Parenting Toddlers

Really? Mine too!! We currently have some sort of fever, caused by sickness or teething, we aren’t sure which. It’s just a low grade however (low-grade for you laymen means under 102 degrees and treatable at home), so we enjoyed quite a few late night wake ups that required intensive rocking, singing, and canoodeling before we deigned to go back to sleep. While in the midst of my fourth trip from my bed to Alex’s last night, I realized you all might enjoy a few extra tips to help get your sick little one feeling better. If we can’t heal them physically, than at least we can help from a comfort level standpoint:

1) Clean bottom. My rule of thumb is, if we’re awake already, we might as well be clean and comfortable. I know personally that when I wake up sick and have a wet rear end I am EXTREMELY agitated.

2) White noise. Most children are actually soothed by some sort of white noise. And in this particular case, white noise is not considered the noise your husband makes while droning on about football (though I can understand how you could make such a mistake). In our case, we have a air purifier that drones on just a bit. Essentially anything constantly humming or running that doesn’t bother you will most likely soothe your little one. (P.S. Bathroom fan, if you have a bathroom near your little one’s room, works great)

3) Swaddling or covering. Some kids love to be swaddled. If you don’t know what swaddling is, it is, in fact, wrapping your little one up in a blanket burrito style to where they effectively cannot move their arms and legs very much at all. Think enchilada thoughts and you’ve got it. The trick with toddlers is, some really like swaddling when they are sick, some can’t stand it. Trust me, you’ll figure out rather quickly which your’s prefers. If your small wonder doesn’t appreciate the mexican food route, they will still be comforted by being covered with a nice, soft blanket. A small trick that also works for Alex, covering the head but not the face.

4) Last but not least, maintain a proper level of exhaustion. If you aren’t tired enough, your toddler will know, through process of bionic mind-meld, that you need to be awake longer, and will thus work to make sure that you get exactly what you need. They are after all, working hard to take care of US, and we should remember this.

When your little one is under the weather, some quiet time with Mommy and Daddy under a blanket (and usually involving the Noggin channel or some deleriously silly children’s video) is often just what the doctor ordered. Thank goodness this morning that is exactly what worked for us. Now as for what the video was actually about? I’m not sure. I was asleep.