Man down! Man down!
Winter has been brutal. Not the weather, but rather the constant barrage of sickness.
Last week some kind of flu monster ravaged our home and sent my kiddos running in terror. Well ... they did not actually run because they were too sick to do so, but you get the point.
Aches and pains, accompanied by sniffles and tears. It was a sad sight for this Papa Bear.
The Little Guys Got Sick
I am sad when any one of my kiddos does not feel well, but there is a new level of sadness that can take place when your infant gets sick.
Our little guy's eyes were red and swollen. His little barking cough sounded like a tiny little seal. It would have been cute had it not been depressing.
Little ones don't know what to do in situations like this. They are helpless. They are in need.
Sleepless Nights
Fortunately, I had planned on taking some parental leave days this week so I was home on Monday and Tuesday. And by the way, I feel extremely blessed that my company offers parental leave.
Ginger (kiddo #5) needed a sleeping buddy on Sunday and Monday. She constantly woke up the first night as the flu monster attacked. And I was the brave knight who was challenged with braving a sleepless night. Night two was hard as well, but then there was some reprieve.
Or at least I thought. Then Little Guy (kiddo #6) was beaten down by the flu monster. Remember those cute, red, swollen eyes. So cute! So sad!
My wife is a brave warrior as well. I am proud to stand beside her in battle. Oh, the horror of it all. Aches and sneezes and coughs, oh my!
We bravely fought two more long nights of battle. We were exhausted. We felt defeated. We needed a glimpse of hope.
Man Down!
Usually, "man down!" means that someone is hurt and needs attention. In this case, man down meant that little guys took his naps - a good sign of things to come.
And although my wife and I are still tired from the previous battles, we feel blessed that "man down" also meant that Little Guy slept through the night last night, except for his usual feedings.
I am not sure what tonight will look like, but I feel blessed for one night of solid sleep.
I Want To Hear From You!
Let's continue the conversation in the comments.
- Has the flu monster or other nasty bug attacked your family this winter?
- What steps did you take to get everyone well?
- What do you do when you have a sleepless night?
Thanks for stopping by!
@SumatraNate
Oh man! That stinks when a kid is sick. I hate that for the kid and the parent!! Thankfully we don't have a winter here, so we don't end up getting sick because of it, but we do get sick for other reasons. Hopefully everyone in your family starts to recover soon and you can boot all the sick bugs out the door!
Thanks for the comment. I am sure you understand a thing or two about sick kiddos.
When we lived in Indonesia, we got "sick for other reasons" too. The worst was when 4 of the 5 of us (we have grown since then) came down with dengue fever. That was a nasty two weeks.
Thanks for stopping by. See you around!
Its always tough when your children are sick, its the worst thing as a parent wanting to wave a magic wand and make them feel better
I was talking to a friend today about all the flu colds and illness going around and I think a big part of the cause is the way the weather is all over the place with such swings in temperature
Its great your company offers parental leave I wish more did
I wont answer 1 and 2 as I do not want to temp fate but for sleepness nights it all depends on the reason for why is happening, but generally when I am having one I just give up and dont even try to go to sleep if its been going on for more than an hour or two
Well, my friend, unfortunately, you are not the only one having these problems. I don't have kids yet but my mom picked up the flue, and she was is still having hard time with it.
There is really not much you can do about it except lot's of lemon, ginger, vitamin C, and tea to get the immune system back up to fight the flue.
For the sleepless night listen to some music, and write some more posts on Stemmit.
I wish your family a speedy recovery. Have an amazing day. :)
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