It’s that time of year…where nobody comes into our house and nobody leaves. Time for people who do visit to basically turn in their medical records before visiting. Time for us to experience the sun rising and setting from the window. Time for my babies and I to stay quarantined. Yes, it’s flu season.
So while I was soaking up the sun rays from our family room bay window while sitting in our over sized chair, I was scrolling on Facebook. I never spend a lot of time on Facebook, but on the occasion I will get hooked and keep browsing. This day was one of those days. While on Facebook I came upon one of the fun quizzes you can take and it will generate an answer for you. This particular quiz caught my eye. It was called, “which JOB suits your face?” Why did it catch my eye? Well, my friend that posted the quiz had a sweet endearing result. The job that suited her face was Best Mom. With the title posted was their profile picture next to the stock photo describing the job. Her profile picture happened to be a picture of her with her two young kiddos. Next to that was the stock photo of a young mom holding and kissing her darling happy baby. I thought this was precious. It made my heart so full. I wanted to live in the moment myself and take the quiz to see my results. Hoping and expecting them to be something I, too would feel gitty about sharing. Before even playing I felt like squeezing and loving on all my little darlings. I tapped on the play button and waited for it to take my profile picture and calculate what job suited my face. I was expecting something of the same nature. When my results came up, I was shocked. I just started laughing. Drum roll please… Mafia Boss! Mafia Boss?
May I have your medical records please. Before we even came home from the NICU my walls went up and I was weary of who should come visit the tribe. I posted on Facebook:
Mama bear post for visitors: I am excited to announce the triplets are coming home soon! We are beyond anxious for everyone to meet them, but with flu season right around the corner, we have to take RSV seriously. We are being extra cautious to make sure our babies stay healthy.
- We are requiring everyone who wants to see babies to have your flu shot. The triplets are recovering micro preemies with chronic lung disease and our germs are too big for them.
- We also are asking those who are under 14 to wait until flu season is over to visit.
- If you, or anyone you have been exposed to is feeling under the weather, please wait a while to come see the kiddos.
We appreciate your understanding and are looking forward to finally being home as a family.
If that isn’t enough, the first question I ask a wannabe visitor, “have you had your flu shot?” If so, “have you felt well in the last 7-10 days?” When the answer is “yes” or “yeah”, I can feel the annoyance coming through the phone. Just those three or four letters is always a sign they wish they hadn’t asked to come visit in the first place. I take it with a grain of salt and move on asking, “have you been around anyone in the last week who has been under the weather?” Not many people can remember that kind of thing. If you aren’t thinking about it 24/7 like I do, why would you notice something of such nature. When they say “everyone has felt fine”, I tend to freeze for a moment. How can you know unless you ask them. I take their word and set up a time to have them over. Upon their arrival I continue to drill them and point them in the direction of a sink for them to wash their hands. They then come to the family room and make it a point to show them the hand sanitizer. Some understand, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t batting at the piñata with irritation.
Mafia boss. Maybe that job suits my face because I am making everyone exasperated. But can you blame me? While I was staying at the NICU with my babies for four months, I was heavily educated on RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infection) and how dangerous it is for babies and young children. I was sure I would be cautious, but never in my wildest (okay, maybe my wildest) dreams would I think I would be so aggressive with protection for my babies. The NICU provided me with a parents guide specifically for RSV. From that I learned, “RSV can send more than 125,000 babies back to the hospital every year and is in fact the number one reason babies under 12 months are hospitalized.” I had to pause. After spending four long intense months in the hospital, that is the last place I wanted to return. When reading the points given for high risk of RSV, my babies have suffered all of them. Pause again while I catch my breath. If this doesn’t make you more cautious as a mother, I don’t know what would. Breathing heavily from concern and anxiety when diving into the brochure, it went on to tell you how you can help protect your child(ren).
- Wash your hands before touching babies
- Don’t smoke around babies
- Wash toys, clothes and bedding often
- Keep babies away from large crowds, young children and people with colds.
I knew if these tips were published for all to see, they must work and be the best way to protect your baby. The mama bear in me was unleashed and is hard to tame. I guess that is why I am now considered a good fit for a mafia boss!
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