Musing: When both you and your child are under the weather, you don’t get to be sick

It's something we've all come up against as parents.

The autumn and winter months bring with it a bevy of colds and ailments and once someone in the house has caught it, everyone does. Unfortunately, when you're the parent and both you and your kids are sick it usually means you don't get to actually 'be sick' as you're too busy looking after everyone else. This is something I personally experienced only last week when we all came down with something at the same time. I had a pounding migraine, swollen sinuses and couldn't even think about touching a bite of food. While I might have felt awful there wasn't much time for me to sit around feeling sorry for myself as the kids were also feeling run down, my toddler especially.   Whenever she's feeling poorly all she wants is to be on my lap. Nothing else will do her. There wasn't a moment day or night that she wasn't on top of me looking for cuddles or to use me as a cozy place to take a nap. While I'm always happy to snuggle up to her and make her feel a little bit better, it can get pretty exhausting, especially when on top of being unwell you're not getting any sleep. Our bodies need to rest when we're ill so they can repair themselves but it's not always an easy thing to do as a parent. One thing that I would suggest to help combat this is to prepare in advance. Coming into September get stocked up on cold and flu remedies for yourself and some Calpol for the kids. It's also a good idea for everyone to start taking a multi-vitamin to help strengthen your immune system. Another great thing to have if you're a tea lover like myself is herbal teas and decaf tea. While my granny would say tea is good for all that ails you it makes my migraines so much worse so I've started buying decaf so I can still have a cuppa even when I'm not feeling great. Most importantly of all do try to get some rest. I know, easier said than done but you can't look after everyone else unless you look after yourself first. Even if it goes back to newborn basics and napping when the kids nap, do it. Forget the washing up for awhile and just concentrate on getting yourself better.