Matthew's First Cold

The first thing I have my kids do when they get home from school is wash their hands. Rub, rub, rub off the germs from the kid who was sent to school, even though he was sick. Wash off the sneezes, the nose rubs, the guinea pig food residue- just wash it off and start over. Yes, this 'washing of the hands' is my first line of defense against sickness, but sometimes- it just isn't good enough. About a week ago, Claire came down with a cold. Her nose ran NON-STOP for days! Soon, Michael starting sniffling and it was over. No matter how many times I told them not to touch Matthew's hands, to please not touch Matthew's face, said, "Wait- did you just kiss Matthew on the mouth?" it didn't matter. How can you really tell toddlers to not kiss and love on their new brother? I did the best job I could to keep them away from him when they were in my presence, but who knows how and where Michael and Claire touched Matthew when I turned my back?

This brings us to today. Day 3 of a really bad cold for my poor 5 week old baby. He is so stuffed up and uncomfortable. Soothing a baby this little is hard and I have used up every ounce of energy and patience to keep him and my other two kids happy. No one likes having a sick baby. It alters any schedule or routine you have, typically deprives you and your child of sleep, and just down right- stinks.

When Claire got stitches, my Mom told me that the more kids you have- the crazier things get. She is so right and I think that I should get used to my littlest one not feeling well. With two school aged kids, spending their day in their petri-dish of a school, colds and flus will soon become more of a constant in my life. So, I guess I should stock up on Tylenol and keep my humidifier close by.

Life with three is proving to be interesting and complex. But none of this compares to the joy, happiness, laughter, and love it provides us all.