What do you do when your kids are sick? If you are a new parent (like me) you probably freak out. What do I do? Is that a fever? Holy cow it’s 103! Where is the medicine? How much do I give? Stop squirming and let me use this nose sucker thing. OMG WHAT AM I DOING? Ahhhh!!
If you have never done that, props to you. If so, welcome to my world! Last week when both of my babies were sick we had a pretty rough ride, I felt helpless and didn’t know what to do because I have never been there before. The worst Judah has ever felt in his life was last year when he spent one night puking from a stomach bug, and even then he was fine after about 8 hours. This time it was a nasty full blown virus that hit both of my children. They did get better after about 10 days but I honestly don’t know how I managed to help them and stay sane at the same time. I figured out what to do along the way and got a few things right, but I also got a few things wrong. Next time I will know better, and I’m going to share what I learned in hopes that you might find it useful as well.
Know your dosage.
The medicinal needs of babies are based on age and weight and even a small variance in that could harm more than help. All products are NOT created equal. The most important thing is to know your dosage so you can give them what they need as soon as possible. When Kaia first came down with a fever I knew I needed to get some medicine in her so I grabbed the infant acetaminophen and checked the dosage.
Um, what? Can it get more vague? Don’t they think that someone with a six month old might need that information in the middle of the night? I left a message with the nurse line at our pediatrician’s office and had to wait 45 minutes for them to call back. They finally called back to tell me the dosage and answer my questions but that was almost an hour my poor girl had to suffer through and I felt helpless! It was a hassle but I didn’t know that I had another option. A few days ago I found out about the Walgreens 24/7 pharmacy chat and I wish I’d known about it sooner. Instead of waiting around I could have logged on and instantly gotten an answer to my dosage questions from a licensed pharmacist. It would have saved me a lot of worry while I was freaking out and waiting to talk to the nurse.
Make them feel special.
A great idea for a sick toddler is a get well kit. This is just a few small toys or items that you can give to help take their mind off of how crummy they feel. It doesn’t have to be much, I grabbed everything for Judah’s for just a few dollars when I picked up his medicine.
Keep it from spreading.
When someone in the house is sick it is important to arm yourself with a disinfectant and regularly wipe down communal surfaces. I am fairly certain that Judah got sick because I didn’t separate and clean their toys like I should have.
Hand sanitizer is an easy way to guard against bringing home a bug when you’re on the go, just keep one in the car and/ or diaper bag to use as needed. If you keep the germs at bay you can minimize the time a cold or flu hangs around your house and help protect against reinfection.
I am extremely relieved that my kids are back to their #HappyHealthy selves now! It is really hard watching your children suffer and knowing you can’t make it better. The best I can do is to make sure their needs are met and they are as comfortable as can be so they can get back to being the awesome little people they are as soon as possible!
I am a member of the Collective Bias® Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias® andWalgreens #cbias #SocialFabric
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