Anyone else at the end of their tether with toddler illness?

[Glassofshloer]

It’s breaking me.

I thought we were over the worst of the A&E admissions and endless sleepless nights after a YEAR of non stop illness but it’s back.

Would anyone like a thread to vent/support each other? 😢

Bump 😢 there must be others out there 😭

I feel you @Glassofshloer - and I don’t even feel like we’ve had it that bad! In the last 4 months we’ve had Hand Foot & Mouth twice, and numerous coughs, colds and bugs. When DS is ill he will literally only sleep cuddled into my chest sitting up - not even cosleeping in my bed so I am exhausted!
He has another cold just now and I can feel myself coming down with it too. I’ve had roughly 3 hours sleep in total across the last 2 nights

Owch @IcedCoffeeAlways

It’s exhausting and takes you to a dark place, particularly at night I find 😔 I’m already dreading the sun going down.

How unlucky to get HF&M twice as well!

The doctors in the hospital said it’s a lot worse this year because the lockdowns meant babies weren’t exposed to bugs

Fucking bastarding corona!!!!!! 🤬

I'm with you. My husband wonders why I don't go to more toddler groups (instead of staying home and whinging that I'm lonely!), but EVERY time we've been, we've picked up another illness, which means covid tests and sleepless nights and whining, and frankly I'm not sure it's worth it! 2 weeks of illness for an hour and a half in a church hall?

I can't decide which is the worst option. More isolation or more sickness. Sob.

Yes with you on this one. I have an 11 month old and since he started nursery at 6 months he has never been right. Recurring bronchiolitis for 2 months, 2 chest infections and ear infection and numerous colds. He is sick again now, it’s been non stop and the sleepless nights are horrific. Here’s hoping it gets better

It’s awful isn’t it. Is anyone having to take a lot of time off work? I work full time & also study, im so behind I try not to think about it or I have what feels like a panic attack. It’s so hard. Of course my first worry is that my daughter is okay, but it’s ruining my life at the moment & then I feel very selfish for thinking that. Mum guilt is a total bitch!

@PesosBandage

I'm with you. My husband wonders why I don't go to more toddler groups (instead of staying home and whinging that I'm lonely!), but EVERY time we've been, we've picked up another illness, which means covid tests and sleepless nights and whining, and frankly I'm not sure it's worth it! 2 weeks of illness for an hour and a half in a church hall?

I can't decide which is the worst option. More isolation or more sickness. Sob.

Yep I’m the same. Not worth the hassle!

I’m thinking about increasing my hours next year which will mean nursery for DS. I’ve already started warning everyone that we’ll be constantly ill. Dreading it!

I’m with you too. Want to stop breastfeeding my 16 month old but it’s the only thing that reliably soothes her through all the illness. We’ve had coughs/colds, ear infection, HFM and two lots of burst eardrum, poor mite. I’m also questioning if two days at nursery is worth all the unhappiness, given that it’s < 50% attendance she’s managing atm!

I feel for everyone who’s working. I want to get back to work but I’m not getting the headspace to even think about it right now. Thankfully my other DC are staying well, for now…

Yep, we've had chicken pox, a chest infection, a hospital stay and now another cold, in 4 months. It's relentless. We now have an inhaler which seems to have stopped the hospital visits for now.

@fretnot I am the same as you. Want to stop breastfeeding but then LO gets ill or has a sickness bug.

I swear toddler illness is worst when you end up catching it. Chest infections, hospital stays etc

It's so bad. Our is nearly 14 months - she started nursery at a year and in week 2 she came down with an absolute nightmare virus that knocked her out for 12 days. She's actually had several weeks no bugs (though her dad got that one after her, so in total it led to three weekend's worth of cancelled plans), and they've just called today to say she has a temperature and we have to pick her up. The time off work is a nightmare. Her dad is one of those people who catches everything so he'll get this too and then be miserable for ages. The lack of sleep is killer. The last bug wrecked her poor digestive system and I'm pretty sure she now has temporary lactose intolerance, which hasn't helped with getting sleep back on track. Oh, and we're meant to be househunting, haven't seen my parents in months and had lots of lovely first birthday party invites etc - all of which keeps getting repeatedly cancelled due to baby illness. And from everything I've read, we should assume we get another six months of this!!! Arrrrrrrrrgh.

@fretnot same here - my first overnight work trip is in early Dec and I have to have dropped the last feed by then. I've been waiting for her sleep to get back on track since the last bug before doing that, but now if she's got another one it will be back to square one

Oh my goodness yes. It's so hard.

Hanging all your hopes of catching up with work on that magical gap between toddler bedtime and your own exhausted flop on the sofa... And the two just keep inching closer together!

Oh with you on this one. Mine are older now but we were at a and e almost weekly with spasmodic croup and dts. It does get better.

@Glassofshloer

Owch *@IcedCoffeeAlways*

It’s exhausting and takes you to a dark place, particularly at night I find 😔 I’m already dreading the sun going down.

How unlucky to get HF&M twice as well!

The doctors in the hospital said it’s a lot worse this year because the lockdowns meant babies weren’t exposed to bugs

Fucking bastarding corona!!!!!! 🤬

So exhausting @Glassofshloer I spent the whole of last night sitting holding DS upright in an armchair because it’s the only place he use get comfy and sleep. I’m shattered and I’m sitting here doing the same again for his nap because he just can’t settle lying down 😓

DH works abroad and I’m back at work (although I’ve cut to PT) but it’s so difficult when he’s away and the sickness hits because it’s always my work that has to take the hit. And even if I can still go to work, I’m absolutely exhausted from being up all night!

Reassurance from an older mother, with DD's now late teens.

We got everything when they went to nursery/pre-school. A couple of years of coughs, colds, chicken pox, tummy upsets, sickness. They got it, and we caught it too.

However, since then, so all through primary, and secondary, and university, pretty much nothing, for any of us. Really strong immune system. Not one of us has had a sickness bug in 15 odd years, no flu, odd cough and cold, but nothing terrible. DD's both got freshers flu at uni, but that's normal too.

Oh, they did of course have the usual nits and worms in primary, but again, only once each, and DH and I didn't get them (that we know of!!).

So, hang in there. It really does get better, and being exposed to all these bugs when they are young, is actually a very good thing.

Oh god we’re in the same boat now - DD started nursery at 3 in September and since then we’ve had constant colds and 2 bouts of norovirus for the whole family. Got her the chickenpox vaccine so managed to swerve that one - really relieved as DS is 11 months so couldn’t get the vaccine, but DD having had it has obvs protected him. I’m going back to work next week and don’t know how I’ll cope with the sleepless nights plus illnesses plus full time work!

I am so happy to have found this thread it has been hellish!! My nearly 1 year old started nursery at 9 months and I don’t think she’s been well since 😳 coupled with the clocks going back last week making the lack of sleep even worse, I just feel at the end of my tether this week 😩 solidarity ladies

Mine has been sick pretty constantly all year - every 3 -4 weeks or so but the last month it’s been every other week. I get sick too and it’s killing me!!! I hate I have to get a covid test for them before gp will even see them when it’s definitely not covid. Just feels like I’m on my own with it and can’t look framed to any plans as inevitable them or me is ill 😭 o work full time and DD is in nursery 3 days a week. Rest of time is with family. I’ve only been in work maybe 2 weeks of October as I’m ill or she has been. I take every damn multivitamin and immune boosting yogurt for nothing it seems.

*forward not framed

I have just been in tears on the phone to my DM about this exact thing. I have one 3 year old who started nursery in September and a DC in primary school. It has been utterly relentless. Eldest DC's school are very anxious about covid so send kids home if they have so much as a runny nose (not an exaggeration). The 3 year old has had two D&V bugs, one of which was so bad he ended up admitted to hospital, and a rotten cold that was accompanied by a persistent cough so had to isolate while waiting for PCR results, that were then 'lost' in the system so the test had to be repeated. I work but feel as though I've hardly been in since September and although my bosses have been lovely and supportive I worry constantly that the goodwill is going to run out soon! I am also supposed to be doing a Master's and am seriously considering pulling out purely due to constant illnesses making it impossible for me to keep up with the reading and assignments. I am beyond exhausted.

I’m pregnant and catching everything my toddler gets from nursery. Just constant chest infections! Husband caught hand, foot and mouth from her. It’s just relentless.

Oh gosh OP yes. And this year is very different to usual because of a) the kids not having been exposed to anything last year and b) the covid/isolation stuff.

@BigWoollyJumpers To be honest it's just as bad for primary age kids this year (I can't speak for teens!) - those occasional coughs/colds turn into covid tests, isolation waiting for results, then actual covid, more isolation but the other kids don't get it so the next time one of them has a minor cough it's back to the test centre... ad nauseum...!

It’s awful and I’ve found with both of mine the sickness came in waves where it just felt relentless. With my first it was when she was 2 and we had 3 awful months. With my second it was 3 months of hell from 9m onwards. Touch wood they have both done pretty well this year but you have my sympathies as it is awful when you’re trying to juggle work.