Sick Boy

I wrote earlier this week about Wesley being a daycare baby. (Seriously, typing that makes my heart hurt.) Of course being sick goes hand-in-hand with being around lots of kiddos. Wesley has been around people since he was very little. Being a church-baby, Wesley has never met a stranger. I focus on the good parts of that - he's being exposed to germs, meeting lots of people, and has so many who adore him.

Unfortunately, that means that Wesley is likely to get sick. He was almost 8 months old before we had to sit on the sick side of the waiting room. Several weeks ago Jarrod, Wesley, and I all came down with something on a Friday afternoon. Our noses were runny, we were coughing, and we just didn't feel good. Wesley was fussy all weekend but didn't run a fever, so we didn't worry. He slept a lot and was generally fussy. He stopped eating solid food, but had good moments, so we hunkered down and rested for the weekend.

That week he wasn't 100% but still never ran a fever, so we didn't worry. On Wednesday he went to school and within 2 hours we got the call. He'd gagged and spit up a whole bottle. He was sick. I stayed home with him and let him sleep a lot. We assumed he was teething and just took things easy. He stayed home from school on Thursday and is always home on Friday. On Saturday he ran a fever all day and didn't leave the house. By Sunday, he was feeling better. He was back at school on Monday.

We went the whole week again not at 100%. On Friday we called the doctor and took him in. Wesley has always pulled at his ears and at his 6 month appointment we made sure that the doctor checked them. I thought he probably had an ear infection, but his ears looked great. (After the doctor moving wax around - not fun at all!) The doctor determined that it was a sinus infection and prescribed amoxicillon. I cried for 2 days.

Then Wesley started to perk up. He was laughing again, eating solid food, and crawling around the house. It had been nearly 2 weeks without a real Wesley presence in our home. While I'm not in favor of antibiotics as a rule, I think we made the right choice. Of course, we also decided to start him on probiotics as well and will continue. I was already researching when he got sick. Hopefully between probiotics and breastfeeding, he will remain healthy more often than not.

I am convinced that breastfeeding kept Wesley well nearly 8 months. With the number of people he is in contact with each week, it's pretty remarkable. I hope that continuing to breastfeed will keep him as healthy as possible. This illness is motivation to keep pumping at work, on the road, and in the mornings, even if it's inconvenient. I know it's what is best for him and will hopefully keep him healthy for as long as possible. I know germs are good and he needs to build up his immunity, but I hate having a sick baby.

How do you keep yourself from getting sick? What do you do to keep your kiddos healthy? What is your favorite guilty pleasure to help make yourself feel better when you aren't well?