Shingles and the Stay-at-Home Mom

I'm not usually one to wallow in self-pity, but ever since becoming a mother, when I'm not physically well, I really start to feel sorry for myself. All I want to do is take care of myself, but that's really hard to do when you have to take care of four other people first.

This is, of course, exacerbated when one of those four is a baby. And doubly so when that baby is still nursing. There's really no avoiding that responsibility. Being the literal food source for a human being is not something that can be put on hold until I feel better.

And that is what makes this particular illness so bad for me.

See, shingles is caused by the same virus that causes chicken pox. Although shingles isn't contagious, it is possible to pass on chicken pox to a person who hasn't had it and hasn't been vaccinated. The standard advice if you have shingles is to avoid contact with those people.

Babies don't get vaccinated for chicken pox until they're a year old. It's impossible for a mother to avoid contact with her nursing child. Thus, I'm more worried about giving Poppy chicken pox than I am about dealing with the shingles myself.

So not only am I continuing to care for my family while dealing with the symptoms of shingles--which, while not totally debilitating, are quite uncomfortable--I'm trying to keep Poppy safe as well. This may mean having to wear long sleeves during this week of 80-plus degree days to keep the rash on my arm covered. It definitely means washing my hands a lot, wearing high-necked shirts, and limiting nursing her on the side that's affected.

Very thankfully, my parents arrived for a short visit on the very day I went to the doctor, so they've been keeping the children entertained while I try to rest. I'm not very good at that, but I'm trying in the interest of decreasing the duration of the illness.

Because moms, as I'm sure you've heard, don't get sick days. Or rather, we have sick days, just not days in which we get to call in sick and not work.

End long ramble. Happy Monday, my lovelies. Have a nice week.