When Mom is Sick | There are No Sick Days
When mom is sick… well, life goes on.
Last winter I had a sore throat. I assumed it was something I caught from my son, that he caught from another of the kids in his germ-infested classroom. When my son got a fever, I took him to the doctor. The doctor declared he had strep throat and put him on antibiotics.
So I assumed that I, too, had strep throat. But life had to go on. My husband was out of town for work, as he often is. Someone had to cart the kids around to their doctors’ appointments, make the meals, do the laundry and then take them to school and back when they were better. That someone was me. Long story short, I ended up in the hospital with pneumonia. It took weeks to recover.
So when mom is sick and there is no one to take her place, what can one do to get a bit of rest? We asked some of our favorite mama bloggers for their advice.
What do you do when you are sick?
-Leave bowls of dry cereal & cups of milk on the lower shelf in the fridge so the little ones can reach them. It will be breakfast for breakfast, lunch & dinner all day when mom is sick. –Sherrie Donaldson
-No limits on screen time! Toni Hammer
-Say yes to snacks. All the snacks. If their mouths are full of snacks, they’re not screaming at you to do something. —Lola Lolita
– Play spa. This is the perfect time to get a back and foot rub from your little slaves, I mean angels! –Kristen Hewitt
-Movies and tablets in Mom’s room. One big slumber party so Mom can get some sleep while the kids rot their brains for the sake of Mom’s health. Everyone is contained and safe. —Lola Lolita
– I’ve been there when i was really sick. I wouldn’t take a full dose of meds but a small amount (to clear up congestion or headache). I would bring the kids into the bedroom with me and close the door. My youngest was small enough to be in the play-pin and my oldest would get her favorite show on loop. i would have all kinds of food and snacks in the room with us and juice boxes. and i would nod off the hell off. no fucks given. i’m like the door is closed no one can get out. i’m napping for a little bit. sometimes i wake up to a mess others the room not be so bad but at least i felt a little better than i did before i started. –Valerie Pierre-Cadet
-My kids basically go feral. Scrounge for food, watch tv all day. I park myself in the living room so they can’t escape the house. That’s how we make it. -Stephanie, mother of four
-I live in a culture that doesn’t believe that moms, even stay-at-home moms, aren’t entitled to sick days. 
Nothin’ like having a stomach flu when you’re toddler insists on accompanying you to the bathroom. -Instagram.com/preggoinparkslope
-That’s when I call my back-up parent, Netflix. Netflix is a loving and attentive mother, and the children adore her. I lie on the couch, they bask in her glowing, warm embrace, and while it’s not my favorite way to spend a sick-day it’s at least manageable. –Jamie Kenney
– I usually just cry in the corner while breathing into a bottle of vicks vaporub. They both help clear the nasal passages and make my children think that mommy has lost it. This usually makes them into my “let’s watch a movie today and stay in our jammies” idea. When my husband gets home I pass him the baton wish him well and run to bed. -Jennifer Lizza
-Give them unlimited Scotch tape. –Pam Moore
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