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Working moms, sick kids – what do you do?

Posted Oct 21, 2009 by Beth Gaddis

Updated Oct 21, 2009 at 09:01 AM

I thought we were in the clear.  The spots had faded, the fever was long gone and my toddler’s appetite had returned.  It’s been two weeks since Chris was diagnosed with hand-foot-mouth disease, and it was cleared up in the 5-day period the doctor had promised.  We shipped him off to daycare last week, and all seemed fine until last night.

His little hands had faint red spots.  Hmm, I thought.  Maybe he’s allergic to the grass.  We had been playing outside.

He was fussy.  Hmm.  I thought.  Maybe he’s teething.  Plus, he had a little diaper rash.

Nope.  At bathtime, the truth was easy to see.  Spots were popping up all over and his throat was apparently killing him.  He could barely stand to be touched, yet he didn’t want to be alone.  He didn’t have a fever, but he had all the other symptoms of hand-foot-mouth disease – again.

I am out of sick time, and my family hasn’t even had swine flu yet!  I have some vacation days and furlough days left to take, but I really hate the idea of having to cancel our Christmas plans. 

I called my boss last night and arranged to work from 5 to 10 a.m. in the office, then work from home, with the baby in hand, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.  It worked ok a few weeks ago, mostly because Chris would eat lunch and then take his nap.

But my husband is going on a business trip tomorrow, so I’ll be the full-time caregiver if Chris has to stay home for a week again.  Last time, he had a lot of energy even though he was sick.  If that’s the case again, I don’t know how I can work an 8-hour shift while taking care of him.

We have no family in town. How do other moms handle this?