Just What the Doctor Ordered
Sick-boy snuggled up with Daddy
My little man has been out of sorts for almost a week. He just hasn’t been his usually sociable and smiley self. He’s been off his food, not napping well in the day, and waking several times through the night. His low grade fever told me something was going on, but I just put it down to teething. After all, most kids get a little hot and bothered when they start teething.
Today he was a picture of misery. An overtired, inconsolable, feverish little boy. So off we went to see our doctor, just in case I was wrong.
I was wrong. Poor kid no longer had a low grade temp, but a full blown fever thanks to a raging ear infection! Our GP prescribed the antibiotics his little body needed to fight the infection. She couldn’t prescribe anything to fight my mummy-guilt.
Feeling like a lousy mother, I shared my thoughts with the twitterverse. A friend replied soon after, reminding me of a truth I needed to hear. She simply said, “You didn’t give him the infection. You are fixing it.“ Somehow that turned me around. It wasn’t my fault. I stopped beating myself up about the fact that I didn’t work out what the problem was sooner, and got on with the business of caring for my baby boy.
What would we do without other mums to support, encourage, and guide us? I hope you have built a network of other mothers around you too (in the online world or the real one). None of us can do this mothering adventure alone!
Gotta go… little man is awake. Time for more infant paracetamol…!
Sorry your little one is sick.
I think the guilt is delivered with the placenta, and never really leaves us mums. In fact there is so much guilt in pregnancy too (what to avoid, what to eat etc) that it must come even sooner!!!
Yeah babe, don’t beat yourself up, be glad you are able to help him. He’s lucky and Blessed to have you even notice he had a low grade infection, ear infections are the worst, and they always happen at 11.37pm, precisly the time your feet lift off the floor to climb into bed. hugs, this too, shall pass.
Lets hope he gets better soon.
Hugs. I know you feel lousy but it’s not your fault. It could still be teething, middle ear infections are sneaky. One minute there is nothing and then wham!
I always found that my kids had otitis media when they were teething, more often that when they were not.
I hope you BOTH feel better soon.
It’s never easy being a parent. But, thanks to the Twitterverse, you were reminded that you did the right thing by taking him to the doctor and getting the treatment. I’m stunned by how many people don’t even bother to do that (or sadly, can’t afford to). Hopefully the treatment will kick in and he will feel better soon (you too!)
Poor little man. My daughter was prone to ear infections and the first one that we didn’t realise she had? She was such a sick little girl.
Hey sweetie! Momhood can come with immense guilt if we let it. Don’t live in guilt, it will just rob your joy! Keep loving and taking care of your babies as best you can. If at the end of the day, they have been loved and the basic needs are met then you are doing a smash up job!
Lovies,DJ
Thanks everyone for your encouragement and kind thoughts. I think mummy-guilt strikes us all! As DJ said, living in guilt just robs us of our joy. Today I choose to be a joyful mama
Antiobiotics are doing their job, little man is smiling again and sleeping at night – which means tonight I might sleep too!
I am glad to hear your little man is on the mend. Almost the same thing happened with my small boy – I put grumbles and a slight fever down to the several teeth that were all erupting at once and we ended up going from the medical centre via an ambulance to the hospital! He had a raging fever and ear infection and I too had the horrible guilts for days. But with loads of love and cuddles, he recovered from the whole scary incident before I did!