How to create a left and right facing idle cycle in 2d?

so i’d rather not have a mirrored animation for idling left and right (or running left and right, but i’m not there yet). there are objects on the left side of the character that wouldn’t appear on the right, etc.

i’m extremely new to this. i have figured out how to apply a flip book to the idle animation, but how do can i make the character follow the two different flip books based on what direction they’re facing?

on another note, my character drops like an inch into the ground when i play through the level, although in the editor he’s placed level with the ground. thoughts?