I used to pride myself in the fact that since having kids we had never experienced ear infections or stomach bugs. Which was all because of my fantastically awesome parenting, of course..... We were clean. Neat. Relatively good eaters. Vitamin takers. Herbalife drinkers. Ear infections? Throw up? Unheard of in the Grimme house.
And then. The month of our move out of Cary it started happening. My 3 year old stopped sleeping well. Very whiney, all the time. Irritable, not eating. Wasn't paying attention or listening. But it was all because of the move and the stress, right? It did not even occur to me that he might have an ear infection, all he had was a runny nose and it was March, the month of runny noses. And then one day, when I could not get his attention as he was standing just 10 feet away from Billy and I, it finally dawned on me. It's not that he's not listening... I don't think he can hear me. So I took him in to the doctor and they told me had "glue ear." In both ears. And that he literally could not hear me. It was like he had his fingers stuck in his ears. How can this be, I asked... The response: he's probably had an ear infection for several weeks. They kindly offered to check Everett's ears (1 year at the time) and sure enough. Same thing. In both ears. Not MY kids!! We don't DO ear infections, thank you very much.
Insert humility here, followed by a month - MONTH - of 4 different antibiotics (google what antibiotics do to your kids attitudes and behavior. Then picture that x2 while living in your parents house while searching for a new house) before we finally reached resolution of said glue ear. Just in time for them to get a stomach virus. !!!!!! I remember a friend texting me the week they got the virus and it said, "I know this is random, but have your kids still never had the stomach flu?" Funny you ask, my friend....
Throughout the process of getting rid of the glue ear, and keeping it away for a year I have found several helpful tips and tricks for not just [warding off] ear infections, but also boosting immunity and fighting off the common cold. I am indeed a Pinterest junkie. And very thankful for the website, www.keeperofthehome.org. This is not to say we don't or won't ever get sick. Or that their health is entirely dependent on me. Sickness happens. And the more involved they get in weekly activities, so will the sickness. But, there are some things I can do along the way to minimize the sickness.
First of all, I keep my kids on a daily vitamin C and Herbalife multi vitamin regimen. They get a dose of each in the morning and if they're interested, ill give them a kids Herbalife smoothie or shake for a snack at some point throughout the day. If they show any signs of colds, I bump up their vitamin C to twice a day. *take note that not all vitamin C's are the same! Go for something that is all natural, no artificial flavors OR colors and is made for kids. Too much vitamin C can be harmful. We always get ours at Trader Joes or Whole Foods.
Eat well. By eating well I do not mean eating an exorbitant amount of food. I mean watch what you eat. The month of getting our house ready to go on the market, show it, sell it, move out of it, we did not eat well. We ate out all the time, I bought a lot of pre made snacks so we could get out quickly. We were constantly on the go. I really think this contributed to just how sick we got. Double up on the raw veggies, drink tons of water, avoid processed foods as much as possible.
Eat well. By eating well I do not mean eating an exorbitant amount of food. I mean watch what you eat. The month of getting our house ready to go on the market, show it, sell it, move out of it, we did not eat well. We ate out all the time, I bought a lot of pre made snacks so we could get out quickly. We were constantly on the go. I really think this contributed to just how sick we got. Double up on the raw veggies, drink tons of water, avoid processed foods as much as possible.
Ear massage. Sounds weird, but I am convinced it has helped release some fluid in their ears and prevented infection. If they will sit in your lap to watch a show or read a book, gently place your finger in their ear and rub in a circular motion. I have found that when either of my boys have a runny or stuffy nose, they welcome the ear massage. And the most recent time I did this with my youngest (whom I was convinced had an ear infection), he had quite a waxy build up that had drained within 3 hours after me rubbing his ears for 10 minutes. And we never ended up having to go to the doctor to check on his ears.
Fluids fluids fluids! I know they always say this when you're sick, but I feel like there are some misunderstandings about pumping fluids when sick. Choose something low in acid and low in sugar. Otherwise you will likely end up with an upset stomach combined with a lot of mucus. For example: giving a full glass of orange juice to someone who just woke up and is extremely congested may result in throw up all over the floor. I know this from experience. STOP THE MILK. Dairy is a mucus producer. So drinking milk, or any quantity of dairy, is only going to produce more mucus. Your child will survive without milk for a few days. *obviously not for infants...as they get all sustenance from milk*. I recently found a great "tea" that you can easily make at home. I will post the recipe below. This is great for several reasons-honey and ginger in their raw form are both great as an immune booster and digestive health. This is also a great throat and cough soother. So, in the midst of getting those fluids in I definitely recommend this. My boys love it.
Chicken broth. From cooking a real chicken. While preparing canned soup is certainly easier, the age old advice of sipping chicken broth when sick won't prove profitable from canned soup. The marrow from the chicken is an immune booster and is packed full of great vitamins and minerals which will help you heal more quickly. A lot of the broth in canned soup isn's nearly as potent as homemade. The next time you eat a whole chicken for dinner, throw the bones in a pot covered with water, toss in a quartered onion and add some parsley. Let it cook for a good 2-4 hours. Strain your broth, and freeze it for another time.
Do you have any health tips for this fall and winter???
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