Thanks to September, we are down and out with colds over here. Again. I didn’t catch the last one, thank goodness, and I hope very much to not catch this one either!
Not everyone is sick yet. Dekker is a bit more emotional than usual, so I can tell he’s feeling a little bit under the weather. Laela has been snotty and coughy for the last two or three days. She actually slept in this morning, and only woke up for breakfast after everyone else was done. Thankfully, today wasn’t a school day for her. Rowan isn’t sick yet! Though he’s looking a bit droopy. Solly is hopefully on the way out of this one, but he’s had it rough. So much snot, tons of coughing, and a persistent diaper rash. Poor dude. Wavy is a bit congested, and while she’s SO sleepy, she doesn’t sleep well. So, its all pretty standard sick kid stuff.
Besides them, Brady is feeling it pretty decently, but his colds usually move pretty quick. I feel a bit extra for him, though, because he just kicked his last illness maybe a week ago. We think he randomly had Hand Foot and Mouth, because he had a BRUTAL sore throat that felt like knives for a good handful of days, but came with virtually no other symptoms. It reached the point where he felt at a total loss, and couldn’t enjoy any food or drink anymore at all. But it finally lifted, and now he has a cold. Which feels considerably better than HFMD, but is still annoying.
I’ve had some colds throughout the last while, but less than usual, I’d say. Especially considering its the beginning of the school year, and thats the time for everyone to be sick! I may be jinxing everything now, but whatever. I realized yesterday that I’ve been sick WAY LESS since I started getting my nails done!
If you haven’t been around for long, I have always been a nail biter. I had gotten my habit fairly under control, that is, until we started losing our babies. When we conceived our fifth baby for the third time (Oy…) my anxiety beat out my self control, and I chewed my hands like crazy! I chewed my nails and the skin around them until I couldn’t use my fingers anymore. It was impossible to ever get them wet, because they would puff up just the smallest amount and would hurt SO BADLY. That meant I couldn’t wash my hands, my hair, myself, my kids, our dishes, our house, etc. It was out of control. I got gel nails not because I think they’re pretty (though they definitely are!) but to save my poor hands from myself. And guys, it has helped immensely. I’m not perfect, and I still pull at the skin around my thumbs sometimes. Hangnails still get me in trouble sometimes, but with the thicker, rounded gel nails, its harder for me to pick at my skin. While vastly unsatisfying, its helpful, and I’m thankful.
Only just recently have I realized that the lack of biting my fingers has probably saved me from illness!! I can’t believe it took me so long to put that together because I say it to my kids every single day! “Get that out of your mouth, please!” Time after time after time. “You’ll get sick! You’ll put germs into your mouth!” Who am I that I’ve missed this lesson for myself??
Now that I’ve written this all out, I’ll probably get sick, haha! But hey, its been a less ill year, and at least some of that credit goes to my nails being well protected. I’m going to back that all up over the next few days with tons of hand washing, tons of lotion (to combat the dry hands that I’ll inevitably pick at,) and Lysol wipes on EVERYTHING! I know they’re not the most natural option, but they’re efficient and effective.
Wish me luck!!! 🤞