Sick mums... was SAHMs, career women etc. (LONG)

August 8, 2001

>> Karina - home sick today, and no babies at home, >>so lots of time to write

messages for a change!!

>Ah now there's a problem with being a SAHM. When >you're sick you still have

the kids around unless you have very good family/friends around who will take

them off your hands.

Yes, I have thought of this... it must be very tough to be ill and still have to

cope with the kids all day. Of course we all do this at night and at the

weekend, but I currently have the benefit of being able to take a day off work

if I am really ill/ or need to recover from a nasty cold/ or need to recover

from a weekend when we have all been ill.

Oh well, I better make the most of it today then! Although when I spoke to my

boss earlier this morning his tone of voice very clearly suggested that since I

only work three days a week I should use my 'off' days to be ill...

Apropos being ill I just got the notes from DS's hospital visit in February,

where I stayed in with him for 5 days. We were both suffering the most

horrendous viral infection, but of course he was the patient, not me. I was

quite shocked by some of the comments made in the notes (in writing) by one of

the younger nurses - she describes me as difficult, moody, and irrational - yet

I was terribly ill, had lost nearly all my hearing, had continuos thumping

headaches, was nearly delirious, and " sleeping " on a bunk bed next to his cot in

28 degrees Celsius with monitors going off every 10 minutes and trying to

breastfeed him every 2 hours to keep up my milk supply and keep his tummy used

to tummy food (he was on a drip), and generally struggling to look after this

little baby who although cared for 'medically' by the doctors, still had to be

entertained, fed, comforted, soothed, for 24 hours a day, plus trying to keep up

some normality for his 2-year old sister by having her in to visit plus going

home for a few hours to put her to bed every night. When really I should have

been in bed myself.

But of course mums shouldn't be unwell... oh well...

(Thanks to my wonderful wonderful sister who flew over from Oslo to help out for

a week, and a nanny who came in to stay with me for the following week, I slowly

recovered - but boy is it scary to be responsible for a little baby when you are

ill yourself).

Karina

Mum to Emilia (Oct 98) and Sebastian (Aug 00)

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