Mommy Musings: A Lot to Swallow
Laurie Legum
The inevitable has happened. Despite my best efforts to contain my baby in a hermetically sealed bubble, he’s caught his first cold. Even worse, I think he may have caught it from me. I managed to fend off an office mate’s unrelenting cold for a few weeks, constantly washing and Purelling my hands. However, the spastic, virus spewing coughs of Typhoid Mary finally took a toll on my immune system.
At first I convinced myself that I was suffering from allergies. But just in case, I tried to stay away from the little guy until my symptoms abated. However, four days later he woke up with a runny nose. Though I hoped he too was suffering from allergic rhinitis, his symptoms got progressively worse, including a fever.
In the course of a few days I bought three different types of digital thermometers, certain that a least one would quickly and accurately take his temperature. No luck. None of the assortment of oral syringes seemed to efficiently deliver the proper dosage of goopy, cherry-flavored acetaminophen into his mouth, though apparently enough was consumed to cause an allergic reaction.
Each morning I hoped to find him slightly less congested, only to find him a bit worse than the previous day. Judging by the fact that Typhoid Mary is hacking away as I type, it’s safe to say we have a few weeks to go before we’re literally in the clear.
Hopefully, now that I have my baby’s first bout with a pathogen partially under my belt, I’ll handle the subsequent barrage of inevitable future illnesses with greater ease and sanity. Somehow, though, I doubt it.
