How to help a mom with a sick baby

If you're a parent, you know the signs. Runny nose. Tears, for no reason at all. Eye- or ear-rubbing. Sleeplessness. When Charlie's about to get sick, I can see it coming from a mile away... and, did I mention that I want to run a mile away? Caring for a sick baby is hard. (Or, at least my baby is hard. I've heard of other kids that just want to snuggle the day away whenever they get sick. Ha. Ha. Ha.)

And so, from my own experience, I've come up with a list of a few ways you could help out a mom with a sick child, should you ever feel inclined to do so:

*Offer to come over and hold her little one while she gets a bit of a break. (Lots of times, sick kids just want someone to snuggle with them or occupy them, and if they're not partial to momma, anyone with creativity can fit the bill. Stack blocks. Draw pictures. Make a tent. Play with the knob on the humidifier.)

*Bring momma a {large} cup of coffee. (Bring a donut, too. At least, I'd want a donut. I love donuts.)

Wow. Moving on...

*The one's simple: Send her a text, write her a card, pound out an e-mail... It always helps moms (and dads) to know that they're not alone.

*Bring her flowers. Flowers make lots of things better. They're pretty, and they smell good. Enough said.

*Go to the dollar store. Buy a bunch of little novelty toys. Bring them over to Mom-with-Sick-Child's house. (New toys are really helpful when kids are sick -- they're looking for distractions, and there's nothing more distracting than a handful of parachute army guys, or a wacko light-up toy that runs into the wall. Trust me. Mom-with-Sick-Child will thank you, even if you think it's weird.)

*Clean the bathroom. Or the kitchen. When someone's sick in my house, the first thing to go is the housework. If someone came over and cleaned my sink (when I wasn't looking, since I probably wouldn't let them if I caught them), well, I'd be really happy. So happy, in fact, that I'd kiss their toes, or do some other random awkward/extravagant thing.

*Call and see if she needs anything from the drugstore. I'm always out of baby tylenol. Seriously. I buy boxes and boxes of the stuff, and I'm still out of it when I need it. And taking a sick baby out for a Target run is probably just about as much fun as trying to brush a piranha's teeth. (As in, not fun at all. Sorry, weird analogy.)

I wish someone would have given me a list like this before I had kids, because (1) I'd know what to expect when my own kids got sick (i.e., REMEMBER TO STOCK UP ON TYLENOL, SILLY WOMAN), and (2) it would have started me thinking about ways to bless other people. (I was ridiculously self-absorbed before I had kids -- another way God has used Charlie to change me for the better!)

Any other ideas that you can think of? I'd love to hear them.

Happy Monday :)