Annie, James, and I have been passing a cold between the three of us for what feels like two months. As soon as one of us gets over it, another one starts coughing. Freaking preschool germs, man. Over the weekend, Annie started to get clingy and whiny and generally out of character. We didn’t know what was going on, and then she started screaming about her nose like a brunette Marcia Brady. After hearing, “AH MY NOSE!” a thousand times, I realized Annie was sick with a Man Cold.
A preschooler with a Man Cold is terrible. Kids that age are already miserable little sick people, but throw in man-sized crankiness and it’s a recipe for disaster. Poor Annie was coughing and sneezing for a solid forty-eight hours, or as Annie called them, “THE WORST DAYS EVERRRRRR AAAAAAHHHHH!”
When a child has a Man Cold, minor problems become terrible inconveniences, your mommy doesn’t wipe your nose fast enough, and your voice is required by law to be 20 decibels louder than usual. A preschooler with a Man Cold doesn’t care if you are also sick; in fact, this is an opportunity to prove that your illness is less-impressive than theirs. The child thinks you are a wuss if you blow your nose; it is much more fun to sniff two thousand times an hour.
A child with a Man Cold is not a snuggly, passive sick kid. No, the Man Cold-afflicted child suddenly has limbs that are boney, ten feet long, and flail about at random. The only flavor of Gatorade that sounds good is the flavor you don’t have.
The good thing is that a child with a Man Cold will nap, sometimes multiple times a day. You know it will likely mess up bedtime, but you don’t care, because silence. Until the sleep-moaning starts. It might be yours, though.
A full-grown man knows to milk a Man Cold for as long as possible, but a child with a Man Cold is only sick for a couple of days, tops. Before you know it your happy, ravenous kid will return to you and after you dole out dozens of kisses, this will all be a distant memory…
…until your baby catches the Man Cold.
Annalisa says:
Piece of advice: if you’ve really seemed to pass the same cold around for over two weeks, call a doctor. We (husband, kids, and I) seemed to have the same stubborn cold for over three weeks in January. Eventually our baby started to sound like a fire alarm, and we found out he had an ear infection. The following week my husband was diagnosed with a sinus infection. Then the 3 year old was diagnosed with a combo sinus and ear infection. Two days later it was my turn. When the toddler finished his antibiotics, the husband realized his sinus infection was not getting better. It had become a combo infection too, and he had to go on a different set of antibiotics. Long story short, we’re just now getting to be cold free: between the husband and 3 year old, it’s double germ factory for us, and this year there’s a lot of bacteria jumping around alongside the cold virus.
So keep an eye on that revolving door cold business.
Tracey says:
This is like one of those “If You Give a Pig a Pancake” books. “If You Give a Kid a Man Cold…”
Man Colds are the worst. The second my husband starts sneezing my son says, “MAN COLD ALERT!”
RzDrms says:
“…and then she started screaming about her nose like a brunette Marcia Brady.”
Best. Simile. Ever.
Stacy in the MN says:
Have you checked out Norwex? With two young ones in the house, it might be worth looking into. I have a friend who started using the hand towels after strep made it’s rounds through their house a few times and it stopped quickly. Hope you all feel better soon
Maris says:
Hope you guys feel better soon. Off topic,I like your moulding
REK981 says:
If you Give a Mouse a Cookie…Or a Pig a Pancake, right?
Tauni says:
Have you ever tried Essential Oils? I am a HUGE HUGE fan of them! There are a few different brands out there but I personally like DoTerra…the work for me. They have one called On Guard that helps keep you healthy, even when others in the house get a cold or the flu. They have one called Breathe that was a life saver with my daughter with asthma as well as when my other daughter got whooping cough (ya she was immunized, just had her booster a month before getting it). Sorry, not trying to hijack and I am not a distributor so I am not trying to sell you anything, just trying to share some natural helping aides.
BeeBelle says:
Good heavens, let’s just hope the Man doesn’t get a Man Cold.
Paula says:
Man colds are the worst – but you’re right, kids don’t hold on to them until the last dried booger has left their nostril.
Meg says:
We were seriously sick from Thanksgiving to Valentines Day, and now the runny noses begin again. My other favorite man cold tactic on a little girl is screaming about NOT wanting their nose wiped. No, I want to wipe this trail of snot straight into my hair! Get away from me with that devil kleenex!