WORKING WITH A SICK KID ISN’T FOR THE WEAK. I don’t want to poo-poo the life of a working mom, because believe me there are MANY advantages. Just like staying at home there are your good days and there are your bad days. There are the perks and then there are the downfalls.
I am going to try to be non-bias and cover both the good and the bad on this blog, hoping to help another working mom in the same situation.
We write a lot about being a working mom because us working moms needs to know we aren’t alone.
Today is Monday. I was up all night working on a big launch for work today. Up at 7:30, logged on until 8:15 – got the kids fed, dressed and the husband had the kids out the door by 8:45 am. Good start to a great morning, right? Well – it’s MONDAY and we all know how MONDAY like to be the bully the key is just not letting the day win,
Headache after headache, an inbox full of emails and I am trying to stay on top of it all when the phone rings. It’s the dreaded call from the kids’ school.
Your son is here in the office with 101.2 degree fever, we checked both ears and both read the same temperature.”
Thankfully today I was working remote. The kids’ school is 7 minutes away. I told the teacher I would be there within 15 minutes, hung up, put my shoes on and ran out the door.
I arrive at the daycare to find Zeke, our youngest laying in the office floor on a mat. He sees me and starts crying. I pick him up, kiss his head and proceed to talk to the teacher about what’s going on.
All of a sudden, what you don’t want to happen, happens. Standing at the entrance to the daycare– my son starts puking . I am holding him so my hair and shirt catch it. The teacher runs to get a trash can, I turn him around and he pukes all over the entrance, splashing the poor teacher. I DIE.
3 of my kids attend this school. Thankfully, we pay them well but no one is ever paid enough to catch a child’s vomit.
The teacher hands me wipes. At this point, I have vomit everywhere even between my toes *barf*. Another teacher runs to my rescue and hands me a small bag in case he vomits, and a clean shirt for my son to put on. This school has good people. VOMIT everywhere, and the teacher is helping me? crazy.
I got him home, gave him Tylenol, jumped in the shower and had him play in the bath within a few minutes of my arrival. I sat on the bathroom floor working on my laptop as he sat in the bath tub playing with his boat.
It’s amazing how kids can go from puking their brains out with a fever to playing with a boat, asking for bubbles in 30 minutes.
Having a sick kid is something that puts a major kink being a working mom. He is sick. I don’t want him infecting his class, but I have to work. Tomorrow is my in-office day. I have a weekly leadership meeting that I have to attend, preferably in person – not on camera (I can just see the video bomb of my kid throwing up.) I have one-on-one time with my team. We have so much going on and it’s so hard to know that I have to half my heart.
Thankfully my husband is an all-hands-on-deck kind of guy. He is staying at home with Zeke the first half of the day. I’ll do the morning run-the-non-sick-kids to school routine, then head to work for a half day.
Run home at lunch, do the tag team hand-off the sick kid relay so that he can go to the office.
After I got him out of the bath, I broke a self imposed work-from-home rule, I worked from bed. Zeke was cuddled up next to me sucking his thumb, napping. These days are hard. Zeke needs his mom and dad. His mom and dad need him, but also to pay the bills. The struggle is real, the choices are tough. Just thankful that while today was all HELL, we all survived. (Monday, you will not defeat me!)
How Working Moms Can Juggle With a Sick Kid
I know that I am blessed to now have a flexible work schedule. That said, that hasn’t always been the case. If you are a working mom with a sick kid, here are 3 simple tips for dealing with work and a sick kid:
1. Talk to Your Boss
Make your work aware of the situation. How will you make up your hours, or will you take off of work? Giving specific detail on how you are handling the situation is the best way, in my experience, to approach a sick kid situation. As someone who leads a team, I find it easier to deal with a situation when the employee knows how they want to solve the situation.
2. Game Plan
Pick up the kid, then what? What’s the plan for tomorrow? Will you take him to the doctor or an after hour’s urgent care center? Figure out what your plan is and execute it. Who can help? Gather your tribe, it takes a village to raise a kid!
3. Triage
Setup an area where you can be near your child and work (if applicable). Screen time limits go out the window when my kid is sick. If my son wants to watch 5 hours of Peewee’s Playhouse, so be it.
Be there to love on your child and give him the attention he or she may need. The good thing is, typically a sick child just needs to sleep!
4. BONUS TIP!
Wine. This lovely Dancing Bee Honey Wine (mead) reminded me of a smooth, semi-sweet whiskey. It’s just what the doctor ordered for the day I had. CHEERS. Love me some TEXAS wine1
YOU CAN DO THIS, MOM.
Being a working mom with a sick kid is tough, but this too shall pass.
Moms who needs inspiration and motivation, check out mom quotes. Need a laugh? Funny mom memes will do it!
This was originally published on July 20, 2015 on Digital Mom Blog.