Lots of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse ("Duckie") and Dora the Explorer ("Dowa"). Stickers, crayons, dress-up. Still a lot of work for someone who is sick, but moms gotta suck it up. My husband kind of leaves it all to me when he is sick though...and sleeps constantly. My toddler is very nurturing though, and kind of takes it easy and coddles me when I am sick.

When we're both too sick, can't keep anything down, etc. we call for reinforcements - either send her to grandparents or have them come up to help (two hours drive for each set).

Pray they don't catch something on fire, find their way out of the house or generally hurt themselves while you muddle through.
"Send them to a friend's" Seriously? Who wants to babysit a kid who's been exposed to the stomach bug?

It doesn't happen often for me. I think once you become a parent, personal comfort goes out the window. I'm usually too busy to notice how sick I am. On those odd times that I'm down for the count, but my little one is going strong, I open up my closet of goodies. I keep a stash of stuff for sick days and snowstorms. During the christmas selling season I stock up on extra DVDs, games, crafts & the ever popular video games. I usually feel guilty afterwards, but it is a savior while I'm "in the moment".

Movies and a box of cheerios.

Seriously, I lay on the couch with the remote, let them play with all their toys and leave them strewn around just so long as I have a clear path to the bathroom, and keep the tv on all day. I hand them a box of cheerios, and let them stuff themselves.

It's not often, just when I'm very very sick, but it works.

I just got over the flu a little over a week ago, and, let me tell you, it was rough. I have a nearly-three year old and a 9 month old, both boys. The first few days of it my husband came home early from work and then it was the weekend, but on Monday my husband left for a week-long business trip and I still ended up being very sick that entire week.
Luckily, my mom lives nearby and works at a preschool teaching 2 1/2 year olds, so my oldest spent a day with her beore he came down with the flu as well.
At that point, we dragged the couch in front of the computer (since we don't own a tv) and watched countless episodes of Caillou and Thomas the Train (hurray for Netflix...). My mom came over after work and did things like making us soup, bringing in loads of wood for the fire, and keeping the pets fed.
So, tv programs were the answer for my toddler, but it was especially rough for my baby who is used to a lot more entertainment than my son and I were able to provide for him.
I am keeping my finger's crossed that nothing like that hits us again this winter.

My husband and I both had a GI illness on a weekend when our son was about 14 months old. We barricaded the living room so he couldn't get away, put out a ton of toys, and laid on the couches all day while our son entertained himself.

Our 7yo is on the tail end of her stomach bug and both her dad and I woke up on the not-feeling-well side of the bed. All we can hope for is that our bouts of immobility are staggered between the two of us. She's older now, so keeping her busy and out of danger isn't quite as difficult, but back when she was tiny we would take turns while the other crashed hard. Food isn't as difficult since no one can stand the sight of the stuff.

My heart goes out to those that gave to dose up on meds and just bear it, 'cause there really is no other road.

I have had the flu all week and trust me the TV has been on full time babysitter.. It sucks and the worst part is my 2 year old knows I'm sick and wants to "take care of me". I know she will get it next since she won't say out of my face.

What a difficult situation. If I'm lucky enough, my husband will call out sick, but usually I just lay low, also use the tv as an 'aide' and try to spend as much time on the couch-reading them books, playing on the couch, just not moving!

Movies, call in reinforcements (dad, grandma, friends), more movies.

netflix watch instantly

begging a friend to take her to the playground for at least an hour

new pad of paper and crayons

lots of baths (she can entertain herself for an hour or so in the bath)

toy cars and one of those mats from ikea that has roads printed on it

Luckily I haven't come down with anything that knocked me out more than a couple of days. On one of those days my oldest went to preschool which hubby took her instead of me. My youngest at 18 months was happy with a banana and tv. Then my mom came and helped the rest of the day.

This has only happened to me once so far and I actually caught it from my son, so for the first day we were sick and lounging around together. The second day he was feeling better and I basically just put a baby gate over the entry to the kitchen to keep him away from all the dangerous stuff, and then DVD'd him to death.

Elmo and Sesame Street marathons (my husband thinks I am nuts to keep 40+ episodes on the DVR.

The few times I have been really sick with the flu my son has gone to a grandparents house.

This is really the only option if I am that sick because my son is a mama's boy and has issues letting my husband do anything with him if I am around (from birth to 3 yrs - someday he may grow out of this but I'm not holding my breath)

We just spent a week rotating our family of 3 through a stomach virus. Daughter caught it somehow w/out me getting it (she never goes anywhere w/out me, so no clue on that), my husband got it 3 days later (Monday), I got it Monday night. Daughter was better by Monday night and we spent 2 days laying around taking turns dealing with her. Now he's back to work and I'm only 1/2 ok, but dealing with her alone.

The way we handle it? We don't have family nearby and no friends would take a kid that's been near sickness (I wouldn't even ask!), so usually one of us gets sick at a time and the other covers. This time we just had a LOT of cartoons and movies on. And she ate what we ate, which means pretty much nothing of substance.

lots of spare blankets for fort-building. make-your-own-snack day! netflix watch instantly. "make mommy lunch" day. VERY INTERESTING MENU, i might add.

Ugh, getting sick is the worst. You try to corral them and let them eat anything they want as long as they can get it themselves, and you let them watch anything they want on TV and if you're lucky your mom will come and pick them up for a few hours and you just never get the rest that you really need to get better. Muddle through.

Ugh, getting sick is the worst. You try to corral them and let them eat anything they want as long as they can get it themselves, and you let them watch anything they want on TV and if you're lucky your mom will come and pick them up for a few hours and you just never get the rest that you really need to get better. Muddle through.

Man oh man! We're on week 2 of some nasty virus. It started with my 22 month old and then I got it. Now I can't shake it. He was feeling better as I was really feeling worse so it was really tough for a couple of days to keep up with him. I felt bad but I did let him watch DVD's a big chunk of the day. He played with blocks and "cooked" with his play kitchen the rest of the time. My husband picked up grilled cheese and matzo ball soup from a local restaurant for us so I didn't have to cook dinner for a couple of days. This blog couldn't be more perfectly timed. I kept wondering what other moms do when they are sick. I felt like I was the one who needed a sitter!

I had a brutal stomach bug one night when my son was just a few months old. My husband had to step-up and coordinate my medication (gravol) taking with breast feeding. Man, is it ever different being sick as a parent, right down to what medications I could take. He worked from home, started late, and luckily our sitter was able to come for the day and I slept all day.

More recently while we've had this stupid cold (first me, then my husband, then me, then the baby, still me, and then my husband) I've just had to suck it up and parent the best I could. This has involved introducing a baby sign language video on an almost daily basis (hello guilt) but we've survived. The worst part was not being able to get out of the house and the baby being fussy - I think I've literally lost my mind over the last 6 weeks.

When I had morning (meaning all-day) sickness when pregnant with my second, I would spend my time laying on the floor and sending my then 1.5 year old on adventures or scavenger hunts for different items. And we have a blue-ray player that streams YouTube so we have some guy's train video channel on our favorites that he can watch forever. But that was one of the longest 4 months of my life.

I always, always get a flu shot because my husband is a teacher. Then I suck it up and try to remember how good I really have it compared to most people in the world. A good attitude helps my son not get so irritated too. It sucks, though, doesn't it?! No rest for the weary...

No parents within 700 miles, and I hate to send kids (who may or may not be coming down with something) out to friends. So just....lots and lots and lots of tv. Similarly, when my kids are sick, they get to watch as much tv as they want. It works and I don't feel too guilty, because the rest of the time tv is very limited (and even when it's non-stop, we don't have a real tv - only netflix on the computer - and so there are no ads!). Glad I'm not the only one.

Oh...and yeah...with my second child, I spent 3 months on bedrest. With no parents around, and a husband with no time off. And the best part? That was the moment in time my son decided to stop napping! Yay!! Compared to that, the flu is a piece of cake.

Since you asked . . .

In the morning, hot HOT shower and steam to clear out my sinuses and get me awake (although sick), then caffeine! And medicine. If that doesn't work, I whip out my Chinese medicines, and I feel good enough to play. Keep visiting the hot shower and steam periodically throughout the day. Eat energy bars.

I suck it up.

Just had a bad cold with the baby. There were a a couple of days where I stuck her in the bouncy chair, watched TV and waved at her from the couch. I also spent a lot of quality time lying next to her on the bed (we have a very firm futon bed) and engaging with her in a very low key way.

Your question reminded me of last February. My son was 2.6 years old, sick with the worst case of virus. He had been sick for an entire week, while my husband was suffering with severe back and leg problems for months, living on heavy medication bcs he could not walk, they were giving him cortisone shots, but nothing worked and he was scheduled for back surgery. Medication and the pain had reduced my husband to a miserable man and lost 30lbs in one month, from the jovial self he is normally. So all this had taken a toll on us, when my son gets severely sick and one night his fever gets to 105F. So we go see the doctor again and it turns out he has a double ear infection now and has to take antibiotics. This is al during a period where he would wake up crying every night for two hours, and since my husband was in constant pain, I had been the zombie that was taking care of him when he'd wake up every night - and mind you I work full time too and I was taking classes at the time.
So as we return from the pediatrician, we go get the antibiotics, get home, have supper, and then my ear starts hurting - my right ear. At first I thought this was sympathy pain due to my son's ear pain. But as the evening progressed the ear pain got progressively worst. In my entire life I have never had an ear infection - so I had no idea what was going on. Anyway at 1am I had to go to the ER and they gave me a shot that took the edge off the pain, I returned home at 4am, and then fell asleep till 8am, to get up to go to work. Mind you we have no family around. That was the WORST that we have been sick as a family.

I just wanted to pipe in and say how validated I feel now that I know I'm not the only one who not only relies on the TV in moments like this...but on full-out TV (in our case, Elmo) marathons.

I seriously am my own worst critic and I was convinced I was killing my son with too much TV when I was out for the count recently. It feels good to read that I'm clearly not since I'm not the only one who's done it.

I second coastinganon! so glad that I am not the only tv/pile of toys parent.

luckily my parents live close by and they help out when they can (although they have a really frustrating habit of being out of town when either my daughter or I get sick). when my parents can't help, then sesame street is there for us.

We had this happen recently at our household with us both being sick at the same time. It was awful. Luckily my 4 year old can entertain herself, but my 1 year old needs constant supervision. My husband and I took turns laying on the playroom floor while he played.

Over the last two weeks at our house, my husband or I or both have been sick. I’ve been reflecting on how there is no such thing as a sick day when you’re a parent!

One of us would get up with our 19 month old while the other hid in the bedroom until nap time. Everyone napped at naptime.

We relied on easy foods our daughter never refuses. There were a lot of blueberries and hot dogs.

There were a lot of books, legos, and crayons. Thankfully my daughter loves looking at magazines!

There was a lot of tv, too. She loses interest after about 30 minutes, but we could get a few breaks during the day. I’d lay a towel down in front of the tv and give her snacks…

She ran loose for most of the time. She enjoyed breaking all the rules, running around with food, shredding a roll of toilet paper, and emptying a tissue box.

When she reached her limit of inactive or independent time, we traded off, sacrificing ourselves with the promise of rest while the other did the same. I’d bundle myself up and take my daughter for a walk, then my husband would pull her around the house in a wagon as long as he could manage.

You know all that time you spent limiting the TV, planning play dates, and coming up with other fun creative things to do? Well this is when you make up for it and sit your kids down in front of the TV all day. I had the stomach flu this winter and my husband had to travel for work, so I just laid myself down on the couch, pulled the train table and doll house into the living room, and played movies all day. It was all I could do to make it into the kitchen to make her something to eat. It was awful, but my daughter enjoyed the novelty of it.

I suck it up with my fifteen-month-old until my husband comes home from work.