Tuesday, January 31, 2017

Sick Day Survival Guide

A few weeks ago nearly every person in my house was sick.  We were battling stomach bugs, fevers, ear infections and colds.  No one felt great and we kind of went into survival mode for a week.  I learned a few tricks along the way to save my sanity and keep the house running.  It's hard to take care of other people when you're sick, but these tips made all the difference.


1. Stock up on some sick day essentials for your pantry and medicine cabinet.
My pantry currently has cans of chicken noodle soup, chicken and rice soup, Cheerios, saltine crackers, Pedilayte and oatmeal in it just in case we get sick and need some essentials.  I am convinced that the Pedialyte kept us out of the emergency room having to get Fletcher fluids.  Poor little guy was sick for so many days so this was a lifesaver and now a pantry staple :)  I picked up cold medicine, cough drops, stocked up on Puffs Plus and am prepared for the parents, too. 

2. Grocery pick up
Take advantage of any grocery pick up services in your area.  I don't have any available to me in my city, but I do have a sweet husband who will do a grocery pick up for me.  I text him a list and he stops by on his way home from work.  Much easier than getting sick kids out for essentials.

3. Medicine cups for each kid
I was having a hard time keeping medicine syringes separate and clean so I came up with the idea to do a bowl for each kid and keep their syringes in each cup.  I'd wash them regularly, but it was nice to know I wasn't sharing them between the kids.

4. Medicine dose check list
At one point were were on antibiotics, alternating pain meds and having a lot of things to keep track of.  So I made a little table on a post it note.  I crossed off meds as I gave them and didn't have to worry about keeping everything straight in my head.

5. A quick forehead thermometer
I had always wanted one of these when Olive was younger so I made sure to register for one with baby #2.  It was a life saver.  It reads the temperature so quickly, is really easy to use and ours seemed really reliable.  I loved that I could take their temps when they were asleep and was so thankful to have it.  We have a Braun and love it.  We've used it on the kids and adults and it works great for both.

6. Trust your gut and call the doctor.
It never hurts to touch base with your doctor if your kids are sick.  Ours called in necessary meds over the weekend when my kids were sick.  It was so nice to not have to drag them out to an instant care place where they would have likely gotten more germs.  Call to ask about anything you're not feeling good about - high fevers, sickness for several days, etc.  You'll never regret being thorough.


Do you have any sick day tips for me??
What do you try to keep on hand for your sick days??


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15 comments:

  1. I love your tips! I need to remember these because it can definitely get confusing with all the meds!

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  2. Great tips! I need to remember these when we are down with sickness again. Fingers crossed we make it through the rest of the winter without anything.

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  3. These are such great tips Whitney! We are definitely in the season of sickness at our house and I don't know what I would do without our digital forehead thermometer!! Hope you have a great day!

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  4. I keep my pantry stocked with chicken noodle soup and saltine crackers! There's nothing worse than being sick and not having the food you need. Great list!
    Sarah at MeetTheShaneyfelts

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  5. These are all such awesome tips! It has never occurred to me to keep the pantry stocked with sick day (week) essentials. That is an awesome idea and I'm gonna do it from here on out! I'm so glad y'all are feeling better. I think we've all only been sick at the same time once. It was a long time ago and we all had the stomach flu. It was NO FUN.

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  6. Great tips! I have two little ones now close to the ages of yours. So this will come in handy when they are sick!! My only tip is one of yours-- trust your gut and call the doctor. Our doctor's office is so nice when I call and ask a million questions! It's always better to get as much information from them as possible!

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  7. Great tips! We have 3 thermometers and none of them ever read the same temp. I ordered a new one yesterday because I am so tired of the guessing game!

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  8. Yes! Yes! Yes! It's such a team effort to take care of Connor when he is sick. James and I double team it all and it allows one on one with each parent and prevents one of us from getting burned out by the needy babe.

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  9. Ughh I'm so tired of germs! FYI- pedialyte comes in freezie pop form too!

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  10. Great tips friend. I think I need to write a post on how to survive as a sick mom, but I have yet to figure it out. This cold I have has been TERRIBLE. I need to Lysol all the things.

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  11. These are great tips... which reminds me we need more pedialyte!

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  12. Oh man. Lots of crud going around! Fingers crossed we don't get it again!

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  13. Love your idea to keep the medicine syringes separated. I learned my lesson to about staying stocked up with sickness supplies as while the past few weeks as well!

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  14. Oh man, hope ya'll are feeling better!!! Great tips!

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  15. I hope everyone is better now! We have a Braun forehead thermometer too and love it!

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