Organising Tips for a Sick Baby

Now I am by no means an expert at this, but here are some of the things that I do to organise our lives when Annabelle is sick. This is entirely related to medication, bedding and the baby. I have zero advice about keeping on top of the rest of the house, as somehow everything falls to pieces when my baby is sick and that's ok with me ;)

Firstly, I keep a tracking page in my planner for medication. I have trialled a few different templates that I have previously downloaded for free online, but I found the easiest thing was to rule up a table on one of my blank planner pages and record it there. I record Date, Time, Medication, Dose and Notes. This was so helpful when we went to the emergency department on the weekend, as I was able to pull out my planner, turn to the M index divider, and there was my Medication Tracker with all of the information that my sleep-deprived brain needed to be reminded of. It is also so useful when determining when I can administer a top up dose (eg 6-8 hours later), as the days and hours really are a blur when the baby is unwell.

Before I go to bed, I lay out what we could potentially need for the night ahead. On my bedside table I put the thermometer, a cup of water, medicine and syringe, and I make sure there are clean washers in the ensuite if I need to wet one overnight. I also put my planner there so I can record the overnight meds too. I always keep this little LED light from Ikea on my bedside table for middle of the night expeditions, so I make sure the light is there before I turn in too.

For Annabelle's bedtime, I try to organise the vaporizer with Breathe Easier drops. These are brilliant! I always feel so decongested after a few minutes of breathing in the natural oils.

I also put a cloth nappy down over her sheet, where her head/neck goes, as if she gets sweaty from a fever or drools from all of the mucus in her throat, I can easily switch over the nappy in the night, which is much easier than changing the sheets.  When she was still swaddled I used a face washer, as she didn't move much, but now that she is unwrapped and moves around much more, I find the cloth nappy works better.

Finally, a little tip to settle a very sad baby is bouncing on the fitball. Mick bought mine last year for Valentine's Day, after the physio at our anti-natal classes recommended them. I can honestly say this thing has saved me dozens of times when I haven't been able to settle her. She loves the bouncing movement (sometimes too much - as she starts hysterically giggling when she is meant to be going to sleep!!), and I can say 99% of the time, it can calm her and/or get her to sleep. I leave it in her room when she is sick, so it's easy to roll out and use when I need it.

Hopefully these few ideas might help you out too. As I mentioned, my house always becomes super messy and disorganized when Annabelle is sick but that's because I usually nurse her for her daytime sleeps so I don't get much time to get things done. I figure if she wants my cuddles, I will happily give them to her. It is forced resting time for me, which I need when I am so sleep deprived, plus I know these days are fleeting and I want to make the most of the precious time we have together. I know that even now, I still feel like talking to or seeing my mum when I am sick, so I know how important mummy cuddles are when you are unwell ;)