When Mom Needs a Sick Day

When Mom Needs a Sick Day
by Dr. Nadia

So there I was feeling confident about my super mom immune system strength despite being around sick kids either at home or on the job. As a pediatrician, illness greets me every shift and I’ve been coughed on, vomited on, sneezed on—-you get the picture.

Despite the job hazards, I had managed to stay illness free. That is, until this week.

This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission with no extra charge to you if you purchase through my links. See disclosure for more information. 

Now, I have just a viral cold which means my feeling of unwell can last anywhere from a few days or up to 2 weeks. We’re on day #3 so far.

My little cold is coupled with the worst thing ever for a mom: laryngitis.

That’s right, my voice can barely get over a hoarse squeak. If I strain, it is a loud whisper at best.

Expert tip: if you do ever get laryngitis, try to avoid whispering as it strains the vocal cords. As a result, takes longer to get your voice back. I can attest to this both personally and professionally.

When Mom Needs a Sick Day

As we know, for us moms there are no sick days.

I was expecting it to be a complete sh*tshow as my hubs works during the day and since I could barely talk, how were our days going to go?

I was concerned. How will I manage tantrums? How will naptime go? How can I mom without a voice???

But since I couldn’t really talk above a whisper, we all just dealt with life and its chaos as it came.

Did tantrums occur? Obviously.

We live in the real world and my kids are four and two years old. Read more on my approach to tantrums as a learning experience for the child and parent.

Did I deal with tantrums differently? Yes.

Lots of positive nonverbal support by serene-ish smile, sitting close, getting to their eye level, expressing empathy with facial cues, gave hugs when they were winding down from the tantrum. Lots of mindful breathing. Sometimes making silly faces and speaking with the classic squeaky yet froggy voice of laryngitis made us all laugh and diffused the situation. Read more on mindful parenting tips to start today.

The most challenging aspect of laryngitis is definitely the inability to verbally communicate. Without full use of my voice, nonverbal cues are watched more closely. Cuddles and smiles from me became even more important. The kids realized that mommy isn’t feeling well and were actually pretty accommodating.

They did better than I thought. They improvised, showed creativity, and empathy.

‘Mommy’s voice is not feeling well’, my four year old reported to her two year old sister. ‘I get tea’, she rushed off and grabbed her toy teapot.

Momming under the weather

I wasn’t able to converse much but could still participate in the activities. Just being there seemed enough for the kids.

So far, it’s going better than I thought in terms of dynamics. I’m ready to get over this cold and get my voice back.

Ah, having a voice and not being able to use it.

Like most things, this too shall pass. Read more on life lessons and meditation for self compassion.

In the meantime, I’ll change from one set of pjs to another and remind myself to just relax and let my body do its thing.

My hubs is taking care of bedtime. We’re enjoying not having to cook and getting take out instead.  I can’t think of a better time to let go of perfection, be gentle with ourselves, and roll with what life gives us instead of viewing it through an unrealistic view. Read more on the perfect filter and we need to stop using it.

Lessons learned

1. By staying mindful of each other, we can make the best of any situation. Read more on how mindfulness can help enjoy the parenting experience.
2. By doing less, we give opportunity to our family members to work on their skills: nurturing, taking care of chores, etc.
3. You don’t have to do it all.
4. Chores can wait.
5. Pjs are the best.
6. I didn’t realize how much talking I actually do in a day. Also, talking less was kind of nice.
7. We can still communicate well without using words.
8. I didn’t realize how active I usually am and that I probably don’t rest as much as I should. Being sick is humbling and reminds me of my humanity, that there are so many things I can’t control, and just to go with it.
9. When things don’t go as planned, it’s an opportunity for creativity.
10. We don’t give our kids and families enough credit. They will step up when we don’t try to do everything.

Read more on ways to improve kindness in kids and five things every mom needs to know.

Ideas for Sick day activities

• Cuddle
• Watch tv
• Listen to music. Dance if you have energy.
• Arts and crafts
• Sit together and they can do self play
• Have a picnic (indoor or outside). Key is to get a blanket to sit on no matter the location. Let the kids be in charge of the discussions. So, basically they talk and you listen/minimally talk.
• Kids sing lullabies while they put mommy to get some sleep. I was happy to oblige and actually nap but that’s not part of the game apparently. Maybe you’ll have more luck with that.
• Play doctor
• Read together. Everyone reads their own book
• Play outside. They run around in yard and I sit on the grass or chair
• Tea parties
• Nap together
• Smile
• Let kids decide activities
• Play dress up
• Spa/wellness day

Ok, I have to get back to tea time with my Princess Sofia and Doc Mcstuffins. Yes, in my Wonder Woman onesie. Don’t judge. I know you probably have one too.

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How do you manage on your sick days? What helps you recover faster? What lessons have you learned from when you were feeling under the weather?

(This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission with no extra charge to you if you purchase through my links. See disclosure for more information. Please note these are recommendations of what I found useful. There is no obligation to purchase any of these products.)