I Should Have Gone to Medical School

We've experienced another first in our household this weekend. Our first sick baby.

I noticed Jackson was a bit off on Friday morning, but chalked it up to an upset tummy. Perhaps something I ate. Unfortunately, it has lingered and the little guy is definitely fighting something. My smiley, active baby is clingy, sad and sooo tired. And his rookie Mom & Dad have no idea what to do, other than cuddle, soothe and cuddle some more. Where's that manual when you need it?

And wouldn't you know it, his first sickness occurred on a weekend. Leaving us with 2 options: to prompt care, or not to prompt care. How do you know? He's not in any immediate danger (that we know of) and there is little to no medication that you can give an infant anyway, so my instincts tell me that there is nothing a doctor would tell us to do that we aren't already doing. But what if I'm wrong? And why are there no doctors in our family?

Is it a cold? He has a runny nose, but then why the stomach discomfort? Is it the flu? He's eating fine (although, not with his usual vigor and excitement) and not spitting up at all. He has plenty of wet diapers so dehydration is not an issue. I wouldn't say he has diarrhea because he only goes once a day at the most, although it is quite watery. He has been running a slightly high temperature - 99's for a short period both Friday & Saturday night. We gave him Tylenol both times. He is gassy. He is sleeping a ton. Maybe it's just a huge growth spurt. Maybe I should have gone to medical school.

I know that kids get sick. A lot. Especially kids in daycare. And clearly this is far from the worst sickness Jackson will experience in his life. I know all of this intuitively. But that is absolutely no help when your baby is whimpering in discomfort and looking at you with sad, watery eyes wanting you to make it stop and there is nothing you can do. Hello heartbreak. And since this is my first experience as a mommy with a sick baby I feel entitled to a slight meltdown.

Poor Drew. Unfortunately for him, I do "meltdown" quite well. He woke up this morning to a sick baby and a crying wife. Crying out of helplessness, but more so out of total exhaustion. Drew talked me out of my meltdown, I was able to grab a 2 hour nap and woke up to cinnamon rolls cooking in the kitchen. Now we're just waiting to see what the day holds for Jack. Worst case scenario, it's off to the pediatrician first thing Monday morning. But I'm hopeful that we'll see glimpses of our happy baby today and this bug will run it's course.

You see, I don't really want to go to medical school. I just want my baby to feel better.