A sudden (serious) illness hit us a few weeks ago and there were several things I was really glad I’d had the forethought (for once!) to have at home, so I’m sharing. It was a very high fever, sudden in onset and it turned my go-getting three year old into an almost unresponsive zombie until we managed to get the fever down. Once it did go down, however, he went back to his usual rambunctious self quickly enough!

These are the items I was really glad to have on hand:

• A reliable thermometer. In my experience as a parent, the “Mum thermometer” (skin to skin contact of some kind) has been invaluable, however there are times when you want to know exactly what’s going on with the numbers. Some people find the digital thermometers more accurate, others prefer the quicker (sometimes less accurate) infra-red ear thermometers. There’s no right choice, just whichever works best for your family.
• Suitable pain and fever relief. The choices vary for each family, but I was glad I had something on hand to give him once the fever spiked. Our particular choice from the pharmacopia proved to be extremely effective.
• Rehydrating fluids. When we were kids, flat lemonade was what we had when sick. That said, there’s a lot of sugar in it and it’s not particularly effective at rehydrating a sick child. Some people prefer a commercial preparation and this was my particular choice. I have some prepared as iceblocks- a child who is too sick to drink may just suck on an iceblock! This had the double effect of helping to bring the fever down. Other people prefer something home made, but when a child is sick and dehydrated, getting fluids into them anyway you can is the best plan.
• A GP I trust. It was a weekend and if we needed medical attention, it would have been a trip to the emergency room, however, we have a GP I trust explicitly. She’s far more mainstream than I am, but she tells it how she sees it and she tells me WHY she sees it that way. It took us a long time to find one as good as her, and if I can help it, we’re going to be frequent fliers at her office for a long, long time to come.
• Breasts. He’s three, he doesn’t breastfeed much any more. But when he was practically unresponsive except to cry miserably, it was nice to have a way to comfort him. And to know that there was at least one way to get some fluids into him. That just so happened to carry antibodies to the very bug he was fighting. Extended breastfeeding has been a difficult enterprise at times. I’ve often wished weaning would arrive YESTERDAY. On this day, I was really glad it hadn’t.
• A sling. Obviously. My three year old opted for couch snuggles, but I was ready just in case I could squeeze some in with the wrap. See Georgie’s post on why babywearing seems to ease a sick child’s discomfort.

The pain relief was effective, the fever went down. By the time his Grandfather walked in the door bearing lunch, he was perked up enough to jump into his arms and then scoff down a large plateful. I was worried for a while there, though, and I’m glad I had these things on hand.

What’s in your medicine chest? What do you keep on hand for sick kids? Are yours sling-kids when sick or do they prefer to snuggle in arms on the couch? Leave a comment and let us know!

The day begins with a fairly fear-free ruck for a walk to the shops.  I have a spring in my step as I feel like I’m starting to become a ‘real’ wrapper.  Yes, one of those awe-inspiring babywearers who will grab a wrap even if there’s something else she could use instead.  I have to admit I’m a little disappointed that I haven’t had any comments yet about my beautiful wrap… or gasps of wonder at my mind-boggling wrapping skills.  At playgroup yesterday nobody batted an eyelid…. but then I used to turn up regularly wearing two children, in clashing psychedelic print carriers, so this must look pretty tame in comparison.  

The shopping centre is complete sensory overload for kids: some serious wriggling begins on my back and my shoulders start to ache.  That’s the wonderful thing about a wrap, I find myself thinking, as I take Meena off my back, I can just retie using a different carry and redistribute the weight.  Hmmm…. wait a minute… if I was using another carrier, I wouldn’t have aching shoulders in the first place… My philosophising comes to an abrupt halt as I discover just how much mayhem is unleashed when Meena is running around loose in a toyshop for the first time.

I let her have some fun for a while before I grab her and weigh up my wrapping options.  I could do a SHBC, a BWCC - both of which give me a sinking feeling of dread in the pit of my stomach - or I can forget about experimentation and look and feel cool, confident and relaxed as I put her back in a ruck. 

I put her in a ruck.  Hey, it’s more comfortable than the ring sling I often have her in for shopping.

An hour later she’s still there, fast asleep, her head lolling a little.  She doesn’t have as much head support as she would get from a mei tai hood, but then I don’t have to go through humiliating public contortions to get the hood up.  Emmy and I are jubilant as we realise we can actually have a leisurely visit to the library, without Meena running amok pulling books off the shelves.   

Why do we choose certain carriers for specific times and places?  I nearly always do back carries with Meena these days, and yet when I look at photos of Emmy at the same age, she’s often in a front carry.  I was less confident back carrying in those days, but it was also about being in crowded places in India and wanting her within sight; and I had great front-carry muscles built up from carrying a baby who was 10kg at seven months. 

There are so many different influences that determine what carry we prefer to use; and in the end it often just comes down to habit and our perceptions about what works or what’s easiest, rather than the reality.  When I go shopping with the car I always reach for a ring sling because it’s so quick and easy and hip carries seem like the best option for a happy baby.  But considering it only takes a few moments more to put Meena in a back carry, and the fact that she’s usually perfectly happy for up to two hours on my back, I wonder why I regularly spend an hour trawling round the shops with a fidgety baby on my hip trying to grab things. 

I thought it would be limiting using just a wrap for a week but it’s been strangely liberating.  It’s made me realise I could probably do the same with just about any good carrier - the possibilities are there as soon you step out of your comfort zone.

I’ve drifted into using a ruck for back carries - an ironic twist for a former ruck-impaired BWCC fan.   But the more I practice the more I like it - quick, comfortable and easy now that I realise the baby won’t fall out even if I don’t get a perfect ’seat’ under her bum.  And Meena likes being able to burrow deep into the wrap - always a bonus when it works for both of us.

Terrifying Wrap Challenge No. 2 - speed wrapping on a moving bus.

Emmy has just thrown up on the bus.  I have about 10 seconds to get us out of our seats and into another before a horde of about 200 commuters gets on at the next stop.  I pull Meena unceremoniously off the breast and stuff her at superhuman speed into the crosses of my FCC.  Scooping up Emmy and the bags, I escape down the aisle to grab the last remaining free seat.  We’ve done it!  The unfortunate boarding passengers recoil in horror as they come across the puddle of vomit, but we huddle at the back unapologetically.  “I feel much better now!” says Emmy cheerfully.  For the first time this week the wrap has come into it own and outdone anything my mei tais could do.  This could be my legacy carrier…. It’s definitely going to be my designated public transport carrier. 

I’m finding that the wrap is just as comfortable as a mei tai or structured carrier for long carries and it doesn’t really take that much longer to put on.  It’s not as if I’m on a tight schedule - we really have all the time we need to get it right.  I wear Meena in a ruck for a long walk while Emmy is at kindy; she snuggles down and falls asleep, cuddled up cosily out of the wind.

The problem is that I find myself dreading the quick carries - the times I’d use a sling or structured carrier for an errand or to cuddle a clingy baby for a few minutes while doing housework.  I’m wearing Meena a little less than usual because I’m always weighing up whether it’s worth the time and effort to wrap her, when usually I’d have her in a carrier without even thinking.

I cheat tonight and use a solarveil sling in the shower.  I have no idea how I could have used the wrap instead….

No rushing around this morning, so I feel relaxed as I toss Meena onto my back for a trip to the library.  She laughs at herself in the bedroom mirror and gives me the time to get my SHBC perfect.  She seems to like it better today now she’s not tired but I don’t like the chest belt digging into me. 

At the library it’s a different matter… I have to get a reluctant, hyperactive child onto my back.  I feel the familiar wrap-dread creeping up on me.  I take a deep breath and slowly and carefully ruck her - this time I don’t want to have to retie.  Yes!  I got the top rail tight enough!  No performance pressure like yesterday, as there’s nobody else about.  Of course, five minutes later I have to undo my beautiful wrap job as Emmy is tired and wants to go on my back.  She hasn’t needed to be worn in two weeks - why twice in two days now??  So it’s into a FWCC for Meena as it worked so well yesterday…. wait a minute… that big knot in the back will stick into Emmy.  I fumble around and tie it at the front.  Not a great solution - one cross is basically non-existent and everything starts to dig in once I have Emmy on my back too.  I feel like crying and curse the stupid wrap.  For the first time ever I give up on tandem wearing and take the bus home.    

As we step in the front door I get a phonecall from Karl - he’s locked his keys in the car at the golf course and I needed to come and rescue him in a taxi if I want to make my dentist appointment on time.  I desperately want to grab my ring sling, but I resist and with a sigh, reach for the wrap.  After yesterday’s FWCC disaster I try a FCC and it works like a dream.  Easier to bounce and tighten and much more poppable.  All the times I’ve spent hours researching the best carry to use, I should have just been experimenting to find what I like best.

  I need my ring sling!  It’s 7 a.m. on a miserably cold, grey morning and I’m standing in the car park at the local shops, struggling to get Meena into a pre-tied FCC for what is supposed to be a quick stop at the bakery.  I had an ambitious plan to go out for a long walk this morning, so that Karl could have a lie-in after his late shift, without being disturbed by screeching children.  We would pick up some scones from the bakery for a picnic breakfast, drive to a beautiful conservation park and later hit the library.  What was I thinking?  Here I am experimenting with new wrap skills in a public place at the crack of dawn after only half a cup of coffee and nothing to eat.  I take a deep breath and tell myself to slow down.  We have nothing but time.  This is where I get to practice my resolution to be a Zen mama and live in the moment.  I finally get Meena’s legs in and figure out which rail goes where…. And we both relax into it.  It feels right.  It looks great.  She tucks her arms in and grins at me.  Not bad for a non-wrapper!      

By the time we get to the conservation park I’ve eaten half the scones but I’m raring to wrap.  I pop Meena on my back in a SHBC, taking my time to tighten rails and get it absolutely perfect.  It feels comfy!  She’s happy!  It didn’t take ridiculously longer than a mei tai!  We stride out enthusiastically into the bush until Meena starts to protest - she can’t tuck in her arms to her satisfaction.  My heart sinks at the prospect of retying but I tell myself it’s all good practice and gamely put her down so I can wrap her in a ruck instead.  She runs over to the nearest patch of mud and sits down in it.  Trying to ignore the mud, I manage the ruck OK; she snuggles down and all is idyllic for a few more paces.  Then Emmy announces that she needs to go on my back because her new gumboots are hurting her feet.  I can do this, I tell myself, getting ready to front-wrap Meena so Emmy can go on my back.  I can definitely do this…  Meena starts thumping my back to tell me she needs to breastfeed… and I snap.  No, I can’t do it.  I can’t breastfeed in an unfamiliar carrier while tandem wearing a nearly-four-year-old…. And what are we doing in a freezing wood in this dismal weather anyway?  I rant and yell a bit and throw everyone and everything - including the wrap - back in the car.       

The only place I can think of to go is the nearby shopping mall, which I’ve managed to avoid visiting for two years.  By the time we get there Meena is asleep.  I lift her onto my chest and she relaxes into me as I wrap around her.  This is why people wrap, I realise; she becomes a perfect little cocoon inside the FWCC.  I feel almost nonchalant as we go in search of the play area.

Terrifying Wrap Challenge No. 1 - back wrap uncooperative toddler in a public place.

 Somehow Meena has managed to undo her nappy and is soaking wet from waist to toe.  She’s clambering around in the play area in such a hyperactive frenzy I barely manage to rip off her pants.  Feeling smug that I remembered a plastic bag for once, I stuff the wet clothes into my bag…. and that’s when I discover that I didn’t bring a spare nappy cover.  My daughter is now running around naked from the waist down while the babycino-wielding stroller mums look at me like I’m some crazy hippy who wandered in here due to lax security.  We have to get out of here.  For some insane reason I decide it will be easier to back wrap her - I grab her, toss her into a ruck and somehow actually get a decent seat under her kicking legs.  Neglecting to tighten the top rail in my haste, I tie quickly and we hurry off.  Meena starts leaning precariously backwards and I realise that my amateur wrapping skills are not going to get that top rail tightened without completely re-wrapping her.  We find a quiet corner to do it but she straightens her legs and refuses to cooperate.  I take a deep breath - I seem to be doing this a lot today - and bounce her up and down to help her relax.  Success. 

I feel like my wrapping is improving already after just one day, and I’m getting a sense of which carries I prefer.  I tried a BWCC while vacuuming but it’s not great for a leaner.  Babywearing hasn’t been the piece of cake it usually is, though, which has made for an interesting day…