Sick Days

One of the things I hate most about being a working mom is the sick days.  It's not the staying home with the sick child that I hate, it's the constant battle that I wage with myself to decided whether to stay home with my sick child or go to work.  When a child is sick, no one is quite like a mommy when it comes to taking care of them.  Dad's do okay, but there is something about a mommy that makes them feel a bit better.  Especially when the sick child is a 2.5 month old.

When my child gets sick, there are several options I have to consider.  First of all, how sick are they?  If they just have a cough and runny nose but no fever, then I usually send them to daycare.  If I kept them home every time they had a cold, I would be home all the time.  If they have a fever, then how high is it?   Most daycares will take a child with a fever as long as it is below 100 F.  Of course, vomiting mans no school although diarrhea is iffy.  One time Avery had diarrhea for about a week but no other symptoms so she went to school anyways.

Aside from the sick kid factor, I have to consider work too.  How many sick days do I have left?  Do I have any meetings, projects, programs, etc. that I cannot miss?  If the child is sick for more than one day, then which day is easier for the Weatherman to get off?  We usually try and alternate sick days with the kids.  I am committed to my job, but ultimately my family must come first.  What is best for my child?

In this case, it was best for me to stay home with the little Frog Face.  Yesterday at daycare they said he slept all day but was still eating well.  When we got home we realized he had a fever of 99.5-100.  Nothing super high so I wasn't really concerned.  Gave him some tylenol and it took the fever down.  However, it did get up to 101 early this morning so I made the decision to keep him home.  Breast milk is supposed to reduce the amount of illnesses in babies since they get the mother's antibodies.  If this is the case, I would hate to see how sick they would be if I didn't nurse them!

There are many things that can be said about a good daycare.  Goober has learned social skills and gotten a head start on education, among other things.  But the germs are horrid!  I keep telling myself (and everyone keeps reminding me) that these germs will build their immune system, but it is still hard to see those you care about sick all the time.

The best thing about sick days though are the snuggles.  Sick children = snuggle bugs.

At least (this time) it is not vomit.  I HATE vomit!  I am admittedly an emetophobic.  One of my biggest fears as a parent, aside from something serious happening to my children like cancer or hospitalization or stuff like that, is that all of them will get a stomach bug at the same time and be spewing everywhere.  Despite this, when Goober has thrown up, I immediately push my fears to the back of my mind and rush to hold my crying, puke covered child.

That's love right there!

Goober an I on my 30th birthday: I just found out I had mono and she had an ear infection with 103 temp

Goober with another ear infection,  She eventually did get ear tubes that significantly decreased the infections