One of the hardest parts of being a parent is parenting while you are sick. Unlike work, where you can, at least in theory, take a day off to rest and recover, parenting is an everyday job, where you is the backup option, diseases be damned. Add the gazillion diseases bring your children to your home of day care, and parenting turns into a relentless vagueness to keep your children alive while also surviving the latest nasty virus.
The first major disease my son who was brought home was RSV. He had a mild temperature for about a day, only to bounce back quickly, while my own infection turned into bronchitis. For the next few days, while my son roamed the house in his Baby Shark costume (it also happened to be Halloween), I spent my time on the couch, coughing up a storm, trying to keep it together enough until my husband came home and could take over.
My son’s diaper stayed soup longer than it should have, his bottle only came after he started screaming, and one of my most important strategies to keep in one piece was to stab him in a baby bouncer, which made him for already occupied fifteen minutes before starting. cry again.
A few months later, my son got the flu and immediately gave it to me—just this time, my husband was out of town on a business trip. Just like before, my son quickly jumped back and let me down to take care of him while he was sick, feverish night feeding and all. I still can not quite remember how I handled it, but we both still live and in one piece.
It was about a pattern throughout my parenting journey — mand kind gave me strep, stomach pain, bronchitis and flu more times than I can count. For the latest installment of parenting while we are sick, we all got COVID-19. For a week, my husband and I lay on the couch, barely able to move, while my son, who had been mildly ill for about a day, ravaged the house. One day I will remove the last of the markings from the walls, but until then it will stand as a memorial for survival.
Bfor I am obliged to deal with it again in the near-certainly not-so-distant future – and I know I’m not the only one – I’m coming to you for advice. What is your strategies, tips, and tricks for parenting while you are sick? Veteran parents, let a comment below to help me and others parents of small children to better survive these times. Wi will round them up to share in a future position.
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