Sick and tired of getting sick

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Miss L and I unfortunately encountered a stomach bug on Friday evening. Luckily Miss L bounced right back from it, regaining her normal appetite for chicken apple sausage and pancakes within a day. I, on the other hand, have taken a longer time to recover and still feel exhausted from being sick. One obvious reason could be my age, or it could be the fact that I was cleaning my apartment just five hours after being sick. In one night my neat and minimalist apartment had turned into a pigsty with dirty dishes piled high in the sink, saltine crumbs all over the floor (from Miss L's munching) and a pile of linens needing some serious laundering (after Mister T did two loads of laundry on his own). Needless to say when I awoke on Saturday morning feeling weak and in need of a gallon of ginger ale, Mister T was exhausted and on bed rest so I mustered up all the energy I could find and started to scrub, wash and disinfect the apartment.

But I digress, my real question to pose is why am I always getting sick? I've heard that once you have kids you can expect to get sick a lot, but this is crazy! It's either a head cold, sore throat or stomach bug every few weeks. Here is a list of possible explanations for my poor immune system:

1. My parents are positive that I live in a "sick" building. While we have had a number of water problems (picture brown water coming out of your faucet), I am not sure this is the correct explanation. I will also mention that my parents live in a small hippie town on the Northern California coast where the sign leading into town does not give you the town name (tourists are not welcome there, just locals), but the town philosophy which is "welcome to this peace loving, socially acknowledged nature-loving town".

2. I propose that it may be my carnivorous ways that could be causing me to become sick more often. I was a vegetarian for about five years, including my entire pregnancy with Miss L. I started craving meat when I was breastfeeding, perhaps craving the protein that my depleted body needed. Perhaps I should eat more plants and less animals.

3. Mister T thinks the culprit may be too many playgroups. After cleaning up Miss L's vomit for the third time he announced I should go to no more than two playgroups a week. I think I could cut down on the Barnes and Noble storytimes, which seem to be teeming with sick kids hacking and sneezing and looking feverish. But the Monday and Thursday playgroups are here to stay for Miss L and me!

4. I did go to an ayurvedic practitioner last year who gave me some suggestions to become healthier and have good energy throughout the day. This included waking up between 4:00 and 5:30 every morning (doing some yoga and mind mapping before Miss L woke up at 7:00), cutting out caffeine (enjoying a cup of hot lemon water instead) and adjusting my food choices to cool down my pitta inclination (almond milk, coconut basmati rice, sushi). Obviously I did not adopt any of this since I am writing this at 8:30 p.m. (I would need to go to bed at 6:00 p.m. in order to wake up at 5:00 a.m.) and as many of you know I love my Jack's coffee.

So perhaps getting sick more often is just par for the course for being a mom. Maybe it's because I'm not doing seasonal cleanses as recently promoted by Gwyneth and P Diddy. I just wish there was a magic pill (a natural supplement, of course) to keep me healthy and full of energy.