Sick kid

As any parent knows, having a sick child is the worst. It is difficult on many levels, for many reasons, not the least of which is the emotional havoc it can wreak. I am blessed with children who don't get sick very often and have never had anything more serious than ear infections; that being said, when they get really sick, it can make life really challenging. We are just coming out of a week-long sickness with Stella, my dramatic child. She did have to have tubes in her ears due to infections when she was really little, but she handled it in stride. This girl didn't vomit for the first time until she was 3 years old though, so feeling sick is sort of foreign to her. Because of her not being accustomed to feeling poorly, she is DEVASTATED when she doesn't feel well. What I mean by devastated is that she screams bloody murder if she vomits or has a headache. Screams. Bloody. Murder. Lucky for all of us it doesn't happen very often. Being the dramatic one that she is, she will claim having a headache if she is wanting a little attention, but I usually know if it is for real or not due to the aforementioned screaming.
Last Sunday she started feeling a little yucky and we assumed it was just a cold. No biggie, ibuprofen is a wonderful thing. After a day or so, we started getting the headache complaint, with sad pitiful face. Ok, this is lasting longer than usual, but still no big deal. We just thought she just wanted a little more attention and pampering, which is not a problem; I will give the girl lovin' all day long :) And then began the screaming. So sporadically, I didn't know what was going on. She would be fine for hours, then scream about a headache or a tummy ache, then be fine again. I waffled back and forth about what to do. We gave her cold medicine and ibuprofen, but after a few days, she still felt crappy. Or did she? I have never been so confused about what was going on with a child's sickness in all my 5 years of parenting. I would make up my mind to stay home from work with her and she would be running around that morning laughing and playing. Ok, off to work. Then when I picked her up from the sitter, crying and fussing. Drama? Oh yes. I didn't want to go to the doctor's office and expose her to serious germs if she only had a cold. Finally, after a thoroughly confusing week, I took her to the doctor Saturday night. Diagnosis? Tonsilitis, a bacterial infection similar to strep. No red throat, but swollen lymph nodes and fever, little bit of an upset tummy. 10 days of antibiotics. Super glad that I went, wish I had gone earlier. I could have saved myself days of intermittent crying (hers and mine) and mommy-guilt. I never have a problem trusting my gut, but for whatever reason the radar was all over the map with this one. Granted, I was getting mixed signals, but I have been beating myself up over this one for the last few days. Today, finally, my little sassy Stella-pants is back! I feel like the biggest weight has been lifted off my shoulders. The emotional stress of my little one feeling crappy and making me crazy with the whining had taken its toll. Ahhh, the growing pains of motherhood...

Intro

Some of you may have followed my previous blog documenting my journey through surrogacy, Womb with a View. I loved writing about that experience and I've missed it in the few short weeks since my last entry. So I decided to blog about my life in general; I usually have a pretty full plate of things going on :)
I am a mother to two amazing children: Stella is 5 and Roy is 3. I have the most amazing, supportive, loving, sexy and smart hubby I could ever wish for. Russell is the man of my dreams :) I work full time as a hair stylist and part time as a birth doula. I am passionate about childbirth education, parenting, literature, family, feminism and friends. Join me and my family in our everyday adventures!