Rough Time

Mommas, sometimes times are rough.  We’ve all been there.  I was there the last couple of weeks.  Alice started getting a cold, which messed up the way she nursed, which led to mastitis for me.  This must have compromised my immune system (and it doesn’t help that I suck snot directly out of her face with the Nosefrida), because before I knew it, I was battling that cold.  It turned nasty fast, and I quarantined us to the bedroom, but not before I exposed my mom and grandma.

For my mom, even a bad cold is no big.  She was a public school teacher, after all!  But my grandma is 90 and can’t handle things like she used to.  She ended up with pleurisy and had to go to the ER.  They couldn’t medically help her as much as she needed, so she’s now hanging out in a care facility until she gets better.  Though Alice and I are on the mend, I’m sad that this happened to my grandma.

So, what do you do?  Try to remember that you still need to take care of yourself, even when you have a tiny someone who needs all your time, effort, and love.  I’ve been sick A LOT since I had Alice, and I’m pretty much over it.  I’m exposed to all kinds of things at the school where I work, so I guess I’ll need to put out more of an effort to stay healthy.  My Nasopure bottle came out of storage for morning nasal rinses, and I brought a canister of salt upstairs to gargle with.  Hopefully doing these things will get rid of the illnesses before they can take root.  

I’ll be diffusing a combination of lavender and lemon at work to purify the air, as well as giving the office a spritz of thieves before I leave to clean it up over night.  To make the surfaces just as clean, I’ll wipe them down with disinfectant daily.

Diet and sleep are always important as well.  I have a hard time choosing only clean, healthy foods, but I’ll do my best, and I’ll always get plenty of water.  Sleep, as you know, is more difficult with a four-month-old.  It helps that she sleeps with us, so I don’t have to get up to nurse.  I just have to prioritize getting into bed on time and do the best I can.

Mostly, I’ll have to make the effort to take care of myself so that I’m able to take care of Alice.  I guess I forget that sometimes, now that I’m a momma.  I know I’m not alone in this!  I hope you found this post an encouragement in that we’re all going through the same things.  Do you have any ideas about how I can keep myself and Alice healthy?  Leave them in the comments below.  Thanks for reading!