Baby’s First Sick
December 2, 2010
Little miss Ruby is sick.
Boohoo.
Her first time.
My perfect little baby.
Isn’t it so tragic when a tiny baby gets sick?
It bursts that little bubble you have in your head about your newborn being so perfect and new and fresh.
She hath a widdle code in her nothe.
Her little nose is all red, her eyes watery. She has a hard time working up the mucus. She spits it up, wads of it.
Sadie started feeling poorly on Saturday with the same symptoms. Sadie adores her baby sister of course. Lots of tummy raspberries and such.
“Aaaahhhh …. maa baa bwaaaa”, she says.
(Mommy I feel bad.)
Isn’t breastmilk supposed to be some magical elixir guaranteeing my baby will never ever ever get sick?
Mostly .
Except life isn’t perfect.
There are things you can’t control. Scary things that can hurt your babies.
I remember that 3 of my babies got sick, but only after they started eating lots of solid foods and crawling around. But one, the second born, got bronchiolitis at the tender age of 6 weeks. (His big brother had croup.)
Of course, this is nothing.
Some families have pictures of hospitalized babies on their blogs, wires and tubes sticking out of them everywhere.
I’m really fortunate.
So I spend a lot of time just holding her and very, very gingerly wiping her nose with warm damp flannel cloths (if you do it one nostril at a time, it’s less upsetting). I had the cool mist humidifier running all night with essential oils in it. A drop of lavender on her tummy. And mommy sitting up most of the night propped up on several pillows.
Sickness isn’t so bad.
It gives you time (permission?) to just BE with your child. To let other things slide.
You know?
More Posts By Carrie:
Comments
4 Responses to “Baby’s First Sick”
Got something to say?
A good reminder that it’s okay to just be.
Hopefully she starts feeling better quickly!!
I just can’t bear for children to be sick! It hurts me all over. I was very fortunate with you girls. It’s a good thing because I panic very easily. get well soon little precious Ruby. And thank you for letting your Nannie rock you to sleep for the first time!!
I love you!
Nannie
I remember the first time Benjamin got sick–had a fever, runny nose, congestion. He was around six months old, and we spent the entire day like this: he would cry a weak cry, nurse for two minutes, go to sleep for 20-30 minutes.
This was the entire day. I carried him in a sling most of the time, and took a forced one-day vacation.
My belief is that the breastmilk kept him from getting anything worse. And is always a foundation to food health later on.
Hopefully you will all be well for Christmas!
aw, poor girl. she is adorable, even with a sad sick face.