Sick Day for Mommy

It's never good when anyone in the home gets sick, but when Momma gets sick things can go downhill fast.
(It's really bad if Momma is already behind on the laundry. Baby boy has had to wear princess pajamas more than once this week:-/

The Myth
It’s a myth isn’t it that moms don’t get sick? 

How awesome would it be if, with the birth of your first child, the super mommy gene kicked into gear and suddenly your immune system could withstand anything. I’d even take a “your’re a mommy now, you’ll never get sick” vaccine if they were handing those out on the labor & delivery floor.

But that doesn’t happen. 

Maybe the myth that moms don't get sick lives because even when we do get sick, we don’t stop.

We can’t stop.

Even when we’d love to crawl right back in bed, it’s simply not an option.

We keep going. 
and going. 
and going...

Sounds like that battery commercial.

It's not because of all the energy though, it's because of the inner drive that does kick into gear when that first little one comes along. The drive to take care of these little ones even we don't feel like moving.

Unfortunately, when we don’t stop it can take much longer to get well. What could clear up with a few days rest, sometimes stretches out into several days, a week-or longer.

I'm so goofy-when I get sick, I mentally give myself one day to get over it (whether I rest or not). Josh asks me that night how I'm doing and I say, "I'll be good in the morning!" I think he mentally rolls his eyes at me because I say that every time. Does anyone else do that?

I wish there was an easy answer to this dilemma.

Get healthier? Okay, let me snap my magic momma fingers...being a bit sarcastic. bleh.

No, I really do want to “get healthier”. I’m working on that. That's why I made Resolution #10. 

In the meantime though, how does a momma survive the sick days?

How we survive:
Everyone’s situation is different. In the days when all my kiddos were under the age of 5 this was even more challenging than it is now. I remember some days of laying on the living room floor with little people crawling around & over me in between nap times. 

Nothing easy about those days.

These days I have three school age kiddos (we do school at home & their ages are 9,7 & 5) and two littles (ages 2 & 10 months) and 
here are a few of the ways we survive sick days:

We follow our charts-
Something that really helps us keep on track on “the off days” (some days are off even when momma is not sick) are our charts: the skills charts & the school schedule. [more about those to come] The charts encourage self-directed action. They ensure that the basics are getting done.

We take advantage of educational “shows”, learning apps &/or computer programs-

A few of our favorites:
All time favorite show (love it because the kids love it & it has helped more than one learn their sounds!): Letter Factory
Apps: Teach Me, Stack the States, Math Bingo, & Jumpstart Jetpack

Apps & Web: Reading Eggs & Starfall 

We read books & do book reports-

Some of our favorite forms- 

Report & Reading Log at Homeschool Creations

Book report at B.Nute productions and

This fun “Wanted Poster” report page

We play outside-
Thankfully, winter is giving way to more & more nice days, great days to get in lots of gross motor activity in the backyard. On not-so-nice days they can play in their rooms. And speaking of playtime, the "big kids" can help by playing with "the babies".

We have Nap-time/Quiet-time-
Consistent nap-times for “the babies” become invaluable on the sick days. If I can make it though the morning I know I can get a rest during nap/quiet-time (provided the "big kids" are trained in how to let momma have some rest time & it does take training).

As for me, I’m drinking as much water, electrolyte liquids, smoothies & soup broth as possible, taking what the doctor prescribed and trying to get rest (even if that means the laundry keeps piling up).

Because I’ve got to get well.

Ain’t nobody got time for this. 

;)

p.s. so thankful -especially knowing this is not an option for many- that if things get really bad, Grandma & a concerned husband are just a phone call or text away.

How do you survive momma’s sick days? Please share your tips!