This has been an abnormal winter for me. I used to be an iron horse - I never got sick! If I did, it was for a day at a time and mostly a head cold. I'd sleep it off and feel better the next day. A fever, cough, sore throat - I'd get that type of sickness every few years.
This winter though, this winter...*sigh*... I got sick three weeks ago and spent a few days in a row in bed. That started with my son getting sick, passing it to my wife, then to me. All three of us were down for a while. I eventually got over that and then a week ago I started to get that feeling again...that feeling where you know the sickness is coming. And sure enough the next day my throat was scratchy and I've been coughing since. I've been to the doctor a couple of times, I'm taking vitamin C, cough syrup, Advil, drinking hot water with lemon and honey, etc...doing all the things your supposed to be do when you're sick, and yet this cold is taking its sweeeeeeeet time. And because of my cough and sore throat, my voice is shot. I sound like a kid going through puberty...not very good when your job is being on the radio.
So what happened? Why can't I fight off a cold now? I think I figured it out...
I have a kid! Don't get me wrong, I love my son and by no means am I blaming him, but things change when you have a kid. He gets sick and his germs are EVERYWHERE. He doesn't quite have the same etiquette adults have - no covering of the mouth for a cough, no wiping of the nose, no washing of the hands, etc... So he passes it on. On top of that, he doesn't sleep well at night because he's not feeling well...which means, yep, parents, you're not sleeping either. Deal with that for several days and nights in a row while working full time and doing everything else you need to do...and your immune system eventually wears down.
Again, I'm not blaming my kid, but I think it's just reality. I've had a few parents tell me that the same thing happened to them when they had kids, so it's nothing new. And it gets worse when he starts going to school because he can pick up so much more from the other kids! We're not there yet, but this winter has been good preparation for that I think - I realize that I need to be more proactive in making sure I stay healthy. That means vitamin C more often, ekanasia, no running out to the car to grab something without my coat on, washing my hands more often, etc...
Experienced parents, if you have any more tips, lay'em on me!
This winter though, this winter...*sigh*... I got sick three weeks ago and spent a few days in a row in bed. That started with my son getting sick, passing it to my wife, then to me. All three of us were down for a while. I eventually got over that and then a week ago I started to get that feeling again...that feeling where you know the sickness is coming. And sure enough the next day my throat was scratchy and I've been coughing since. I've been to the doctor a couple of times, I'm taking vitamin C, cough syrup, Advil, drinking hot water with lemon and honey, etc...doing all the things your supposed to be do when you're sick, and yet this cold is taking its sweeeeeeeet time. And because of my cough and sore throat, my voice is shot. I sound like a kid going through puberty...not very good when your job is being on the radio.
So what happened? Why can't I fight off a cold now? I think I figured it out...
I have a kid! Don't get me wrong, I love my son and by no means am I blaming him, but things change when you have a kid. He gets sick and his germs are EVERYWHERE. He doesn't quite have the same etiquette adults have - no covering of the mouth for a cough, no wiping of the nose, no washing of the hands, etc... So he passes it on. On top of that, he doesn't sleep well at night because he's not feeling well...which means, yep, parents, you're not sleeping either. Deal with that for several days and nights in a row while working full time and doing everything else you need to do...and your immune system eventually wears down.
Again, I'm not blaming my kid, but I think it's just reality. I've had a few parents tell me that the same thing happened to them when they had kids, so it's nothing new. And it gets worse when he starts going to school because he can pick up so much more from the other kids! We're not there yet, but this winter has been good preparation for that I think - I realize that I need to be more proactive in making sure I stay healthy. That means vitamin C more often, ekanasia, no running out to the car to grab something without my coat on, washing my hands more often, etc...
Experienced parents, if you have any more tips, lay'em on me!
Their first cold and flu season is the worst. Last year doesn't count because he was so little. Mia's first season was horrible, 3 bouts of bronchitis....they seem to get it out of their system the first year. Thankfully Mia has only had 1 cold this year and she is around other kids all the time.
ReplyDeleteWhen my kids were very young (6 months and 1 1/2 years), my husband got leukemia. The kids weren't allowed to visit him in the hospital so he had pictures of them taped to his IV pole. I remember the doctor coming in and looking at them saying, "So these are the little germ-carriers, eh?"
ReplyDeleteYes, they carry and spread germs almost as quickly as they spread joy and love!! (oh, and the husband is alive 23 years later!!!)