Mom With A Common Cold vs. Dad With A Man Flu

I hate cold and flu season. I especially hate cold and Man Flu season. Whenever my husband and I both catch whichever illness our 3 year old has brought home from preschool, I feel the enormous dread of not only being sick but of also having to deal with my husband being sick. One morning, after my dear husband was particularly dramatic, I decided to keep a log of our day. This is a true account of me on the first day of a cold versus my husband on the first day of the Man Flu.man-flu

Mom on the first day of a cold (7:00 am – 4:00 pm):

  • Wakes up with kids at 7:00 am
  • Head is pounding, sinuses are aching, throat is scratchy
  • Groans at self for catching toddler’s cold
  • Takes cold medicine and chugs water
  • Makes breakfast and feeds kids
  • Puts baby down for a nap at 8:30 am
  • Folds 2 loads of laundry
  • Puts puzzles together with toddler
  • Plays play-doh with toddler
  • Wakes husband up at 10:30 am
  • Showers
  • Runs errands at 3 stores and goes grocery shopping
  • Returns home at 2:00 pm to find husband sleeping on couch
  • Wakes him and tells him to go back to bed
  • Preps and cooks meals for the next few days
  • Gets kids out of bed when they wake from naps
  • Fixes kids’ snacks, puts on a movie, crashes onto the floor and unintentionally acts as a jungle gym for the kids

Dad on the first day of the “Man Flu” (7:00 am – 4:00 pm):

  • Hears wife waking up
  • Head is pounding, sinuses are aching, throat is scratchy*
  • Realizes he has the Man Flu and goes back to sleep
  • Wife wakes him at 10:30 am so she can run errands
  • Lies down on the couch covering his face with a pillow while baby is in swing and toddler plays on floor
  • Feeds baby at 11:00 am and changes a #2 diaper
  • Texts wife that he fed the baby and changed a #2 diaper
  • Feeds toddler lunch at 11:30 am
  • Texts wife that he fed the toddler lunch
  • Puts baby and toddler down for naps at 12:30 pm
  • Goes back to sleep on the couch
  • Wife wakes him at 2:00 pm to go in the bedroom if he’s going to sleep all day
  • Sleeps for the rest of the day

*I ran this by my husband before publishing this post. He wanted our readers to know with certainty that his colds are way worse than mine.**

**Delusion is a common symptom of the Man Flu.

Marie
Marie is the owner of Little Hometown, a company specializing in locally themed baby swaddles and apparel. Prior to opening her business, Marie was a professional event planner turned stay-at-home mom. She spent nearly a decade living in New York City, where she met her husband, Jeff (a New England native). Early in their relationship, Marie told Jeff that New Orleans is the only place where she would want to raise her children. As soon as she got pregnant, they started shopping for houses. They moved back in December of 2012, welcomed their son in 2013 and their daughter in 2015. Marie now spends her days entertaining her kids with silly songs, desperately attempting to stay organized, and balance her life as a work-at-home mom.

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