Baby Land

Being sick is no fun. I can remember several instances of being sick growing up that have stuck with me over the years - having my wisdom teeth out in high school and winding up with pink eye that same week, a car accident as a preschooler that left me with several stitches to my noggin, the flu back in 2004 that cancelled a perfectly good cruise and having my tonsils removed (my throat hurt so much that I didn't even want ice cream - what a myth!). Yet no matter how much the memories stuck with me, I just wasn't very sick that often.

Since having my baby, I have been sick twice - the first time was just after Thanksgiving when I had the horrible stomach bug. My whole family was stricken and it stuck around for days! The last couple of weeks brought on a bad strain of a cold/flu virus thing that was very bad news. Two rounds of antibiotics later, I can tell you that I am starting to feel "a little" better. I don't know if I am more susceptible to illness because I am breast-feeding, because I am tired, or because children spread germs more easily. No matter, it's difficult to care for an infant when you don't feel up to par yourself! The nice thing is that no matter how bad I feel, her smile always makes me feel better.

My daughter has been sick a couple of times, too, and that is so hard to watch. I wish it could be me instead! It's difficult to feel helpless when your child has a cough or cold... My mom tells me it is so different now than when I was growing up. In the 70s, doctors prescribed medicine for sick babies. I'm sure you all can remember the yellow over-the-counter Triaminic bottle or the yummy "pink stuff" - the liquid antibiotic you kept in the fridge. But now the general consensus is that no meds are the way to go. You can run the humidifier, use saline nose drops and pray, but otherwise you just wait it out.

The happy ending to this story is that we all seem to be back on our feet - for now, at least! - and are ready for warmer weather to chase those germs away. Now all we have to figure out is how to deal with the pollen...