I don't live with a great deal of guilt. At least I haven't until now, when my 14-week-old son has been clobbered by a cold! He awoke in the night with a phlegmy throat, and by 10 a.m. he was leaking from every orifice.
Now, I know what the books say: Calvin's immune system benefits from illness and he will rebound stronger than he was before. But somehow that doesn't suppress my desire to wrap him in cellophane and put him in a bubble.
When weepy eyes sealed themselves shut with yellow puss, the doctor recommended eye drops. EYE DROPS! For my BABY!!
This is when Mother Guilt kicked into gear. It's my fault. I know it. I exposed him to the big, bad world too young. I wiped his eyes with a dirty finger. I ... don't know what it was, but I'm sure it was me who caused what will certainly result in irreversible corneal damage. I don't care what the courts say, I'm guilty until proven innocent....
It's at the height of my irrational ranting that Calvin brings me back to reality with one of his winning smiles. Even with one eye half closed with puss, he's fine. In fact, in the midst of his first illness, he has learned to laugh out loud. Sniffles and wheezes can't keep this kid down. He's like Cheerios!
(Still, I can't bring myself to take or post a picture of my sick child. Surely there's someone dialing DCFS already....)
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4 comments:
Oh, I remember the first case of crusty eyes! Broke my heart, too. You'll be more careful and that's not a bad thing. And, even so, germs will get past that immune system now and then.
Both of you are OK - better than OK. And everything you need in the future will be available when you need it, too.
And you're forgiven. You'll need that lots of times, too. We all do :)
This stuff is no fun at all. We chose to skip a few parties after Elijah's first sickness for fear of another one. True, we were concerned about him, but we also didn't want to be awake at 3 am again sucking snot out of his nose...
I am sure you heard this already, but some people swear that breast milk works great for all baby problems - it's like liquid antibiotic.
Oh, Cherith, don't start so early beating yourself up because Calvin has a snotty nose. Starting this early, you'll be battered and bruised before he is crawling. And he will be in fine shape. And he's gotta eat a peck of dirt anyway.
Calvin's blog makes me smile every time I view it.
Nice idea with this site its better than most of the rubbish I come across.
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