The Man Cold - My Top 5 Tips for Survival
/This weekend a spring cold struck our house and all three boys were suffering from the sniffles and sneezes. But this was no ordinary cold, it was a full blown Man Cold. Here are some direct quotes from my sweet and wonderful husband during this round of man cold:
“This is harder than anything you will ever do in your life x12. Child birth is nothing compared to this.”
“I’m so hot then I’m so cold. Right now I’m so cold. Is it cold in here? Am I dying?
“Can you wrap the blanket around my legs. Taco me. No, no leave my feet out. You can tie the blanket in a knot if you need, I’m easy.”
“Tend to me woman!!!”
Me: babe go take a shower and go to bed Him: Are you sure? You look so tired...but your right I need my rest.
Of course all of these things were said in jest... at least I hope they were. It’s hard not to be slightly annoyed with the sneezing, moaning and nose blowing man in the corner as you are balancing his needs, two sick children, and 17 loads of laundry (I wish I was kidding, there were 17 loads) while surviving on a maximum of 6 hours of sleep.
If you have a man in your life I’m sure this is something that you have or will experience in your lifetime. It seems as though men simply cannot hang when they have a cold and will swear on the mountain top that it is the worst thing to ever happen, ever. For the next time this happens to you I have compiled my top five tips on how to deal, after all it is allergy season and allergies are deadly to the male species:
Put him to bed and try your best to keep him there. Sleep really does help and if he is in bed he is not infecting the rest of the house and traditionally they are less needy when asleep.
Make sure your medicine cabinet is stocked and give him all of the natural remedies you have on hand. The placebo effect really works so having him drink a ton of water and making him tea will go a long way.
Try to down play your annoyance. If they feel even an ounce of guilt it will increase the symptoms. I am not sure why this happens but trust and believe it does.
No matter how much you have to get done try to take a break during nap time. Watch some TV, read a book, scroll through social media mindlessly. You will likely be running around all day fetching things so while they are all asleep take advantage because a run down mama is more likely to also get sick. I promise all of the chores will still be there when he feels better and he will owe you a few favors.
Remember this too shall pass and things will return to normal however, in the weeks to come you will still be hearing about that time he was sooooo sick.
Stay strong mama, you are not alone.