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The winter months of sickness after sickness can be stressful with babies and toddlers! While sickness is apart of life it is important to learn how to support your little’s immune system. Learn all about how in this blog post!
*First off, we are not medical professionals. We’re moms of littles, just like you! We care deeply about the health and wellness of our families and believe that natural medicine is the best way to do this while also taking advantage of modern medicine when necessary. If this is your view come join us for more natural wellness tips here on the blog when you subscribe to our email list or on Instagram @littlewifeinthewoods!
Sickness and Littles During the Winter Months
Sickness and babies during any season is no fun but it seems like the last few winters have brought a lot of illness to homes with littles. (Or is it just me?) A lot of things probably contributes to this such as sugar poisoning from the holidays and lack of vitamin D which we will get into in a bit. As a young mom this is a hard thing to go through watching your baby, or toddler, fight sickness for an entire season.
Though there are plenty of things we can do to try to prevent sickness and boost up their little immune systems I think it is also very important to realize that sickness is apart of life. We cannot evade every germ and illness, though as mothers we hate seeing them sick! Germ exposure and even occasional sickness are a natural, normal part of life and even help build the immune system of our children. Of course it is hard to see them sick or under the weather but it is important to realize that we cannot fight every germ. Every sickness we walk through with them also helps to build our toolbox.
If you are going through a season of sickness with your little (maybe you are even pretty unhealthy yourself this season) I hope you find encouragement here that you are not doing anything wrong. You can even be doing all the extra preventative things and still have sick babies. This does not mean you are failing. It’s winter. Babies are germ magnets. It’s completely normal to have extra sickness this time of year with littles. You’re doing an awesome job!
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Reasons for Extra Sickness During the Winter Season
There are plenty of reasons why we tend to see more sickness in our children this time of the year. We will not deal with all of them but we will give you three reasons and what you can do about it!
Sugar Poisoning from the Holidays
This is a big one for toddlers, especially those two year olds who have not had as much sugar up to this point in their lives. Children consume up to five times more sugar during the holiday season. Many children consume around the equivalent of three whole cups of sugar around Halloween alone. Add in Thanksgiving and Christmas and it’s no wonder children are so sick by January. Even those of us who try to limit sugar intake for our children will find it difficult around the holidays and though they may not be consuming as much as other children they are still getting way more than their bodies are accustomed to.
So what can we do about it?
If you are reading this at the time of posting you know that the holidays have already past. We cannot go back and fix our mistakes from the holidays but we can try our best next year! Another thing we can do is stop the damage where it’s at. Your kids probably still have leftover candy filled with sugar, dyes, etc. Start by eliminating this asap. You may find that you have a cranky toddler for a few weeks from all the sugar withdrawals but it is well worth it. You may even notice some behavior changes after a week or two as their little minds begin to clear up from the sugar fog they’ve been in since October.
Lack of Nourishing Foods
Along with eliminating a lot of sweets and candy we need to be replacing the sugar with nourishing foods. Think about it. You’ve been busy, running around, trying to do life during the holidays. Anyone else eat way more takeout and fast food the past two months? Convenience meals? I feel you girl!
Adding those nutritional meals back into the daily routine is a major step in they right direction. Protein, fruits, vegetables. And don’t be surprised if your once “not picky” eater of a toddler now is only eating two or three bites at meal time. This is another symptom of the sugar high they have been on. It may take some work but over the next couple weeks (with lots of consistency and persuasion) you will start to see that appetite for actual food pick back up.
Learn more about How to Start Cooking From Scratch here!
Lack of Vitamin D
Lack of vitamin D is another big reason we see our kiddos getting so sick this time of year. We tend to keep them indoors more because hey it’s cold out there! (Guilty!!) Even when we do go out we tend to bundle them up in so many layers that the vitamin D does not have a chance to absorb well.
So what can we do?
Five to ten minutes. 5-10 minutes a day outside in the sun with minimal layers will do wonders!! (I know this is not possible everywhere. Use your own discretion.) Try taking your little outside to sit in the sun for just five minutes every day with loose clothing. This is enough time to absorb more than they’re getting indoors!
Warmest day. This is my personal favorite. Choose the warmest day of the week (even if it’s still only 30!) and make plans for outside time. Even bundled up- any time outside is better than no time outside.
Blinds up. Curtains open. Let as much light in as possible. If you have a newborn or young baby let them sleep in the sunlight by a window! Get them exposed to sunlight often.
Supplement/Diet. Eating lots of foods high in vitamin D during the winter time helps to supplement that lack. If you feel like you or your littles are suffering from lack of vitamin D you may even want to start supplementing until you can get outside more often.
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Supporting a Newborn’s Immune System
Anna and I have both had the “privilege” of spending the newborn season during the winter months of all of our children (three total). This can be scary, especially as a first time mom! Here are a few quick tips for you…
- Breastfeed!! We know everyone isn’t able or does not feel led to breastfeed their baby. It is definitely a lot of work but so worth it!! There are many reasons why but a main one being that baby is getting TONS of immune support via breastmilk. The science behind this is amazing and I highly encourage you to research this if you are on the fence about giving it a try.
- Donor milk. Sounds weird but hear me out. If you can’t breastfeed, don’t want to breastfeed, or for whatever reason choose not to breastfeed why not find a donor mama? At least during the newborn season.
- Try pumping. Breastfeeding not working out/not your thing? Maybe at least try pumping for those extra vitamins your newborn needs. Even one or two bottles of your breastmilk a day could make a huge difference!
- Baby wearing. This is a great way to stop germs from every reaching your baby. If you are wearing him/her constantly it cuts down the amount of people touching all over them.
- No touch/no kissing rule. Get serious about your boundaries. A “cold”, “allergies”, or “tickle in the throat” can be serious for a newborn. You would think people would have enough common sense to know this but they don’t. No one had to hold your baby. You do not have to let anyone touch your baby. A respectful “No.” is a complete sentence.
Extra Ways to Boost Your Littles Immune System During the Winter
Even though you will likely experience a sickness or two regardless of your efforts they are still well worth it! I personally (Tori) have noticed a big difference from last year to this year and my efforts paying off. Trying this list of things may help you totally avoid those germs or at least make the sickness a little easier on your family than others…
- Gut health. About 70% of the immune system lives in the gut. That’s a great reason to get your whole family on a quality probiotic during the winter months. We both use, love, and trust Plexus ProBio5 to help keep ourselves and our children’s gut health in check! Plexus is one of the only companies that offers a completely natural probiotic that is proven to actually make it to the lower intestines. (Whatever brand you choose make sure it is not absorbed in the upper intestine or it will not do you any good.)
- Elderberry. The immune benefits of elderberry are just about unmatched in the world of natural immune boosters! Plus it tastes great so the kiddos love to take their medicine. Elderberry tincture from Earthley has been amazing for us this year and the girls love taking it! (It’s safe for 6 months plus, pregnant, and nursing mamas!)
- Zinc and Vitamin C. Other supplements to add to the list this winter are zinc and vitamin C. You can also find a toddler multivitamin that supplies kiddos with what they need!
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