and it ran through our house. I ended up with Strep. We picked up a stomach bug, and then ended our grand tour of sickness with a random viral infection. During this I thought I was going to lose my mind. I finally got in to see the pediatrician and I sobbed. I openly wept in the office, and begged for medicine. I told her I wasn’t leaving without something to make this all go away. I swear I think she wrote me a prescription for sugar tablets, just to get me to go home. It was a wild time in my life.
But after that I learned a ton about how to handle sickness, and hopefully prevent it from coming back. Today, I’m sharing it with you. Is this medical advice? No. I don’t have a medial degree or any kind. This is just one mom to another sharing some tips that work when the ick has got you down.
Set your boundaries
Talk to your friends and family. My friend group is very open and honest about the sickness of their kids. They know not to bring sick kids around the group, because it ruins it for everyone in the group. We are the first to volunteer to run and get gatorade, or soup, but we keep our germs to ourselves. This is also a boundary I have set with my family. Keep your germs at home, we will reschedule events, we will come visit a different time. But in other areas too. We don’t go to the library in the winter months. Its never a safe place for us. We will reserve books online for pick up, but we avoid playing at the library because germs are to easily spread there. Another big one for us is we don’t wait in the waiting room for a doctor visit if they will allow us to wait in our car. Our doctors office will let you wait in the car for your appointment and it helps keep my older kids from licking the floors and what not.
Teach your kids the importance of hand washing
We really value hand washing in the winter months. It’s the best way to fight germs, and with a baby at home its even more important. Hand washing before we eat is a big one, because we are actively putting the germs in our mouth, or near our face. You just can’t do that this time of year. Encourage your kids to not touch their face, lick their fingers, pick their nose, or touch other people on the face, because that is the easiest way to pass germs. I also carry a lot of germ x.
Detox Bath
Every bath in the winter is a detox bath. We do equal parts epsom salt and baking soda. I don’t understand why it works but it does! It is my favorite way to help my kids stay healthy. Maybe its just a placebo effect, but I sweat by it. Every bath we take gets about a cup of this mixture (or more) and they soak for 15-20mins. When we are actively sick we do this bath almost every day to keep the illness from lingering. All the ingredients I use in my Detox bath can be found here.
We go outside
Did you know that one of the big reasons we get sick is because we don’t spend enough time outside? Did you know that you can’t get sick from the temperature? Did you know that the rain won’t make you sick? These are all things our parents and older generations have told us and they just aren’t true. Even in the cold months I try to take my kids outside every day. We have weather gear for all the different scenarios we might encounter and they make outdoor play so much easier. This will also keep our kids healthier all winter long. Don’t be afraid of the cold. Also on warmer days open those doors and windows and let that air circulate.
Make a push for fruits & vegetables
We make a big push for healthy veggies in the winter months. We grow our garden all summer long and preserve as much as we can to eat them year round. Veggies will really help you combat sickness, and some easy ways to get enough every day is to use a veggie powder or vitamin. We love adding a veggie powder to our smoothies and my kids can’t even taste it. We also do a daily vitamin to help them meet any areas we are falling short in. A good place to add extra veggies is soups and casseroles which are super easy and cozy this time of year.
Sick season is hard! But we can survive! Take it one day at a time and protect your kids from the germs that you can. Lots of rest relaxations and water to help them get over any bug they catch. But also know that sickness is inevitable and they need to develop a good immune system. It is not your fault if your kids gets sick. Give yourself grace, ask for help when you can, and take care of yourself too! I hope this helps you!
