It's that after-sick time now in our house. Samantha is much better today, but I'm losing my mind because she has become a whining, annoying, uncooperative baby. I hate to say that about my own child (and I wouldn't say it to her face), but it's true. Of course, we made her that way by spoiling her for the past 5 days. And it's hard to get out of the habit. We've been sleeping in her room, spoon feeding her, letting her drink juice all day, and basically giving her anything she wants. While she is sick, she doesn't abuse her power, but the better she feels, the more she reverts to screaming at any little thing that doesn't go her way.
I think this is what people mean when they say that being a parent requires patience. A few days of proper parenting is the cure for this ill.
I think it's fine to parent differently in different contexts--such as when one (or both) of you is sick. When people aren't feeling well, I tend to give them more chances at do-overs, am more flexible when it comes to things we don't normally do (like snacks in the family room) and will do things for them more often that I know they could do independently and would otherwise have made them do for themselves. When I'm sick, I appreciate that extra nurturing--Brendan bringing me a drink or fixing me a meal. It's a way to show caring for someone when they're not 100%
ReplyDeleteYes, it's hard when they're recovering, and I tend to kind of ease them back into the regular routine. Sometimes I'll even say (don't know if Sam is too young to get this or not--I suspect not) something like "Well I don't mind doing XYZ when everyone's sick since I think we all were focused on getting better. But now that we're better, I'm not going to do that anymore."
Anyway, I just wanted to note that parenting a little differently when they're sick can still be proper, even when it's hard to get back into the regular routine. I'm glad she's better!
Thanks, Jenn. Adam and I always try to note when we're making exceptions, and Sam might just now be starting to understand it because, for the most part, she got back into the groove today. But it's nice to hear that someone else knows what I'm talking about!
ReplyDeleteYou were right about croup - it got worse before it got better. Still, it wasn't much more than a bad cold, so I guess we were lucky.