To ask how parents deal with virus hell?

[Virushell]

I'm at my wit's end with viruses. It is all so much worse this year!

My toddler had a virus that lasted about 2 weeks causing a bad cough and multiple night wakings. Once he got better my newborn got bronchiolitis which caused about 2 weeks of sleepless nights and we're still not over it. I've spent the last three hours up with him having coughing fits and vomiting. He's settling now but I can hear my toddler coughing and whimpering so he'll probably be calling me in a minute.

He had the start of a rash earlier and his nursery is rife with hand foot mouth so I guess that's next.

How the hell do parents deal with this? Looking after poorly children is bad enough but when each virus brings a week or two of disturbed ( at best, but mostly non existent) sleep, it's a nightmare. On top of normal exhaustion from having a newborn. I only have two children and it feels impossible, how do people manage with 3 or 4 or More? Am I just weak?

Since school started back up my 5 year old has been off sick for three days and then another two waiting on covid test results. My son has had three days off nursery with sickness and diarrhoea. My 8 week old baby now has a cough and blocked nose. I have had a cold for a week and dh has recently had a runny nose and felt shivery. This has all happened in the space of 8 weeks. It's rough but you get by simply by making your life as easy as possible. For instance when a kid is sick housework takes a backseat and dinner is anything that can be chucked into the oven or that has been batch cooked and frozen. I have a well stocked medicine cabinet so nasal drops, simple linctus for kids, calpol ibuprofen etc. I get a flu jab every year as we can't both struggle when we have little ones to take care of. If it is easier for one of us to sleep in the sick child's bedroom or have them in our bed (pre baby) we would. You aren't weak, it is hard when they are ill.

It does get better OP. There was a stage after my second started nursery when I wouldn’t have been surprised if I’d been told one or other of them had Ebola. On the plus side, my two hardly ever get sick now they’re at school. Hang in there 💐

On a practical note, have you tried olbas oil? I find it infinitely more effective than saline sprays or drops, and much less effort, so if it doesn’t work at least you haven’t invested much in it!

@Vbree

It's probably because we've all been locked away for 18 months too. No immunity to anything.

If definitely seems much worse this year

God some of you have had such a rough time I feel like I shouldn't even complain!

It helps to know everyone survived though so hopefully we will too.

Makes me sad to hear its luck and some kids are more ill than others. It makes me feel like something is wrong with my children :(. They were both breastfed, my toddler has a healthy diet, I don't know what else I could do :(

I think what's upsetting me most is my newborn being affected. He was such a happy little thing before the bronchiolitis and now he's hard work and miserable. I'm annoyed I can't enjoy his newborn days as he'll be our last baby. He's been vomiting so much from the bronchiolitis it's making me dread feeding him when I used to love it.

At least so far DH and I haven't been too unwell so I should count my blessings. Dreading catching HFM as an adult, I usually have a good immune system but with the lack of sleep I'm pretty sure it's shot right now.

Good luck to everyone, really feel for those of you who have to work and be functioning adults too. Not looking forward to this in a few months.

Also thank you for all the practical advice I will definitely be trying some of it.

In terms of how do you do it with three or more.... You simply go insane. Slowly utterly batshit crazy. My youngest is the ultimate germ mule. Whatever he gets in nursery he brings home for it to flatten his two older sisters. Or they bring something delightful home from school and do the same to him. At one point over summer he had a d&v bug that lasted for 5 weeks that was absolutely heinous. No sleep, constant washing and misery all round.

When I've spoken to our GP about it they basically said it's a combination of the usual illnesses kids get when they all accumulate in an area combined with the fact that covid lockdowns have made them less likely to have had much immune challenge so everything is taking longer for them to shift.

So yeah. Insanity is the way you cope. At one point with my son I hallucinated an entire conversation with my mum that simply didn't happen.

Bronchiolitis is such a rough slog. When mine had it, she vomited every day for what felt like weeks. And then suddenly it got better and she ate like a horse to catch-up. I have honestly never seen a baby eat as much as she did.

You will get to enjoy your lovely baby again without vomit! I just remember how distressing it was.

Oh @Bunnycat101 you have no idea how much I needed to hear that thank you so much! Yesterday it violently came out of his nose as well and everything and was all over his hair, just horrendous to watch, and we were both covered. Good to know it can be normal for it to go on for a while and that it doesn't mean it won't ever stop.

Think it's actually 'only' been 10 days for us but feels like months, can barely remember what life was like before!

@Bumfaceffs

I agree, its all part of childrens development to have illness from time to time . Fresh fruit and veg, Fresh air (if you can call it fresh)and vitamins . They have an immune system that also needs to develop. There is absolutely no way in the world we would even consider the Jab for our children . Our bodies are designed properly ,, let it do its job naturally and grow healthy .

Which jab wouldn't you consider? Covid (which isn't relevant to pre-schoolers?) Or all?

Immune systems are great and all, but fresh food and fresh air are not going to do much against virulent bugs. If you can protect your children, you should. This thread is about children getting ill constantly, not from time to time.

Since my DD started nursery at age 1 she seems to a get a cold or cough around every 3-4weeks it feels like. Sometimes every 2
Weeks :o
I then inevitably get it. We both work full time and it can be really hard going.
Probably part of the reason I’m stopping at 1 😂 I can’t imagine how much worse it is with multiple kids and full time working etc I load up on vitamins and immune boosting yogurts and it hasn’t really helped. Hoping this phase of life moves on quickly.

I feel your pain.

Baby DD is only six weeks old and has just been diagnosed with RSV. She’s either crying or breastfeeding around the clock and I’m terrified she will end up in hospital.

DS1 is 5 and is off school today with a cough, runny nose and ear infection.

DS2 is 3 and had a grim case of the shits this morning.

DH is complaining that his back hurts (even though he managed to play golf for 4 hours this morning) and whilst by some miracle I’ve managed to not get sick myself (yet), I am fucking exhausted both mentally and physically.

I feel exactly the same. Also got a toddler and newborn.

Family of 6 here and sometimes it's gone on for months! Just have to try and ride it out. Good TV shows and books!