#WellMOMblogs – Germaphobe or Cautious Mama?

It’s been a while since my last post, but #WeWereSick!!! There’s nothing like having a sick little one that will ruin your plans. And to make things even more trying, it’s not JUST the babies getting sick – parents and caregivers get sick as well! Whether it’s a schedule with sleeping, eating, activity time or playdates – you can forget “normal” with a sick kiddo! Out the window with fitness, education, eating healthy or developmental exercises! When your baby is sick, it’s triage mode. I use the phrase triage mode, because it’s just like an emergency situation, where parents need to prioritize the necessities: getting your loved ones healthy again! MY STORY: My baby girl just turned 6 months old and I had started to sleep train, teach her how to hold a bottle, crawl, sit-up, add in more playdates, and try solid foods! BUT, when your little love is projectile vomiting, with diarrhea and a fever, that “to do” list became a “forget about it” list real quick! I just needed to get her well again! This was the first time she has been sick so far, but I had been a complete germaphobe! This makes me wonder was it my precautions that kept her well OR just luck? Yes, I was that mom (especially in the beginning), using hand sanitizer like it was nobody’s business and trying to politely make visitors do the same! I would treat anything that touched foreign hands or surfaces, as if had the plague, sanitized her bottles/pacifiers every use, carried extra everything for spare clean items, and Never Ever Shared with other babies!!! But, as she got a little older, I got a bit more laid back.

…And that’s when the sickness struck (DUN–DUN-DUUUUN!!!) We went to a friend’s kid party, and I did the unspeakable: I let my little angel sit in my friend’s little angel’s jumper chair. Naturally, my kid put everything possible into her mouth, as I am sure my friend’s baby does too! I did twinge a bit, but made myself resist the urge to pull her out of the chair as if it was on fire! My logic was that, at the time, nobody was sick in their house. But apparently, the virus was dormant and just preparing its vicious attack on our poor innocent children! Two days later, blahhhhh! My sweet child gave Jurassic Park a run for their money – baby girl became a velocicraptor (vomiting and defecating at the same time). Thank God I had a bottle of Pedialyte in the house, as every parent should at all times, as well as infant Tylenol, and these medicine cabinet musthaves! Then I got a terrible cold, so my parents came to help watch the baby and then they got the velocicraptor! A week later, baby girl and I swapped illnesses. Oh joy – just in time for sunny spring days, we are quarantined in the house and feeling completely terrible! …After 14 days, 6 bottles of Pedialyte, 10 calls to the doctor, 3 doctors visits, and hours of rest, we are starting to feel better!

So, yeh, yeh, we ALL know getting sick is the pits, but how can you prevent it? And when are you going overboard germaphobe mode? We all get sick sometimes, but maybe some illnesses can be prevented! I say, as with everything mom-related, go with your gut and do what works for you! Here are a few articles from top resources that may help make the lines between preventive and obsessive care more clear: