We are struggling.
There is no simpler way to put it. Why? My kids are sick constantly. I am not talking once a month. I am talking every single week, and we are just about at our breaking point.
My husband and I work full-time, and we are lucky enough to have our moms help us out three days a week. On those other two days, we send our girls to a wonderful daycare in our town. They’re learning how to be little humans, their ABCs, and 123s. Their teachers are AMAZING, and we love them so much. They genuinely care about my kids and are always impressing us with their professionalism, kindness, and work ethic. We love the exposure to all kinds of children, adults, and toys. But we absolutely hate the exposure to germs.
My children are two and one, so they’re both at prime ages for sticking everything in their mouths. Everyone keeps telling me it will get better, their immunity will strengthen, and we will not remember these days, but to be honest, I am finding that hard to believe.
My oldest has asthma, and my youngest is on the same track as well. Fevers are weekly, colds are daily, and throwing up occurs regularly. We’ve had croup, norovirus (3 times), coxsackie, pneumonia, and just about every virus ever known. I’ve cleaned up more puke, held back more hair, had dozens of wrestling matches to get medicine in, washed countless sheets, and sat with my daughter while she uses the nebulizer every morning and night. Twice my kids brought home the stomach bug from school and infected my entire family. That’s including grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc…I am tired.
I am heartbroken for my kids. They missed their Thanksgiving feast, holiday fair shopping, and countless other special moments at “school.”
Not to mention, my husband and I are always fearful that we will be fired for the number of times we need to call out to take care of our sick babies. We hate asking our parents to take on another day when they are already helping us out tremendously on the other days, and they have jobs of their own!
Unfortunately, we have gotten to the point where we are purposely keeping our kids home from daycare right before a special holiday or event just so that it is not ruined for all of us. When we keep the kids home, they’re as healthy as can be.
Lastly, as we all know, the cost is monumental. When your kids are in daycare less than they are there, but you’re paying for every day regardless, it starts to feel pointless. We have completely drained our bank accounts to pay and are barely getting by since it’s basically just paying two separate mortgages.
So now we are at a crossroads. Do we pull the kids from daycare to keep them healthier and save some money, or do we tough it out? My kids love going. They love their friends and their teachers. They have learned more than I could have ever imagined. But this Mama feels burnt out.
Does anyone have any tips, advice, or words of encouragement?
Pull from Daycare. My son has had one brief ear infection and the croup once. He got over both quickly. He’s almost 18 months. We’ve do My Gym, play dates on the regular and I went back to work part time in the fall. We have a nanny come 20 hours a week and it was cheaper, with the hours I need, than day care. Maybe interview a nanny. It’s not good for any of you to be that sick.
I find that elderberry syrup is helpful for boosting my kids immunity, but if I was in your shoes, I’d pull them from daycare. You might find a sitter for one day a week, possibly save money, and endless sicknesses!
Best of luck!
My kids are now 5.5 and 8…when my youngest was 1, and they were both in daycare, that was the sickest year our family ever had. I will say that after the 1’s room, everything improved dramatically. Go with your gut, but it definitely improved for us after the younger toddler years.