There are plenty of mothers out there who will have gone through the trauma of a child with chicken pox. The sleepless nights, the cries, the grumpy child and the itching are only the start of it. It is a week I never want to repeat. Oh sweet Jesus! And of course, pregnancy fatigue and nausea combined with chicken pox meant a very long week! My poor son got a bad dose and welts started appearing all over his body. He still has the scabs as a result but my gagging while applying the cream to the blistered back was sight to behold. Neither of us were in a fit state for the week and especially in the middle of the night when he was in most pain.  But I have a few words of wisdom following my experience and thought I would share them. The first is – DO NOT give Phenergan or Dozol. They caused even more heartache as my lovely happy baby turned into a possessed child from the exorcist! He went hyper – I only gave very small doses of these drugs but the effect was extraordinary. No sleep or broken sleep for an hour or so and then more hyperactivity. Keep it simple and stick with paracetamol. Cool baths are great – the heat just aggravates the skin even more and don’t use any soap or bath solutions. Add a stocking or mesh full of oats to the water. Oat milk is an old wives tale but really does work to help calm the skin. Another great product is PoxClin. This saved us! Instead of old fashioned camomile cream this creates a barrier over the chicken pox and helps them heal.

So a busy week but my sanity was rescued when my very kind mother took my miserable little boy for a couple of nights. This meant sleep!!!! For the first time in a very long time I got to sleep! Apart from the week from hell I have been suffering from insomnia. This is a cruel side effect of pregnancy. I have run through the full archive of BBC Desert Island Discs (practically) and tried all sorts of relaxing techniques. Some of them work, some of the time. The worst words of wisdom I have got so far is ‘this is nature’s way of preparing you for when the baby arrives’ always followed with a little chuckle to themselves. Really?! 9 months of no sleep is going to help?! Anyway, my saint of a mother took my son and I feel rejuvenated.

It is so true – accept all help that is offered. Parenting is tough, so sometimes you need a little break to catch your breath. But the most wonderful part of this week was being reunited with my beautiful boy. Now fully recovered, he is back to his happy self and last night we both slept soundly until the alarm woke us up this morning.  

Next week, I get to have another big scan to see how the triplets are doing. I can’t wait! I know you get plenty of side effects to remind you – yes you are pregnant! And a belly that is ever expanding! But for some reason until I see them on the screen in the ultra-sound room, I never fully believe its happening to me. Will keep you posted…….