Ok, I'm not going to lie. I'm a little excited that summer is nearing an end, only because that *hopefully* means that the 100+ temps are going to be declining as well. I have lived in Texas my whole life, and I still HATE the extreme heat. I guess I never got used to it... But, I mean, is it even possible to *get used* to highs in the 110s?!
Aside from the heat, though, I am really, REALLY sad that summer is almost over. Since Eric is a school teacher, he is home with us all day, every day during the summer. And I LOVE it. It's Kassidy's favorite time of year too.. the never-ending *keep daddy* days, as she calls them. It's always a sad day (or week) for her whenever Eric does have to go back to work. Trevor has been LOVING his bonding time with daddy too. They have become the best of buds! I love watching my husband be a father. He does it QUITE well. :)
The other reason I'm sad that summer is coming to a close? Because after summer, it's cold and flu season. And I hate germs. Yeah, I'm a germaphobe. Just the thought of Eric going back to school and being around all those sneezing, coughing, sniffly-nosed junior high kids is enough to raise my blood pressure. The first year Eric taught, we were all sick, a lot. Kassidy was around 15-18 mos old, and she had croup at LEAST 3 times, 2 stomach bugs, 3 ear infections, LOTS of colds/coughs, and the flu. I blame 3 things.
1. Eric bringing everything home, being a first year teacher. Not that it was his fault at all, but it's a pretty widely known fact that first year teachers get sick A LOT. And then it gets better.
2. Kassidy was young, so her immune system wasn't real mature.
3. Vaccines. She was vaccinated on schedule from birth through 18 months. (ugh) I wish I knew then what I know now. But now that I DO know what are in vaccines, what their side effects are, and what they do to the immune system, I can definitely trace back all her long spurts of illnesses to the time frames when she was vaccinated with sometimes up to 5 different things in one visit. Vaccines KILL the natural immune system for up to weeks at a time. Ever noticed how you might get the flu shortly after getting a flu shot? It's not because the flu shot "gave" you the flu. It's because the flu shot totally assaulted your immune system, and then when you did encounter the virus, your body wasn't able to respond the way it normally would. So you get sick. Same thing with kids' vaccines. Except the harm it does to their bodies is 10x worse. Ok, end of soap box.
Anyway, I am happy to say that last school year (2010-2011) Kassidy didn't get sick at all. Neither did my newborn. Eric got the full-on flu, I got a little *low grade fever* with no other symptoms, and the kids stayed completely healthy...even though they were in the same house (and car, and room) as their coughing and sneezing, feverish daddy. Thank you Lord for natural, strong immune systems!
Vitamin D does a body good. If you are leery of flu shots (which you should be) the best way to prevent the flu in your house is by dosing up on Vitamin D. The RDA for kids right now is 600 IU per day. NOT. NEARLY. ENOUGH. My 3 year old has taken 1800 IU a day for the past 18 months. This past spring I had her Vitamin D blood level tested at our pediatrician's office. It was 59 ng/ml. Most kids in the US have Vitamin D levels between 15 and 30 ng/ml. Did you know that 7 out of 10 children in the United States actually have INSUFFICIENT or DEFICIENT vitamin D levels? So, chances are, unless you supplement your children with MORE than just the 400 to 600 IU in a multivitamin, or your child spends a lot of time exposed in the sun between 11am and 2pm, your kiddo is low in Vitamin D.
The fix? Not hard! Start by giving your child 1000 IU per every 20 pounds of body weight, per day. It'll take a couple months, but their levels will increase, and they will be much, MUCH healthier. But start supplementing NOW, so that when flu season hits, your child will have optimum levels to keep their immune systems at 110%! Not only is Vitamin D good for flu prevention, it's also great for reducing asthma-related problems, preventing some cancers, preventing heart disease, strengthening bones and teeth, reducing symptoms of rheumatoid diseases, and MUCH more. So you see, we could all use a little more Vitamin D!
That's all for now! :)
Laura your blog is so great!! Thanks for taking the time to do it! I remember my first year teaching and how much sickness I picked up just like you were saying. I had never had a flu shot till this past year though when they insisted. But I didn't know why people would always say they sometimes get the flu after it, thanks for explaining that.
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