Conquering Hand, Foot, and Mouth

Hey everyone,

I hope this newsletter finds you well. Today, I want to share a bit about our current experience with hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) and how it's affecting our family's sleep routine.

For those who aren't familiar, HFMD is a common viral illness that typically affects infants and young children.

It's caused by several different viruses, most commonly Coxsackievirus A16. The symptoms for us have been fever (38 degrees), sore throat, and a characteristic rash on the hands, feet, and mouth. It's highly contagious and spreads through close contact with an infected person or contaminated surfaces.

Unfortunately, our one-year-old recently had a fever two days ago, then yesterday started breaking out in the all too familiar spots. And as a result, we're back to dealing with disrupted sleep. He is in bed with us and wanting to feed the night away ☹️ 

It's been a tough few days for all of us, especially knowing how uncomfortable HFMD can be. He basically wants to be on the breast 24/7.

This isn't our first encounter with HFMD. Our daughter had it when she was the same age, and it was a tough week for her. We were on holiday in Bali! Then, our two-year-old contracted it shortly after I gave birth to our third child. And I was so worried about our newborn contracting it, but he didn’t (luckily). So, you could say we've become seasoned HFMD experts over the years.

One thing we're grateful for is that neither my husband nor I have contracted it yet. We've heard that it can be particularly tough on adults, so we're doing everything we can to minimize our risk while taking care of baby J.

As a holistic baby sleep coach, Social Worker and advocate of responsive parenting, situations like this remind me of the importance of flexibility and patience.

I am not very good at dealing with our kids getting ill however I have learnt that the main thing is. Kids get sick and during times of illness, our children need extra comfort and support, which may mean temporarily adjusting our sleep routines to meet their needs.

So, mummies and daddies.. if you're dealing with HFMD or any other illness in your family,

Prioritise keeping yourself as healthy as possible, rest and comfort for both you and your little. Do whatever it takes to get through it and it will pass.

And don't hesitate to reach out if you need support or guidance.

Wishing you all good health. And hold your babies close. Even more so when they are unwell.

With love,

Tammy Peak aka The Sleep goddess