Who stole three weeks of my life?!

Wow, how did that happen? What started off as 'sniffles' turned into full blown sinusitis, missing a Christmas party and losing the majority of December to feeling pretty poorly indeed! 

Of course being pregnant meant that any of the usual over the counter remedies were off limits, so I thought I'd share some of the alternative remedies I came across through a bit of web research / advice from friends / sheer desperation, just in case they would ever be of use to you.

Wonder potion - manuka honey, lemon and garlic tea

The idea of drinking garlic tea is not appealing, I get that. But I was desperate. It's a natural antibiotic and I found loads of recommendations from people who grab their garlic press at the first sign of a cold. With limited options available to me I decided to give it a go and brewed myself a cup of fresh garlic tea, with a spoonful of manuka honey (also known for its antibiotic properties) and some lemon juice. Now I'm not going to claim that I felt instantly better, but I do think this helped to relieve some of the symptoms and, without being able to use any other form of medicine, it certainly helped my body deal with the infection.

I also used good old steam inhalation to help clear some of the pressure build up from the sinusitis, as well as plenty of water, rest (when I could get it with two little beans to look after) and my own body weight in vitamin C rich fruit. As with most over the counter remedies, I can't say that any of this cured me but it certainly helped make the symptoms more manageable so I could try and get on with every day life.

It's only in the last few days I've started to really feel human again, but I'm determined to make up for lost time now and get well and truly in the Christmas spirit.

Somewhere in the middle of feeling rotten, trying not to fall too far behind on the Christmas preparations and finishing up in work before the holidays, I managed to plan a Christmas candyland birthday party for my little princess who turned five this week. I have the photos and masses of leftover party food to prove it! Look out for a post on this in the next day or so.

Hee hee, iiiiiit's Christmas!