The S.U.C.K cont'd - (Sick Unruly Crying Kids, v 2.0)

Week two in the trenches, and although we haven't completely unraveled - I feel like the core of my spool is now in plain view. It became clear reviewing my last missive that one should probably draft their post and review it during more cognizant moments before being so quick to hover the mouse arrow over that orange "publish" box in the upper right hand corner. Fever, chills and lack of sleep tends to skew your grammar, slay your punctuation, and makes for extreme long-winded rambling. Proofreading be damned, it was still a pretty concise account of the rigors a parent goes through when their little darlings fall ill. Since we're on our second week and I'm feeling a tad more optimistic that we'll be back to our old selves soon, I've had time to reflect on both some of the highlights and low points of our first major family-wide illness.

The determination a mother feels when attempting to alleviate their child's suffering knows absolutely no bounds. The helplessness she feels when she is unable to make 100% of the *achies* go away is closely akin to a punch in the gut. You'd literally be willing to siphon the sickness out of them and into your own body if that were an option. You'd cut deals with the devil. Sell your own mother. Anything to restore them to perfect health. At least that's how I feel, and this is regardless of the fact that it isn't something fatal they are afflicted with, like botulism or leprosy - it's the common cold, albeit an especially nasty strain. A bit over-the-top and dramatic? Maybe. During their teenage years when I've got a few hundred illnesses under my belt, I probably won't react as though the world has halted to an end when the kids get sick.

So now that we've established that most new mothers with very young children have a form of paranoia and neurosis that is virtually incurable - we can leave the apologies behind and continue on with the dreadful account of how this virus has affected us. I'm also going to offer some tips for other new, inexperienced mothers on how to 1) hold themselves together, and 2) stockpile their medicine chests with effective medicine, instruments and assorted soothies for their precious little darlings. It's also important to keep in perspective that when they're sick, you just love them more and affectionately promote them to *precious little darlings* while developing a certain parental amnesia that makes you forget all the times they have flung poo at you, or broke your favorite pair of glasses on purpose, or refused that can of ravioli you were forced to open when they turned their picky little noses up at the elaborate REAL dinner you were just certain they'd eat. I believe it is very important that we never, ever clue our kids in to the fact that all is immediately, irrecusably forgiven in the event that they're sick - else I can assure you that they will learn to hone their acting skills so that we can be convinced that they are.

Like I mentioned in my last post, we're never quick to administer medicine unless absolutely called for, but our pediatric medicine cabinet is stocked with the following Rx's and tools:

• (3) Thermometers - one digital for the ear, one digital for under the arm, and then the digital rectal thermometer that we differentiate by wrapping a few colored rubber bands around the case.
• A jar of Baby Vicks rub for their chests. I've heard people who also put them on the soles of their baby's feet, but my twin girls can bust out of a pair of footed pajamas like it's nobody's business when they're determined to play with their own (or each other's) toes.
• Children's Tylenol and Children's Motrin, with marked dispenser syringes. We like the clear ones, because those little mL lines are just impossible to read if the plunger and the color of the medicine is similar.
• Simethicone drops for gas.
• Little Tummies Gripe Water for stomach upset.
• More than one bulb-type nasal aspirator. You're going to want to have a spare when the booger-crusted one you've used recently is drying after a good cleaning. Get new ones as often as possible, because there's a chance mold can grow inside and it's impossible to tell since it's impossible to see inside that tiny little opening.
• A jar of Aquaphor -we've used this miracle ointment for so many things, most notably: redness and irritation around deep creases (our girls are little butterballs), to dab under their raw little noses after constant nasal drip, dry skin, and to help ward off slobber rashes by applying a protective film on their chinny-chin-chins.
• A good cool-mist humidifier - remember to keep the filter clean.
• Glycerine suppositories. Cut length-wise, not in half - and be prepared to catch those slippery little suckers when you realize that your kid has very powerful sphincter muscles and it shoots back out towards your general direction.
• Baby nail clippers 

I would love for comments and suggestions on what else I'm missing out on. The more homeopathic, the better. But please note that I don't have the time, inclination or know-how to go all out and grow my own eucalyptus, brew my own gas remedies, or make salves and homemade ointments out of herbs I grow in my own garden. With 10-mo old twins and an 18-mo old, I just can't be bothered to get in touch with my inner hippie, although I'm sure she's buried in there somewhere. Perhaps for my grandchildren, when I can enjoy something resembling leisure time again. Right now the concept seems like a very far-fetched fantasy.

Last but definitely not least, it really helps to have a parenting partner who is calm, cool and collected in times of crisis. My hat is off to single mothers, because I truly believe I'd lack the conviction to keep my marbles intact if I had to survive a multi-child illness on my own. On the days Dad was at the office, I learned a few coping mechanisms on my own:

• Don't get freaked out by the amount of mucous that comes out of their noses. As long as they aren't gasping for air, or it's yellow or greenish colored (signals infection) - babies make a LOT of snot. They can't blow it out themselves, so it just kind of pools in their noses until you either remove it for them, or they sneeze on your shirt.
• Take their actual temperatures before deciding that they feel "warm" to the touch. Odds are, you've given them extra layers of clothing and extra chest cuddling when they're sick, and coupled with a few crying bouts, they're bound to have hot skin. Fevers really frightened me until a very wise sage on BabyCenter.com managed to convince me that fevers are actually very useful in helping their tiny bodies ward off illnesses.
• Pay close attention to their disposition and let that be a good indicator of how they're feeling. Cold symptoms seem harsh, but if they've still got the energy to laugh and play, odds are they aren't feeling quite as terrible as you fear.
• Be willing to deviate from your daily schedule and routine. Just like us, they tend to lose their appetites when they're sick, they might want to take longer naps (or no naps at all), and if you feel that a warm bath in the middle of the day will make them comfortable - don't be afraid to go off the appointed grid and change things up to accommodate their needs.
• While I'm a firm believer of being extra touchy-feely with my kids even on a good day, try to resist the urge to hold them next to you 24/7 while they're ill. I'm totally convinced that the stress and anxiety we feel resonates with them on some level, and sometimes too much extra coddling can be more suffocating than soothing.

Being a first-time mom, I've had to wing it these last couple of weeks, but I'm sure time, retrospect and more experience dealing with sick kids will prompt me to update this list. Hopefully a few suggestions from readers will help me expand on this too, as I'm always open to suggestions and advice. Please keep the admonishments to a minimum, though - I've been pretty upfront about my lack of experience, and hope that my ability to poke fun at my many shortcomings lends an idea to  how honestly I'm willing to admit when I've made mistakes.

As an update -

Samantha is nearly completely on the mend, and all the sticky snot has turned to crusty boogers. Sophia is still pretty snotty and has to be salined and aspirated a few times a day. Adler, KID TROOPER - well, let's just say that he proverbially stuck his middle finger up at his cold and decided he was well enough to play outside TWICE today. The little guy just can't be slowed down! And I'm pretty sure he's getting tired of being cooped up indoors with his twin sisters, who attempt to steal his thunder at any given turn. I believe the sunshine did him good. Dad caught it last, and he went to see the doctor for an inhaler, as he's asthmatic and can't risk a bad chest cold. As for me, I still feel like the left side of East Hell, but I've noticed that each passing day I feel a little better. I'm positive that once my babies are completely healed, I'll be back to 100%. I'm glad that as mothers, our "nerves" are regenerative by nature. What remnants I have that haven't been tested this week are quite frayed, but I'm confident that next time a virus turns my household into a S.U.C.K fortress, I'll be better equipped to cope with it.