Winter of discontent
Ok, so perhaps that title sounds a little bit dramatic, but it’s definitely how it feels in our house
right now. I had never been such a
frequent visitor to the doctor’s office until I had my daughter 18 months ago,
and I’d also never heard the word ‘viral’ quite so much. I’m definitely over
it.
Millie has had a really rough ride for the last few months, since
about September last year so we can chuck in autumn alongside winter too. There
have been two month long bouts of teething (hoping we’re coming out of the
second one now – four teeth cut over Christmas? Jeez!), and endless bugs that
have caused every symptom I can think of; bad nappies, vomiting, sleeplessness,
rashes, fevers, endless snot production, coughs, mouth ulcers, general
grumpiness and some extended periods of crying.
I’m reliably informed that this is the norm for the first winter
in nursery; the little ones get every germ going and then share as much as
possible. Apparently the payback will come next year and beyond when Millie has
better immunity and will be much healthier, but that feels a long way off right
now!
Credit where it’s due, Millie’s been an absolute trooper,
and has managed to maintain long pockets of her sunny disposition throughout
the suffering. I could definitely learn from her because I’ve been less
resilient I’m afraid, and I do enjoy a bit of moaning on a regular basis. I’m
pretty good at playing the martyr in these situations! I can deal with all of
it fairly well, except the lack of sleep.
Over the summer we’d gotten to a point where she was
sleeping through about half the time, and on the nights she wasn’t it was a
fairly short nappy-bottle-cuddle-down routine, and it felt good. Since September
time I think I can count the full night’s sleep we’ve had on one hand, and when
it’s bad (I recently rolled into work on three hours of sleep and a hell of a
grump on) I just shut down. No good for anyone! The best strategy I’ve found
for managing it is to bring her into bed with me and my husband. We get less
space, less duvet and extra aches in the morning from sleeping around her but
she’s much more settled so that’s always the winner.
At the minute Millie’s had something else viral for about 10
days, and it’s just awful seeing them in discomfort and not knowing what to do
about it – Calpol’s always our first and most effective defence, I may take out
some shares! It’s been a difficult one because it’s dragged on a bit and she
seems to get one symptom every couple of days, which then disappears to let the
next one in, so she’s never quite right.
I’ve been sending her into nursery as normal and then
getting the dreaded mum guilt when they say she’s been quiet, not eaten much
and laid around a bit more than usual. Should she be at home with me? I hope
that the change of scenery and distraction of others perks her up a bit, but
you never know if you’ve done the right thing. I’m very hopeful that we will be
coming out of it soon!
So to all the other parents fighting the winter bug
onslaught – keep at it. Get early nights, give them all the extra cuddles, make
sure you’re well stocked and batten down the hatches for a while. It’s got to
pass eventually, right?! And if you see a friend with a small child looking a
bit like a zombie and perhaps on the verge of tears, give them a big hug and
make them a cup of tea. They’ll love you forever.
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