Guest Author - Paula Petrie

My husband often travels for weeks at a time. When our first born was two, and our second child was still only days old, I found myself home alone. No problem I thought, I’m an old hand at this mothering stuff now. The fact that we had recently moved to a new community and I didn’t have a support system of family or friends here didn’t faze me, until I began to feel queasy. I quickly became more and more ill as the hours went by. What do you do when you find yourself too sick to sit up for more than a few minutes but have children depending on you for pretty much everything?

What I learned the hard way is to have a plan and contacts in place before you need them. When you don’t live near a family member, or your family members work full time, it’s a good idea to seek support from your local church or playschool group. Even if you don’t know them well, this is a great way, and reason, to make some allies. Find another mother or two that are in a similar circumstance. That way you can feel free to call each other when you need a sudden favor, impromptu baby sitting, or moral support.

Generally, homes have candles and emergency supplies, but it is just as important to have supplies tucked away for sudden illnesses. When you or your child turn sick, getting to the pharmacy is a very complicated procedure. Some good choices to have stored away may be a couple of cans of chicken soup. One or two bottles of a sports drink like “Gatorade” for sipping. With flu, sipping is important, and sports drinks work wonders. Also, headache or fever medicine. It is to your benefit to have some paper plates, cups and easy meal alternatives tucked in the back of a cupboard, incase standing up isn’t easily accomplished. If you are really organized, a new toy or coloring book squirreled away can take the pressure off by amusing a child for up to a couple of hours.

Making it through a sick day also requires downsizing your family’s living space. Arrange a place to lie down near a TV. Have Kleenex, books, movies, toys, etc. within reach. You want to create an area where you can see and tend to your child without having to always get up, but still feel in control of your environment.

When my toddler and I became suddenly ill, I tried to keep germs from spreading to my infant as much as possible, but with no one to take him out of the environment, he became sick as well and had to be hospitalized for a few days. Due to the small body size, when an infant gets sick, the flu can become something more serious, quickly. Having someone to call if you get suddenly sick, while caring for an infant, really is necessary.