Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Gone for an undisclosed amount of time.

Last week my children all had the stomach flu. Fortunately, it was only a 12 hour bug. Unfortunately, all 4 children were struck. Prior to that, Bentley has suffered with Strep Throat 4 times since July '10. He now gets to visit an ENT for further options/treatment.

This week, I have both boys who tested positive for Strep, & both girls who tested positive for Influenza A. I have not been tested, but oh believe me, I gots it too. Ü After spending approximately over $510 on drs. visits & prescriptions (just this week alone! Monday-Wednesday), a priceless amount of suffering, an undetermined amount on cleaning products/laundry detergent/Ibuprofen - I now have a new priority.

My family is not sick often (Bentley aside - but he also has the worst eating/sleeping habits in our family), other than the occasional allergies/colds, but after this bout, I feel like there is something I am just not doing right. I could be wrong, but I'm going to devote a whole lot of time trying to find a solution to help my children/family. I'm not confident that what we are experiencing is normal, or not normal. I tend to believe we fall in the 'not normal' category.

I have tried diligently to cook more from scratch, incorporate more fruits & veggies, implement adequate sleep, offer daily vitamins, etc. That said, there just seems to be no improvement.

Over the years, I have gone from cleaning with commercial products, to tossing all of those chemicals & going 'green' (I even purchased books to help me transition), then switching back to commercial products. Currently, I'm in between. Some things I use are commercial, others are natural.

I read somewhere, & had a friend confirm via Facebook, that maybe I clean too much. Maybe not "too much" per say, but too thoroughly, if that makes sense. Being I use commercial products that kill this bacteria & that germ, possibly I'm not leaving enough bacteria behind, so my family can build a resistance. To be honest, I have no idea, but with all my might, I hope to find out. What I do know for certain is that I will be transitioning back to all natural products - not only is it less expensive, as we all know, it's much healthier for our bodies (lungs & cute noses, just to name a few). :)

I have felt quite a bit of guilt because I just haven't been able to update my blog as I'd like. I have so many posts to do (including Mercedes' 3rd birthday photos), so many that I want to do, but getting my family healthy takes precedence to my blog. I have to know that I have done everything in power to help them, even if I'm not successful. I'll be able to say I tried. Ü

I know I don't have many who read & I'm so ok with that. But I also know I have a few regulars who check in, only to discover that yet again, there's no new post. My hope is that you'll hang in there with me (I'll still Twitter & Facebook - those don't take as long). And while you're at it, if you have any cleaning tips or vitamin suggestions (or anything else) you can toss my way, bring it & thank you! I have received much advice on Facebook, some I'm implementing, some I'm still researching, but I'm so thankful! I am not a proud person & I will certainly take any & all advice/suggestions you can offer. :)

Thanks for understanding but most importantly, I hope you all stay healthy! I cannot tell you how absolutely horrible these illnesses have been. Do everything you can, too, to rid the bacteria & germs! But be sure to leave some. Teehee. Off to take my Tamiflu! Ü

Bon Voyage!

2 comments:

Launa said...

Oh hon, I am so sorry! I feel so badly for you all. Having sick kids is the worst... except for when you are sick too. I hope you all get better super fast!
Hugs and Prayers!

Kriss said...

Melissa, speaking of introducing good bacteria, maybe incorporating more yogurt into the kids diets?? I clean ALOT and I do the same commericial and natural products, vitamins, healthy eating, etc. I have found though that when we take bacteria away we have to replace it with good bacteria. Will your kids eat Stoneyfields yogurt? I have found that Keifer, Plain yogurts (not Dannon, Yoplait, store brand, etc) like Stoneyfields or greek yogurt have more cultures in them to help replenish. Esp. if the kids have been on antibotics. -kriss