Here We Go Again

The drama continues. Cutie Pie appeared to be better today. He woke up smiling from ear to ear. He played with his toys and chased the dogs. I took him to the park and he had a blast. Then he came home and took a blissfully long nap. We had the perfect morning. I dropped him off at school this afternoon a happy and well-rested baby. Then a few hours later, I got a call that Cutie Pie's nose was bleeding. The next thing I knew, I had an emergency appointment with the pediatrician and I was flying down the street to get my precious baby.


I arrived at the day care anxious to see my little one but was delayed by an accident report. Apparently, Cutie Pie fell down and bumped his head right after they called me. He added another bruise to the collection on his forehead. I scooped up my little Cutie Pie and whisked him off to the doctor.


I noticed right away that he must have stopped bleeding because I didn't see any evidence of a bloody nose. When we got to the doctor's office the nurse asked why we were there. I explained that Cutie Pie had a cold for the past few days and that today his nose started bleeding at school. She made a face and wrote it down.

Believe me lady, I didn't rush over here on a Wednesday afternoon because I had nothing better to do.

Then she made a comment about the bruises on Cutie Pie's forehead.

Well, I can't leave his helmet on all the time!

Then she said something about how Cutie Pie was trying to stand up on the exam table instead of sit passively while I changed him.

Would you prefer he lay here like a lump?


Feeling like the worst mother in the world, I sat with Cutie Pie in the exam room and waited for the doctor while trying to entertain my half-naked eight month old in a doctor's office with only the toys I could find in the back seat of my car. When the doctor finally arrived he said the bloody nose was caused by a scratch, probably from a bulb syringe and was no big deal. Once again, he pronounced my Cutie Pie perfect, except for a cold.


Hooray! This crisis is over! I could feel the weight lifting from my shoulders. But then he said something that scared me all over again. Those two top teeth are going to come out any day now.

http://theadventuresofcutiepie.blogspot.com/

Cutie Pie is Back!

What a long week it has been! Last Thursday I went to pick up Cutie Pie from school and I heard two of the most horrifying words I have ever heard: Pink-eye. Cutie Pie had been exposed! Now at face value these words don't seem alarming. Pink is a pretty color. Eyes aren't scary. But I soon found out just how terrifying these words can be.

The next morning, I took my puffy, crusty-eyed baby to the doctor. Cutie Pie put on his usual show of flirting with the nurses and trying to snatch the stethoscope out of the doctor's ears. We were given a prescription for fancy eye drops and sent home with instructions to lay low until the illness passed.

Unfortunately for me, Cutie Pie's Daddy was out of town so I had to entertain a mobile seven month old by myself all weekend. Cutie Pie didn't like the eye drops. He cried like his world had ended each time he saw the drops come close to his face. No toy or song could distract him from that medicine bottle. Not even Old McDonald!

When Cutie Pie doesn't feel good, Cutie Pie doesn't sleep. My little boy becomes his alter ego, Mr. Crankypants. He stays up all night, loudly protesting everything Mommy tries to make him happy. No toys! No swing! No blanky! Poor Cutie Pie. Poor Mommy!

Cutie Pie got restless spending all that time at home with no one but a tired Mommy to play with. He grew bored of chasing the dogs and began working on his pulling up skills. He mastered the coffee table and the couch but the dining table is still a little tricky. He fell a few times and earned some new bumps and bruises.

Somehow we made it through the weekend. I was so excited to get back into our routine on Monday. I got all dressed up in grown up clothes and was walking out the door when Cutie Pie threw up all over both of us. Here we go again.

Cutie Pie went back to the doctor. He had a sore throat that caused him to cough each time something touches his throat, including drool and food. So he pretty much coughed all day and night. And when he coughed too hard, he threw up.

So my staycation continued with Cutie Pie. In between baths, I got a crash course in Pedialyte. I discovered that the clear stuff is way better than the flavored stuff. Why would you give a baby, who is already throwing up, a liquid with dye in it? That is just asking for trouble. As if it's not bad enough that you're going to have to do a million loads of laundry, you've got to scrub colorful dye out of all the bibs too!

Thank goodness for Cutie Pie's Grandma. She took pity on us and came to help out today. She spent the day with my coughing, grumpy Cutie Pie so I could take a break and go to the office. She must have the magic touch because he is feeling much better tonight and is actually sleeping! It's been a long week but Cutie Pie is back!

http://theadventuresofcutiepie.blogspot.com/

Shots?!

Cutie Pie recently went for his six month well-check appointment. The visit went well. The doctor checked him all over and declared him perfect. All except for a little cold. Then the doctor asked me, the most anxious new mother in the world, if I felt comfortable with Cutie Pie getting his shots today. "Uh.. I guess so? He only has a little cold. The worst of it passed days ago. I got plenty of sleep last night so that must mean he's not sick, right?" What I should have said was, "You're the doctor! Tell me if YOU feel comfortable with Cutie Pie getting his shots today!"


Well, as you may have guessed, Cutie Pie got his shots. This led to 24 hours of anxiety and nervousness for Mommy and crankiness for everyone involved. I had just finished reading Jenny McCarthy's book, "Mother Warriors." OK, you got me. I didn't actually read it. I listened to the audio version in the car whenever Cutie Pie wasn't there and I could safely turn off the never ending Wee Sing CD that haunts my brain all day. Her book was terrifying. Many of the parents she interviewed said their children were sick when they got their vaccinations. She explained that their teeny tiny immune systems couldn't fight off the germs and the shot at the same time. Those babies became autistic after they got their shots. One Mommy said that she gave her baby medicine to help with the pain of the shots and that the medicine likely contributed to her child getting autism.

So there I was, a nervous wreck. The nurses got out their syringes and I'm cringing and wondering if I will live to regret this day. They gave Cutie Pie his shots and he didn't even cry. He got a second shot and he whimpered but he stopped in the one second it took the nurse to pick him up and hand him to me. He smiled and laughed while I got him dressed and I took my Cutie Pie home.

Between jars of baby food and countless verses of Old McDonald, I watched my Cutie Pie for signs of a reaction. Nothing. Whew! He's been his usual self all week. I realize that I am very lucky to have a healthy child.

No more books for Mommy. I think I'm going to go back to listening to that baby CD. It may haunt me but at least it doesn't cause anxiety attacks.

http://theadventuresofcutiepie.blogspot.com/

One of Those Moms

Cutie Pie had his first "sick visit" to the doctor this week. He woke up sweaty and screaming. He had a fever of 101 on Friday morning. I immediately gave him Tylenol and called the doctor. Lucky us, we got an appointment just a few hours later! We sat down on the "sick side" of the doctor's waiting room and suddenly Cutie Pie was acting like his old self again. He smiled at everyone who walked by. He flirted with the other babies. He played with his toys and laughed out loud when he dropped them. When we finally got called back to the doctor's office, the nurse looked at me like I was "One of Those Moms." (You know who "Those Moms" are; the ones everyone rolls their eyes about at lunch time later.) Of course he didn't have a fever anymore, thanks to the Tylenol. The doctor could find no signs of infection so he sent us home, assuring me that there is no reason to worry until Cutie Pie gets a real fever of 103 or higher.

Fast forward to three hours later. Once again, Cutie Pie wakes up sweaty and screaming. And what do you know? 103.0! So I call the doctor AGAIN! Now they talk to me like I might have a sick baby. Ha! And they thought I was just "One of Those Moms!"

The irony is I spent all week talking myself out of calling the doctor. I spend way too much time worrying about being "One of Those Moms." He had a slight fever for a couple of days but everyone (you know everyone has an opinion!) told me he was probably just teething so I sat on my hands and didn't call. Of course, I can't just take care of a sick baby without opening up a book or two and searching the internet for his symptoms. Did you know that if a baby has purple spots, you should rush him to the doctor immediately because this could be a life or death situation? Did you know that freckles and indentations from tight clothes can sort of look like purple spots? Have you realized that I probably am "One of Those Moms?" I'm trying keep it to myself.