I have a love/hate relationship with this time of year. I LOVE the holidays, family gatherings, seeing friends, fun events with the kids, etc…I HATE the germs and illnesses. Between the flu, stomach bug, strep, allergies {cedar fever..ugh!}, and colds it makes my head spin. No parent ever wants their kids to be sick, but there simply is just no time for it in December!

My 2 older son’s school has the flu going around like crazy, another friends kids school it is the stomach bug…it is always something. There are lots of things I do to help keep my family healthy, especially during the winter months because we aren’t outside as much due to cold weather {although our weather has been funky this year}.

In the last 3 weeks 2 of my little ones have gotten ear infections from minor colds. Garner hasn’t had an ear infections since he was 3 and Porter’s last one was at 8 months, so I feel extremely lucky with that. I don’t want to jinx us though 😉

Some things that we take to stay healthy are:

  • Probiotics – each member get a dose of this nightly. The benefits are amazing. If someone is sick I double the dosage for a couple of days. The hubby and I take VSL#3 and the kids take Endomune Jr…both are strong doses, especially the VSL#3.
  • Vitamin C – this is taken a couple times a week unless someone is sick then it is taken daily and higher doses. A normal dose for the boys is 500mg, when sick I bump that to 1500mg….the hubby and I usually triple their amount for us.
  • Vitamin D3 – We use the brand Vinco’s because the flavor is good and it is a liquid, so it’s easy for the kids. We use this all of the time, but during the winter we all take it much more often to make up for us not having as much time in natural sunlight. Usually we all just take a couple of drops, but as with everything else when someone is sick we take more…the kids get ½ a dropper full, Brandon & I take a full dropper. I will never not have this stuff in my house!!! I swear by it.
  • Flu Formula – I get this homeopathic formula each season because they make it based on the most recent strains of the flu. It is filtered and natural though. It is a liquid and we each take a certain amount of drops. I have been using this product since 2009 when my oldest, Kadon, got H1N1. Porter was 2 months old and I was a nervous wreck. We all took it and no one else got sick. I had a small bout with the flu last year, but it only lasted 36 hours. We do not get flu shots and won’t. You may remember my post on vaccines from a while back…some I am okay with…some I am adamantly not okay with and the flu vaccine is one of them. I could get on a giant soap box, but will spare ya…unless you ask 😉
  • There are a few other things that I swear by and use, especially when someone in our casa is sick and I get each of the above items from Peoples Pharmacy. There are not enough words for how much I LOVE that place and trust them. Everything we take is also gluten free, dairy free and/or vegan, and free from artificial sweeteners and colors/dyes.
  • WASH HANDS!!!! The boys are very good about washing their hands and know that they need to scrub with soap til they are done singing their ABC’s. I also send in the giant bottle of hand sanitizer to their teachers.

What do you do to keep your family healthy year round, but even more so during this time of year?

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