With nightly news reports on swine flu and the raging health care debate, it’s easy to feel powerless over our own health.

Truth is, we might get sick. Some of us will even get really, really sick while others will escape the flu altogether and chalk “swine flu” up there with the “Y2K” panic of 1999. Either way, with proper planning and prevention, we do have some control over what happens to us and how we handle it.

Being pregnant just happens to put me in one of the “high risk” categories for this particular pandemic, which has resulted in many well-meaning people reminding me of the potential risks to me and my developing baby. Initially, I freaked out and started pricing anti-contamination suits.

Eventually, though, I decided that it’s more dangerous for me and the baby to live in a perpetual state of anxiety, and that it’s even worse to raise my son to believe the world is not safe. Yes, we might get sick but we’ll take care of each other and this too shall pass.

Meanwhile, my son continues his love of licking random objects and recently developed the darling habit of putting his finger in his nose. Despite, or perhaps because of, these things we practice common sense prevention techniques: good hand washing (which nearly always leads to one of us getting drenched and having to change our clothes), coughing and sneezing into the crook of our elbows (this we’re trying to teach by example, but it’s a tricky concept for a toddler) and minimizing physical contact with others (don’t be surprised when Sam offers you the new “healthier” handshake, aka the fist bump) and, of course, eating nutritiously.

Despite our best prevention efforts, odds are in favor of the flu raiding our house at some point in the next few months. Unannounced and unwelcome as it is, I want to be ready when this houseguest comes to visit.

So I start with keeping my toilets clean enough to puke in. Trust me, with all the causes my bleeding heart has taken up, it is a surprise even to me that I’m such an advocate for clean toilets. But ever since my son discovered all the magic that happens behind that child-proofed bathroom doorknob, his little hands have touched parts of the toilet I never used to even consider cleaning.

I recently discovered I could save a chunk of change by using natural, cheaper cleaning solutions, like mixing a cup of vinegar with one-quarter cup of baking soda. I learned the hard way to mix this concoction in a container large enough to handle the fizzing and overflow. But you probably paid closer attention in your chemistry classes than I did. Your toddler, on the other hand, will love all the bubbles resulting in “Mama’s mess.”

While I’m doling out advice I’d have no place giving in my pre-mom life, may I recommend keeping an extra set of clean sheets, pajamas and blanket at the ready? After surviving the trauma of my son’s first puke-a-rama last year, I’m haunted by the memory of hunting for clean pajamas and sheets while still dripping from … well, you know.

Since the last place you need to be when you’re sick is roaming the aisles of the supermarket for chicken soup and crackers, stock up soon on your sick must-haves like over-the-counter medicines, Pedialyte pops, thermometers, tissues, chicken noodle soup, sprite and crackers. Really soon. Like on your next trip to the grocery store.

While we can’t control how all of Congress votes on health care, and we can’t stop swine flu from being an issue, maybe some of these suggestions will help keep your family healthier, or at least more comfortable, during these next few months.
And, hopefully, all you get sick of this flu season is hearing about it.

Nathalie Hardy is a local freelance writer who can be found at random hours, taking notes as she walks Sam in his stroller. She invites your feedback — provided it doesn’t include the phrase “unfit mother” — at nathaliesnotes@comcast.net.