There Is Only One Thing Worse Than A Sick Child...

The first-time mother of that sick child.

To general?  Fine. There Is Only One Thing Worse Than A Sick Child... ME with a sick child!  My friends, I am a hot ass mom mess when my baby is sick.

Hot. Ass. Mom. Mess.

The absolute worst part of parenting so far has been dealing with a sick kiddo. I feel so helpless. I want to fix him, make him feel better. I want to do so much that I cannot, and it sucks! Looking at his sad red tired eyes and runny yet stuffy nose breaks my heart!  BREAKS IT!

Being that I am a first-time mom who has never dealt with sickness in a child before, I have absolutely NO idea what to do, so I bug the shit out of everyone I know that can help. I call friends, family, the doctor... I reach out to every resource, yes, even Dr. Google. I have this one friend who is my go-to. She is the mother of two boys and has pretty much dealt with everything. (If you do not have one of these friends. FIND ONE!)  She is filled with all kinds of mom tricks for sick kids, and has saved me hours of worry and hundreds of dollars in unnecessary trips to the doctor's office. Nine times out of ten answer is,  'No Fever, No Doctor. Try this...' or "It's a runny nose, it's not going to kill him! Stop obsessing!"  (Thank you J. xx)

I have been very blessed in that most of my son's short 23-months so far have been very healthy.  He had his first real fever at 13-months old, but other than that, until this past December he has been very healthy.  Then... December 1, 2013 hit. All sick hell broke lose in my house.  At any given time throughout the ENTIRE month of December, FTD, Ollie and/or I were sick. Collectively we dealt with the flu, the common cold virus, an ear infection coupled with vertigo, the stomach flu, a few random fevers... it was like Arma-sick-freaking-geddon around here.

Unfortunately, since Ollie is still under two, my options and resources for medicating him back to health are limited. It was more about making him comfortable while the illness ran it's course. I elevated his crib/mattress to help with his stuffy nose, and ran a cool mist humidifier--which I didn't love because I felt like it was creating a breeding ground for mold-- stuck him in a steamy shower to break up the congestion in his chest. (Actually, since Ollie HATES the shower, I let the shower run on hot while I let him play in the sink for five minutes.) I did the children's vapor rub on his chest, pumped as many fluids into his body as possible and tried to keep his diet super healthy with fruits and veggies. Believe it or not, FTD even taught him to blow his nose through all of this.

I also learned that Ollie having a fever of 102 and below is a good thing, because it's his body fighting the illness. Before learning this, I was giving him Advil/Motrin to break the fever when it was 100 and up.  Ollie's doctor said to not medicate him until he hit 102. I still freak out when Ollie gets a fever, but thankfully, now I know how to deal with it.

Maybe I am a little over the top freaking out when dealing with a sick kid, but I cannot help it. It's scary to see my baby ill.  I lived in utter fear and torment of SIDS that first year of his life, and now I realize I still feel that same fear when my baby is sick.  I mean, I don't think the common cold is going to kill him... Ok I DO!  OMG I DO!!!  I totally stay up worrying and watching his baby monitor. If I do not see him jerk or move after a few minutes I go in and check on him.  I cannot help it it's all still so scary!

#FACT!

Thankfully, he has survived three pretty bad viral infections, and with a big smile the whole time.  I just hope at some point I get to be like my been-there-done-that friends who are completely unbothered by a little viral infection.  I hope that somehow I can learn to laugh and run around and play like Ollie does when he is sick.  I just hope I am not a crazy neurotic nut bag forever... Wait, isn't that part of the job description of parenthood?

What about you? Are you a Hot Ass Mom/Dad Mess when your baby is sick?