When Your Kids Get Sick

Managing two under two or three under three is tough enough under ordinary circumstances. But what do you do when the kids get sick?

Case in point, during the last 48 my husband was away my oldest came down with the stomach flu. You guessed it, that means throwing up everywhere while my other daughter consistently tried to monopolize my attention.

Life certainly gets a bit trickier when you have closely spaced children and one or more of them gets sick. Fortunately you can try some helpful strategies to help you get through the day. Here are some techniques I often use to help me get through the day with sick ones at home:

• Have your sickest child 'play' sick with you. For example, I allowed Hannah to sit on the couch with a warm blanket wrapped around her and her 'frog' (that's her lovey) so she could take care of him while he was 'sick'. We put a band aide on her tummy since her tummy was feeling unwell. This allowed me to tend to my youngest daughter while my oldest still felt cared for, pampered and in charge (because she was also caring for her 'sick' frog).

• Forget about trying to prevent the illness from spreading. I wash my hands as much as I can but ultimately there are certain germs that you can't help but get when you have multiple little ones running around. While I prefer that my youngest not drink off the same sippy cup my oldest does when stomach flu is going around, ultimately there is still a small chance she will get sick too. There is no use worrying about this all day, it can't be helped. Just do the best you can. Know this... with time your immune system, and your children's does actually build up. That means even when your little ones are exposed to a multitude of germs, they won't always get sick as the person that exposed them to the bugs to begin with.

• Try some natural remedies. Ginger is great for a tummy ache. You can add a splash to some fizzy water to make a homemade version of ginger ale. A cool cloth feels great on a warm head. Try a humidifier with a few drops of eucalyptus essential oil if your child is stopped up with a cold. Warm honey and hot milk may help soothe a scratchy throat (but don't give honey to a baby less than 1 year of age!).

• Laugh a little, then laugh a lot. My daughter managed to spew the contents of her breakfast in five separate locations on the carpet. While I often dream of what it might be like to have a perfect carpet, in all reality that will never happen. There will be mud tracks and old vomit stains and spills of this and that on any light carpet. Just do the best you can and forget about it.

Find out more about keeping your sanity in my latest guide Double Duty. You should notice a link to it at the side of this post, or just click www.booklocker.com/books/2323.html

Another 48

Well today was the start of a 48 hour shift with my DH. Those are always tough as I find myself scrambling to keep my sanity while managing the kids and being pregnant. There is no doubt in my mind, having 3under3 will be even harder. Today was also a tough morning because I got a phone call from my sister, my dad's brother is dying from a massive heart attack. My dad's brother lives in Australia and it is a struggle for my dad to get over there, he was very upset. Fortunately we were able to make it happen for him, so he is on his way and will hopefully get there before his brother passes, but it is a 20 hour flight. My uncle has had heart troubles for some time. It is a huge strain on the fam financially, but I guess that financial troubles are part of life. That's one of the things I talk about in Double Duty, trying to budget and manage your finances when running a household with two under two or more. It's tough. I have to say money troubles definitely increase the stress one feels, and can make any day seem a little more bleak. But ultimately I guess what it comes down to is it really is just money. Money can make our lives more comfortable at times, but certainly isn't the end to all. Love, family, support and our health is so much more important. So through my various bouts of tears today (to which my darling 2 year old would hug me and say "i uv u mommy" I am grateful beyond words that broke or no broke, I have my beautiful family. I can't wait to meet #3.

Trouble In Paradise

Today is a perfect example of how crazy life can get with 2under2 while pregnant. My older daughter is feeling under the weather today. So this morning I was concerned she may not be able to go to 'school' (we have her in a Montessori type preschool daycare for a couple of half days each work so I can work). Fortunately my dear hubby is home today to keep an eye on her so I can work if this is the case. But, being pregnant and prone to blurting out dumb comments sometimes unintentionally, I accidentally rubbed my DH the wrong way this morning when I suggested his plans for the day might be spoilt because of the situation. I guess I said it the wrong way which I feel really bad about, because now everyone is in a terrible mood. Suffice to say I feel no love today. Now, if you are pregnant, you know that the least little thing can set you off. So I have spent a large portion of my morning distressed and, well, quite frankly in tears. Which is quite common for a pregnant woman. Not because anything is so serious, just because sometimes its tough dealing with the complications that ultimately arise from being pregnant 3 years in a row and trying to work, raise a happy family and maintain a meaningful relationship. My husband and children are the most important people in the world to me, and it distresses me terribly when things go awry or when someone is unhappy, my fault or not. I feel happy and grateful to be surrounded by my family, but sometimes its hard to forget how lucky we are when the kids are screaming, your partner is having a bad day, you are having a tough day or you are teary or hormonal and you have a ton of work to do. Sometimes its hard to find the happy in a crazy day. That's when we all need to stop for a minute and take a deep breath. It could be so much worse you know? My husband once said something very smart to me, he said, "I choose not to get upset about this." So I take that to heart and remind myself when things get tough, to "choose not to get upset". You do have choices. You can choose to be miserable or you can choose to roll with the punches and be happy. That's it, I just decided to be happy for the day. So if you haven't already, check out my latest parenting guide, I am so excited that it is up and running. I think there are a few technical editing issues that may need resolving, but all in all a wealth of valuable information for parents of closely spaced children struggling to keep the love alive and their sanity! You can find my guide at http://www.booklocker.com/books/2323.html or get it separately at my site, closelyspacedkids.com where hopefully soon I'll have a wealth of additional information for parents just like me and you! Thanks for listening!

Bubbles

These are my 'oldest' two darlings. They are much better looking than me so I thought I'd post their picture, at least initially. What do you think? I'll tell you first hand bathing the kids together will save you tons of time and headaches! I also have tons of pictures of the kids and daddy. It's hard when mommy is the one taking all the pictures. This shot was taken in late 2005. The kids are real 'characters' as you can see! 

Surviving Sleepless Nights

I figured the best way to introduce a blog about living with 3under3 (that's 3 kids under 3) is talking about the lack of sleep parents of closely spaced children get.

Heck, parents of young children in general, particularly newborns, rarely get the 'recommended' sleep they need. I actually have 2 kids under 2 at the moment and am pregnant with #3, expecting in April. My first 2 are 13.5 months apart. Most nights they sleep great. In fact by 12 weeks I had both of them sleeping through the night in their own cribs. They slept with me prior to that.

There are however nights when I don't get any sleep. Take last night for example. My youngest had a bout of tummy flu, so wouldn't you know it I was up with her all night long. That's tough, especially when I know I have to find time to fit in work and chase my 2 year old around during the day.

I guess the key is sleeping when you can as much as you can. Sleep deprivation is a normal part of parenting closely spaced children. Fortunately there are many was you can get your child to sleep. There are a host of books written on the subject. There is the "Ferber" method, "Cry It Out" plan, "Attachment Parenting" and the "Baby Wise" scheme.

I've found over the years what works best is a combination of techniques to help your children nod off to dreamyland. No one child is the same when it comes to sleeping, so why try to use the same routine for each?

I consider myself lucky. I am one of few parents I know whose kids are in bed by 7:30 and rarely wake before 6 or 7 the next morning. Now that's an achievment!