What do you do on days you are not feeling well?

[bluedaisy]

I have a 26 month old dd and i feel something coming on - sore throat and a mild headache and stomachache.  Thankfully, DH comes home early on Wed but tomorrow he will be working 10 hours.

What do you usually do when you are not feeling well and you have an active toddler to keep happy?

DD doesn't watch TV and I really don't want to introduce it to her yet - she sees it every once in a while if DH or I are watching something in the background and doesn't pay attention to it yet, so I'm not sure if she would even sit and watch TV anyway since she's not used to it.

I work mostly from home and send her a babysitter on fri mornings so I'm considering switching it to tomorrow morning - dd is fine, but there are other kids there and I don't know if that would be good since dd could possibly be carrying something and spread it to other kids.  Would that bother you if a sick mama sent her healthy kid to play with your kids?

[crunchy_mommy]

I would send your DD to the babysitter, it wouldn't cross my mind not to as long as she isn't showing signs of your illness, but then again I'm very laid-back about things like that...

Anyway, as far as what I do... I'm low-grade sick pretty much every day (chronic illness) and I cope for the most part by spending a lot of time out of the house at story hours, playdates, etc. because then someone else can entertain DS... but obviously if you are contagious this is probably not the best option! I've only been contagious-and-so-horribly-sick-can't-do-a-thing once in the last 2 years, and that time it really was hard getting through the day. I tried turning on the TV for an hour (we don't do TV either but I was desperate) but DS really wasn't interested. I tried playing songs on the laptop which went over better... also got a big stack of books and read them to him from bed (he LOVES being read to though, I'm not sure how this would work with a more active kid!). Also I brought some toys in & locked the bedroom doors (bedroom is the safest room in the house) and just laid there & tried to get him to play on his own. Now that he's almost 2 though, he understands better if I don't feel great or something, and does much better with playing on his own for a couple minutes here & there, so I guess it would be easier now. If I had had advance warning of being ill, I would have asked DH to prepare a bunch of meals/snacks ahead of time so I wouldn't have to worry about that, and maybe pick up a couple of inexpensive new toys/crafts/books to occupy DS...

[tzs]

i just had a nasty stomach bug last week and then again the other day. man, it is tough. to be honest, dd did fine playing by herself and letting me lie around. every so often she would bring me a book to read and we'd switch from the couch to the bedroom every so often to keep it interesting. but still, when all you want to do is be all by yourself and/or nap it's grueling.

the food was the hard part since i really didn't want to look at it and i for sure didn't want to sit at the table with her while she ate it. but in these circumstances it's peanut butter on bread day and a banana on the couch. the house was a wreck the next day just from me not picking up any of my stuff, not doing the day to day chores, and not helping her clean up...it basically took me the whole next day to turn it around from a safety hazard but oh well.

if i had a babysitter i'd for sure use them. i was going to have my dad come and take her if it lasted another day.

[Peony]

Survive in any way that we can.

[JMJ]

This was me yesterday.  I was OK and made breakfast in the morning, but then it hit me.  The hardest thing was food, but DD had eaten a good breakfast and nursed a lot, so we got a long nap before I had to heat up some soup that was already in the fridge for lunch, and DH came home an hour early and got her dinner.

During the day, DD really just wanted to be with me constantly and loved that she had my undivided attention (never mind that at one point, I was falling asleep between her bringing me stories to read.  I lied in bed, and she brought me one story at a time for an hour before she decided she wanted to nurse and sleep too.  After our nap, we played "Find Mommy's Feet."  She loved diving under the covers to touch my feet.  We worked on colors, letters, numbers, etc.  She played on me like a jungle gym.  Besides feeling awful and the occasional jabs in my aching stomach, it was an enjoyable day, and I was glad to have the special time with her.  The kitchen today is another story...

[Baby_Cakes]

Yup, just keep them happy.  Its tough but you'll survive.  If you can utilize the babysitter go for it, but if not (or if you get sick again) there are things you can do.  A video  isn't going to hurt anyone, but even my DD who watches way too much tv won't always sit for a whole show/movie.  I do things like spill out all her legos and build with her for a few minutes, and then quietly tiptoe over to the couch.  She'll play on her own for a bit, maybe 15 min, enough time for me to shut my eyes for a quick doze.

Maybe read some books, color, whatever you can do to keep her quietly occupied.

Oh and yes, let her climb on you, over you, around you.  It's one of the ways I'm getting thru morning sickness!

[Spring Lily]

Originally Posted by Peony 

Survive in any way that we can.

LOL!

When my DD was 26 mos I was on bedrest with my twin pregnancy, so we had a lot of days like that. I still use a lot of these ideas when I'm sick. I'd set out things for her to do, get out crafts, paints, puzzles, playdough, and lie there on the couch near her while she did these things. Stickerbooks r colorforms were other great options, she actually sat next to me in bed for long periods of time, playing with those. Or I'd set up something special, like a fort, let her pick out music to listen to while she plays in there. Or give her a couple old dresses of mine to dress up in (because that was more exciting and special than her own dress up clothes). Or have her sit near me and I'd paint her finger and toe nails. Let her take a long bath with tons of toys or bath crayons, and just have it be for playing. Meanwhile you can just sit, maybe bring a book in the bathroom with you. If it's warm enough where you are and you have a yard, that's an option. I used to lay there outside and let her go crazy in the yard for hours.

As for letting her go play at someone's house, sure. I'd just be honest with the parent that you're sick, so they know the risk they're taking on.

[mkksmom]

Gate off a childproof room and sit/lay on the floor. At this age, if you let her watch one show on the TV, it's not like you can't turn back. My 6 YO watches TV only a couple of times a month. She went through a phase where she wanted a show every day for a few months, but then she lost interest. But I didn't let her watch every day and it never became a big issue.

[cyclamen]

Ugh... so us today.  DD and I were both under the weather (I hate to say fortunately, but it's so much worse when they're feeling good and you're not, right?), so we took a hot bath, napped and ate soup, and then she watched some videos.  I also let her stand at the sink and run the water for as long as she wanted. Whatever you gotta do, right?

[Baby_Cakes]

Playing in the sink is a big one in my house too.  She'll play for an hour!!  As long as I keep the water at just a trickle of lukewarm and give her some plastic cups, she's set.  And we have a rule - keep the water in the sink!  She usually complies.

[cyclamen]

I was not totally recovered this morning, so I told DD to bring her toys to the bed.  She did and played there while I dozed for a few hours.  Every now and then she'd want to nurse/snack, but I got some rest and felt so much better that I was actually able to do some cleaning before DP came home.

I've been wiping her nose for her a lot this week.  This morning, she wiped my nose, and her baby's nose too - totally unprompted.  It just melted my heart.