You had your week all scheduled out, and big plans for cleaning and work. Then, on Monday morning, your toddler woke up with a stuffy nose and refused to be put down for anything. Now what? What about your well thought out plans? After the sick child, how do you figure out what to prioritize? Let’s talk about prioritizing as a homemaker when you have sick littles and no energy left to spare.
Setting priorities is a big deal for a well ordered life, regardless of sick babies or a healthy household. No matter what stage or season we’re in, making sure our priorities are where they need to be is critical.
What are priorities?
Priority
A thing that is regarded as more important than another.
Essentially, having a list of priorities is having a list of importance. Top priorities are those things that are most important, while lower ones are of least importance. By having this list laid out, it makes it easier to emphasize certain aspects of our lives at appropriate times, and adjust accordingly. Some priorities can shift up and down our list, while others remain constant.
What does this look like when there are sick kids in the house?
1 – Take Care of the Kids:
I think it goes without saying, but the sick littles are 100% the first priority. As much as you want to get to that overdue dusting and vacuuming, if all you do in a given day is take care of your babies, you have done exactly what you needed to do. I know, I know, it doesn’t feel like much. Especially when you are exhausted and worn out too, it’s really easy to feel like you’ve failed and somehow missed the mark.
I’m here to tell you (and remind myself) that’s not true. You’ve done beautifully!
As mothers, our vocation is to take care of our children to the best of our ability. Even when it is at the expense of everything else we had planned to do.
2 – Make Meals:
Part of taking care of the kids, and you, when there are sickies in the house is making sure there are meals on the table. While I realize that most sick littles don’t usually seem to have much of an appetite, it’s important to make sure they have something to eat anyways. Bone broth, chicken noodle soup, there are so many nutrient dense foods that can be soothing to sore throats and upset tummies.
For times when you are spending all day taking care of sick babies, it’s really nice to have already prepared meals ready to go. From frozen casseroles to canned soups, anything is good when you are tired from a long day of taking care of littles.
That said, if you don’t have a stash of meals made up ahead of time, keeping it simple is key. Throwing a chicken in a crockpot with some vegetables, or some ground beef in a pot on the stove with some potatoes. Anything works!
3 – Rest:
The babies aren’t the only ones who need rest when they’re sick. Mama needs to make sure she’s getting rest when she can as well so she can be in tip top shape to help care for the littles. Naps are always a good idea 😉
4 – Work:
I debated where work should fall in a list of priorities when mama is busy taking care of sick babies, and I feel like fourth is a reasonable place for it. If you are a work from home, self-employed mama, then giving yourself the grace to put your energy where it is needed most for a couple of days is absolutely fine! It shouldn’t necessarily be on the complete back burner, but if you only have a few minutes here or there to get one or two things done, especially in the blogging sphere, don’t beat yourself up. All of the things will still be there in a day or two when the kids get to feeling better!
5 – Dishes & Laundry:
Right after work, I think that keeping up with laundry and dishes, or at least doing a load when you can, is a good idea. Even when they’re sick, kids still need clean clothes to wear, and clean dishes to eat off of. Again, it doesn’t have to all be done in a single chunk of time, or even all done at all. The key is to make sure you have what you need, when you need it.
Wrapping it Up:
Prioritizing as a homemaker is tricky anytime, but especially when the littles are sick and all of your well laid plans come crashing down. We’d love to hear how you manage and prioritize things when you have sick littles! 🙂
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