Life hacks for when sickness strikes!
Wow, what a month. I don't think our kids (or we) have struggled with being sick in the past 3 years as much as we have this past Winter! Bring on Summer, Lord, BRING-IT-ON!
In-between the crazy amount of washing that decorates my sunny living areas and the lovely mess that seems to sneakily build up as you tend to sick babies (or husbands), life has gone back to basics. Usually our days are filled with park visits, play-dates and weekly shopping trips. It seems like life slows right down when kids or yourself, are sick.
Our week was not off to a good start unfortunately. We found our self at North Shore hospital with Jed on Monday. Usually I am the first to leave the kids to sweat out a fever and get over it with as little medical intervention as possible. With Jed, who had a febral convulsion as a little baby, we have had to be a bit more cautious that his temperature doesn't rise too quickly.
I was out at Pak n Save doing the grocery shopping with Noah and Jed, and mum because it's always smarter to go with someone if you have the kids, if at all possible! Jed had been battling a mild fever, but was still perky and lively. Half way through our shop he said he was tired, put his head down on my shoulder and fell asleep. I got mum to take him for me while I finished up and she went on ahead to The Warehouse where we were going to meet afterwards.
I arrived at the Warehouse to a very calm but slightly shaken mum who was standing over a trolley where Jed had just had a seizure. I ran to grab some water from the fridge, wet him a bit to cool him down and made a break for the hospital. Luckily Gav was close by and we went together. Within a matter of minutes he had gone from a mild temp to over 40 degrees and his little body just didn't cope.
After a double whammy of some meds, an ice-block and a good sleep after he finally came around. We sat in the pediatrics ward of emergency care where we were assured all his vitals were ok and he would be fine, of course. All I can say is thank the Lord that they grow out of the seizures. It really is a scary thing to have your baby unresponsive and convulsing. It is apparently such a common thing. Much to our relief when we found ourselves at the hospital midway through a snow holiday when Jed was just 7 months old. He completely stopped breathing and we were raced to the hospital in an ambulance.
Anyway, Monday's unfortunate events are NOT what I wanted to focus on. I realised that when 'life' happens and we don't have the same capacity for productivity, there are some things we can do to make our lives that little bit easier! Here are some of the things I did this week that are my 'life hacks' for when you or the kids are sick. I'm sure there are so many to add to this list!
1. Online shopping
This is not my favourite thing to do because I'm a tactile shopper. I love the experience of shopping! This may be a 'life hack' you do already, which is an awesome way to save time and sometimes money, because you can see the total amount at the top of your screen. At Countdown you can do this for only $5 for you to collect at a set time or just $10 delivered! Beats taking sick kids to the supermarket any day!
2. Dinners
Be kind to yourself and shop smart for things that have a quick cooking time. There is nothing worse than having to stress yourself out trying to push out a fully cooked meal when you have a whingy toddler clinging to your leg. My cooking cheats are usually a pre-cooked chicken and wraps with salad which is actually healthy and takes all of 2 minutes to throw on the table. I also lay off the guilt for getting Gav to pick up a bunch of pizza's on the way home. You can make a platter of cut-up fruit to go with it so you don't feel so bad ;) Those pies, the ones you freeze and just stick in the oven? They go down a treat because kids generally love pies (ok who doesn't love pies) and you can throw a frozen packet of veg in a pot pretty easily to go with that to appease the mum-guilt too!
3. Get a cleaner
This is not something I've had the luxury of doing being a stay at home mum in the past but this is seriously the BEST life-hack if you have had a bad run of sick kids or you've been sick yourself. There is nothing worse than beating yourself up because you feel like you need to disinfect the WHOLE house and wash ALL the bedding and just can't get through it all. We all know that it only takes one day of being out of action for things to get out of control. Treatme and websites like that have some great specials for cleaners for an hour or two at a time and you could 'treat' yourself to a few hours one week you really need it if you don't already have a cleaner you can call in for some extra help!
4. Activities
After you've allowed a few hours of TV for kids who can't manage more than just lying around, give yourself some options! We have a few activities that are winner in our home that always seem to keep the kids quietly occupied when they're unwell as well as normally when they need to occupy themselves for a bit.
- White boards.
These are around $3 at any $2 shop and provide hours of fun, writing and drawing and erasing as you
go. They work well for number and letter practice for younger kids too. There's something more novel about a whiteboard that trumps paper and pen. They also work nicely for magnets which many of them come with.
- Op-shop puzzles and games
I usually try to give kids who are home, inside for days at a time, a change of 'toy scenery'. On a budget, on a trip to the local op-shop like I did, you can score puzzles for $1 (because they usually don't last long before pieces are lost anyway), books for $1/$2 and usually activity books too. The other thing we get cheaply for a couple of dollars are board games (memory games, dominoes etc.) Kmart now also does a fabulous $5 game range that is a nice 'treat' for a little person who is couped up inside all day.
- Lego
Lego is a favourite in our family. All three of our kids LOVE Lego and get right into making all sorts of things which can take anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour. It is a really low-energy activity that they can enjoy. I moved out Lego box into the sunshine for some much needed Vitamin D and fresh air.
- Baking
This may seem like the last thing you want to do when you have a house of 'germy' kids! Last week I had all three kids home with two of them sick. They were past the 'sick' stage where all you want to do is lay down and were needing a bit of stimulation. Feeling a bit Christmassy (maybe it was seeing that Christmas tree at the grocery store) I whipped out an easy gingerbread recipe and let them knead, roll and cut out gingerbread men. This was such a lovely activity and the smell of homemade gingerbread is enough to brighten any mood, anytime! (and yes , you carefully mark each child's baking creation so there is no spreading of germs. And you definitely make your own 'safe to eat' stash for later ;) )
- Spotify audio books
For the few days when I was at my limit of how much TV I was happy with the kids watching, I decided to get creative with some of the above activities and searched for some audio books on Spotify. This helped occupy the kids as they painted or later when they were tired as they just lay on the couch. They went through Beatrix Potter stories, Enid Blyton, oddy stories and then we ended up with Disney hits and played 'guess the song'. It was a great way to give the kids a break from each
other and we stayed 'argument free' for a good long which was impressive, given they were all a bit miserable and unwell.
4. Enlist some help!
One of my biggest pieces of advice is to ask for help! Sometimes this looks like something small, such as asking another mum to drop off or pick up the other kids from school. Sodmetimes it is handy to organise the other sibling/s a playdate to alleviate kids getting cabin fever in the house as well as keeping them from annoying the sick kid which inevitably will happen. Take up offers for meals or childcare and don't try to be Supermum, especially if you are sick. Take the help! Your turn to help will come around :)
I am really grateful for reminders that come when sitting in hospital rooms, listening to kids in rooms next door battle with croup or seeing others battling far worse situations than your family. Reminders to count our blessings! It seems it is only when our health is threatened that we realise we have taken good health for granted. Each day we wake up and get on with business as usual, every day that our bodies and our kids bodies are well, should be a celebration of the blessing of life and life to the fullest! It is so easy to get swamped by life and allow complaints over what I would call '1st world problems' to dominate our thoughts and attitudes.
The other blessing in disguise when we have sick babies is the one on one time we have to just be with them. We use times like that, as much as we pray them away, to teach our kids what it is to believe for healing and go to the Bible for the contrast in what Jesus said is ours and what we need faith to see come into existence. Bad situations are awesome training ground for the kids in how we react to things that go wrong. We can teach them and show them firsthand the example of going to God in prayer instead of moping around and having a pity party about the hard week you've had.
I pray, sincerely, that anyone who's reading this has had a better run with health than we seem to have had! It does seem that we are not alone in having been hit quite hard with all kinds of nasty viral things. Believing that we are truly done and dusted with being sick and onwards and upwards to a wonderful, healthy, happy Summertime!
In-between the crazy amount of washing that decorates my sunny living areas and the lovely mess that seems to sneakily build up as you tend to sick babies (or husbands), life has gone back to basics. Usually our days are filled with park visits, play-dates and weekly shopping trips. It seems like life slows right down when kids or yourself, are sick.
I was out at Pak n Save doing the grocery shopping with Noah and Jed, and mum because it's always smarter to go with someone if you have the kids, if at all possible! Jed had been battling a mild fever, but was still perky and lively. Half way through our shop he said he was tired, put his head down on my shoulder and fell asleep. I got mum to take him for me while I finished up and she went on ahead to The Warehouse where we were going to meet afterwards.
I arrived at the Warehouse to a very calm but slightly shaken mum who was standing over a trolley where Jed had just had a seizure. I ran to grab some water from the fridge, wet him a bit to cool him down and made a break for the hospital. Luckily Gav was close by and we went together. Within a matter of minutes he had gone from a mild temp to over 40 degrees and his little body just didn't cope.
After a double whammy of some meds, an ice-block and a good sleep after he finally came around. We sat in the pediatrics ward of emergency care where we were assured all his vitals were ok and he would be fine, of course. All I can say is thank the Lord that they grow out of the seizures. It really is a scary thing to have your baby unresponsive and convulsing. It is apparently such a common thing. Much to our relief when we found ourselves at the hospital midway through a snow holiday when Jed was just 7 months old. He completely stopped breathing and we were raced to the hospital in an ambulance.
Anyway, Monday's unfortunate events are NOT what I wanted to focus on. I realised that when 'life' happens and we don't have the same capacity for productivity, there are some things we can do to make our lives that little bit easier! Here are some of the things I did this week that are my 'life hacks' for when you or the kids are sick. I'm sure there are so many to add to this list!
1. Online shopping
This is not my favourite thing to do because I'm a tactile shopper. I love the experience of shopping! This may be a 'life hack' you do already, which is an awesome way to save time and sometimes money, because you can see the total amount at the top of your screen. At Countdown you can do this for only $5 for you to collect at a set time or just $10 delivered! Beats taking sick kids to the supermarket any day!
2. Dinners
Be kind to yourself and shop smart for things that have a quick cooking time. There is nothing worse than having to stress yourself out trying to push out a fully cooked meal when you have a whingy toddler clinging to your leg. My cooking cheats are usually a pre-cooked chicken and wraps with salad which is actually healthy and takes all of 2 minutes to throw on the table. I also lay off the guilt for getting Gav to pick up a bunch of pizza's on the way home. You can make a platter of cut-up fruit to go with it so you don't feel so bad ;) Those pies, the ones you freeze and just stick in the oven? They go down a treat because kids generally love pies (ok who doesn't love pies) and you can throw a frozen packet of veg in a pot pretty easily to go with that to appease the mum-guilt too!
3. Get a cleaner
This is not something I've had the luxury of doing being a stay at home mum in the past but this is seriously the BEST life-hack if you have had a bad run of sick kids or you've been sick yourself. There is nothing worse than beating yourself up because you feel like you need to disinfect the WHOLE house and wash ALL the bedding and just can't get through it all. We all know that it only takes one day of being out of action for things to get out of control. Treatme and websites like that have some great specials for cleaners for an hour or two at a time and you could 'treat' yourself to a few hours one week you really need it if you don't already have a cleaner you can call in for some extra help!
4. Activities
After you've allowed a few hours of TV for kids who can't manage more than just lying around, give yourself some options! We have a few activities that are winner in our home that always seem to keep the kids quietly occupied when they're unwell as well as normally when they need to occupy themselves for a bit.
- White boards.
These are around $3 at any $2 shop and provide hours of fun, writing and drawing and erasing as you
go. They work well for number and letter practice for younger kids too. There's something more novel about a whiteboard that trumps paper and pen. They also work nicely for magnets which many of them come with.
- Op-shop puzzles and games
I usually try to give kids who are home, inside for days at a time, a change of 'toy scenery'. On a budget, on a trip to the local op-shop like I did, you can score puzzles for $1 (because they usually don't last long before pieces are lost anyway), books for $1/$2 and usually activity books too. The other thing we get cheaply for a couple of dollars are board games (memory games, dominoes etc.) Kmart now also does a fabulous $5 game range that is a nice 'treat' for a little person who is couped up inside all day.
- Lego
Lego is a favourite in our family. All three of our kids LOVE Lego and get right into making all sorts of things which can take anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour. It is a really low-energy activity that they can enjoy. I moved out Lego box into the sunshine for some much needed Vitamin D and fresh air.
- Baking
- Spotify audio books
For the few days when I was at my limit of how much TV I was happy with the kids watching, I decided to get creative with some of the above activities and searched for some audio books on Spotify. This helped occupy the kids as they painted or later when they were tired as they just lay on the couch. They went through Beatrix Potter stories, Enid Blyton, oddy stories and then we ended up with Disney hits and played 'guess the song'. It was a great way to give the kids a break from each other and we stayed 'argument free' for a good long which was impressive, given they were all a bit miserable and unwell.
4. Enlist some help!
One of my biggest pieces of advice is to ask for help! Sometimes this looks like something small, such as asking another mum to drop off or pick up the other kids from school. Sodmetimes it is handy to organise the other sibling/s a playdate to alleviate kids getting cabin fever in the house as well as keeping them from annoying the sick kid which inevitably will happen. Take up offers for meals or childcare and don't try to be Supermum, especially if you are sick. Take the help! Your turn to help will come around :)
I am really grateful for reminders that come when sitting in hospital rooms, listening to kids in rooms next door battle with croup or seeing others battling far worse situations than your family. Reminders to count our blessings! It seems it is only when our health is threatened that we realise we have taken good health for granted. Each day we wake up and get on with business as usual, every day that our bodies and our kids bodies are well, should be a celebration of the blessing of life and life to the fullest! It is so easy to get swamped by life and allow complaints over what I would call '1st world problems' to dominate our thoughts and attitudes.
The other blessing in disguise when we have sick babies is the one on one time we have to just be with them. We use times like that, as much as we pray them away, to teach our kids what it is to believe for healing and go to the Bible for the contrast in what Jesus said is ours and what we need faith to see come into existence. Bad situations are awesome training ground for the kids in how we react to things that go wrong. We can teach them and show them firsthand the example of going to God in prayer instead of moping around and having a pity party about the hard week you've had.
I pray, sincerely, that anyone who's reading this has had a better run with health than we seem to have had! It does seem that we are not alone in having been hit quite hard with all kinds of nasty viral things. Believing that we are truly done and dusted with being sick and onwards and upwards to a wonderful, healthy, happy Summertime!
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