Let me paint you a picture.
It’s 2 a.m. The baby is cluster feeding (again), latching on my hung-out boobie. My toddler is screaming from a night terror episode (again). My tween is coughing and missing yet another day of school. The house smells faintly of unscooped cat litter. My husband and I are trying not to snap at each other — but let’s be real, the overstimulation is at an all-time high.
Welcome to our household plague week—where the flu hit all five of us at once, and survival became the only item on the to-do list.
🤒 The Week the Flu Took Us All Down
It started last Tuesday, with my toddler returning from her daycare. One by one, all of us started sneezing, like it was a limited-time event no one wanted to miss. Chills, body aches, sore throat, congestion — you name it, we had it.
When you’re parenting three kids (including a 2-week-old) while also being sick yourself, the word “exhausted” doesn’t even cut it. It’s bone-deep fatigue mixed with guilt, anxiety, and the overwhelming urge to scream into a pillow.
There is no pause button. No “sick leave” or PTO from parenting. No village. Just two worn-out adults trying to hold it all together.
👶 The Newborn: Cluster Feeds and Congested Snuggles
You’d think newborns would sleep through illness — but nope. Ours decided to level up in cluster feeding and needed to be on me 24/7. Every sniffle made my heart ache. Every restless nap on my chest meant another hour of missed sleep for me.
And the worst part? Not being able to take cold meds that actually work because I’m breastfeeding.
👧 The Toddler: Night Terrors and Extra Cling
My toddler is normally a ball of sunshine. But in sickness? She’s an emotional hurricane.
She’s battling night terrors, snotty nose, and the remaining jealousy of her little sister being on my chest, while also watching her mom juggle a newborn. Her clinginess is understandable — but also constant. And when both kids want to be in my arms at the same time while I have chills and a pounding head?
It’s overstimulation to the max.
👩 The Tween: The Silent Sufferer
Then there’s my tween. Coughing through the night, missing classes, and quietly retreating into their room. The guilt here is different. Less loud, but deeper. I want to give them the attention they need, but there’s only one of me — and they’re old enough to know that.
I wish I had more to give.
🛖 No Village, No Breaks, No Sleep
We don’t have a village. No one’s dropping off soup. No one’s taking the kids for a few hours. It’s just us — tag-teaming where we can, take-turns collapsing into bed whenever a tiny window of peace opens.
And the truth? The lack of sleep, the constant needs, the crying, the coughing, the cat litter, the clutter — it almost broke us this week.
We nearly fought over who was more tired, more touched out, more sick, more everything.
💝 The Guilt Is Real — But So Is the Love
The guilt creeps in fast:
“I shouldn’t be snapping.” “Why can’t I keep the house clean?” “Am I failing all three of my kids at once?”
But here’s what I keep reminding myself:
We’re human. We’re doing our best with what we have. We are in it right now — in the trenches. And even though it’s messy, imperfect, and overwhelming, it’s love that’s keeping us going.
Love in the middle-of-the-night feedings.
Love in the shared glances and short hugs that say, “You okay?”
Love in the chaos.
⛅ If You’re in the Thick of It Too…
If you’re reading this while holding a sick baby or crying in the bathroom or Googling “can parents get sick days” — I see you 🫂.
You’re not alone. And you’re not failing.
This is the part of parenting no one posts about on Instagram. The blurry, tear-filled, spit-up-stained days where we survive one moment at a time.
It won’t always be like this. But if it is like this right now, I hope this post feels like a warm hug from one tired, sick, overstimulated parent to another.
You’re doing a phenomenal job. Even when it doesn’t feel like it.
💗 Your kids will not be permanently damaged because you couldn’t be 100% present while sick.
