When babies are ill mommies are the best medicine. I am blessed with a healthy baby who is rarely ill. She had a dodgy week in August and that’s it really. But November has made up for a sick-free year, with an unpleasant cold that ended up being Roseola (aka fake measles), a vomitous stomach bug, a weird red eye that displayed no symptoms of an eye infection… and then a couple of new molars (are babies supposed to cut molars before the are 1?) to top things off.
I say “poor Amelia” with much gusto and then I say “poor me” with even more. One of the toughest things as a parent is to watch your child ill, uncomfortable and in pain, and know that there is relatively little that you can do about it other than offer plenty of kisses and cuddles, and not let the whinging drive you dilly.
This is particularly difficult if you have to work from home so that you can afford to stay at home with your child – and I can only imagine the hardships of a work-from-home parent with more than one child. But before I wallow too much in my own pity party – especially when I only have a couple of bad weeks to my name – I remind myself that I chose to become a mommy and dealing with the unpleasantness of illness is all part of the deal. And thank God in Heaven for my darling husband who keeps me sane. Kudos to single parents – I don’t know how you manage.
I adore motherhood but I am no bullshitter – there are times when I desperately wish that I was able to release myself from the shackles of a whining child. I am madly in love with my precious Amelia but sometimes she makes crazy. And she reserves that right, as a baby, and as my child. And I reserve the right to be Amelia’s nurturer and comforter for all days.
