Preparing for sickness ahead of time

sickness2

Just two days ago I wrote a post about how the first week of school ended last week with my 6-year-old son sick on the couch. This week, my 7-year-old daughter is sick and lying on the couch with a fever and all-around just feeling terrible. Everyone who is a parent has had to deal with colds, flu, stomach viruses, and more. It is always frustrating to suddenly have sick kids and not conveniently have on hand what you need to deal with it. When sickness of any kind hits, the last thing you want to do is run to the store.

In an effort to be prepared and to make sickness less stressful, sometime in August or September I restock and sort my sick-day-in-a-box for the upcoming school year. If you don’t already have a box for sick days, I can’t recommend it enough!  After restocking I also put a few items on my shopping list so that I have them on hand when needed.

I’m sure everyone is different about what they like to have on hand when their kids are sick, but in our house, I like to have Clorox wipes, disinfecting spray (because a stomach virus is the one time a year I could care less about natural cleaners!), Pedialyte Freezer Pops or some other kind of fruit pops, and a case of ginger ale. We don’t drink ginger ale any other time but I like having it when I am sick; so even just a 6-pack of cans in the pantry means it is there when I want it and it won’t go flat.

I also check if our ibuprofenTylenol, or saline spray is running low and I usually get a case of tissues at Costco.

Those tend to be the things I am reaching for when sickness hits around here; just try to think about what you reach for and add those things to your next shopping list.

All 3 of my older kids had a stomach virus at the same time.
All 3 of my older kids had a stomach virus at the same time.

A tip for babies and toddlers with colds or congestion: The NoseFrida is amazing! It was recommended several times on the Haven of Chaos Community group, and while sucking out mucus with your mouth through a straw seems horrifying, it really is amazing. Last winter, my 2-year-old had bronchitis and I was desperate to help him breathe better, so I ran to the drug store and bought one. It worked amazingly. That being said, it is still slightly horrifying, but it is worth it when you have a sick baby.

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