(This post was written May 12, 2021)
A stomach bug came through our house briefly in the last 4 days. And though it caught us by surprise, anyone who caught it was done within 18 hours and it got me thinking about how “sick” we are these days. Our definition of “sick” is trying to keep the kids relaxing on the couch even when they say they’re feeling better so they don’t relapse. We make sure we give our kids 24 hours of rest before they return to normal activities so their bodies have time to catch up.
My 10-year-old caught the bug yesterday. It got him pretty good to start. He lamented all day about not wanting to puke again (we understand, buddy), and it got me thinking. When was the last time that he was throwing up sick? And to my recollection… it was 8 years ago. I’m not even kidding. I can’t remember a time since then.
See, when he was younger, something would trigger vomit sessions and he would wake up in the middle of the night, throw up a bunch, and my husband or I would be up all-night dropper feeding him water while sitting in the recliner in the living room. It was miserable. Then we discovered Young Living and a friend (mother of many) told me that she used DiGize on her kiddos’ feet when they thought they were going to be sick and it would stop the vomiting. So, when my big guy was almost 3, we got some. I forgot about it until one night he was crying and his room already smelled like he was going to be sick. I remembered the oil and applied to his feet.
I will always remember what happened next.
He quit crying, smiled, looked a me, and said “thank you for making me feel better, mommy.”
He went back to bed and never puked once that night. I was amazed. I now had the ability to help my children in a situation that had made me feel helpless.
So now, when anyone in our house is “sick,” we support their immune systems with oils. My personal favorites are DiGize, PanAway, Peppermint, and TummyGize. I also diffuse Thieves and Lemon to clear the air. Yesterday the diffusers were going, because I wasn’t having anyone else getting yucky.
Additionally, we focus on preventatives rather than reactive measures. On a daily basis, we focus more on the terrain (their bodies) and making sure that they are getting lots of water and vitamins (my husband is amazing at this – I forget a lot), and avoiding sugar when it seems like there’s some sickies going around, since sugar lowers our immune response.
All in all, I’m so grateful that our definition of “sick” is way different than it used to be. It makes my job as a mama infinitely easier to not be managing kiddos who are feeling unwell.
I talk about raising kids and supporting them naturally a lot at Gracefully-Imperfect Crunchy Mamas. We’d love to have you join us in our mama community!
See you there!
Blessings!
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