Namastè!
I'm one exhausted mama this morning, but I felt like I was neglecting y'all a bit. Don't feel too shut out. Baby Namastè's been up since 4, alternating between crying and eating. (Spare me the sleep training advice--this kid has a schedule but has been out of whack due to feeling really bad...fever and chills bad.)
Even though my baby is eight days from being a year old, he is still a baby. That means I still expect people to wash their hands before touching him. Cover their mouths if they must cough in his vicinity. STAY AWAY if they know they are sick or have been exposed to communicable illness.
"You're at home with him anyway, so how is it such a big deal! It's not like you're missing work?"
Really, bucko?
Illnesses like step, flu, and pneumonia are scary. They are even more so when a child is too young to articulate what they are feeling. All they can do is cry, or stop eating, or sleep a lot more (or less.) For my babies, it is always the same: crying jags, burning hot temps, and sleeping as little as humanly possible. Baby Namastè's been up nearly every two hours LIKE CLOCKWORK.
After the meds have worn off (and believe me, they do--babies metabolize everything so much faster, and the effects of those dreaded medications often last longer than any relief they provide) there's the round-the-clock re-dosing. If the baby is still under the weather despite meds, then comes the comfort. The nursing. The pumping when he can't/won't. When he is awake, so too am I. He clings to me, and I oblige because despite being my big almost toddler boy, he is still simply my littlest baby.
Note: Not a complaint. When the kid needs Mama, the kid gets Mama. It's my job, but more so my honor. I am beyond tired but that's an outlier.
In the meantime, my usually-immaculate home suffers. Laundry is going unfolded. The dishwasher is getting less of a workout because there is no cooking when I cannot rest, only takeout or the healthiest fast-fixings I can cobble together whilst balancing a wailing/screeching/barely sleeping/unhappy baby on my chest.
Any work that I needed to do from home? Yeah, that's not getting done. So yes, I do miss work when the kids fall ill. I certainly wouldn't shove them off on someone else. They need mommy's care always, but especially when they're not feeling well. Regardless of deadlines or due dates, I must hunker down and help my littles heal. That's not martyrdom, that's mommy'ing.
But the killer in all this for me is, how easily most sickness can be prevented.
Hubby Namastè and I are fastidious hand washers. We wash hands and we generally stay on top of our health game. If one of us is exposed to something, we hawkeye for symptoms and treat accordingly. At no point do we just "wait and see." It is not uncommon to see Adults Namastè was their hands periodically just because! We try to keep germs at bay as much as possible despite his very public job.
Note: I do not like the colloquial use of the word, germaphobe. Simply practicing good handwashing, hygiene, and housekeeping doesn't make a person a germaphobe. It makes them clean. Phobias are nothing to make light of, nor is OCD. "I'm OCD about *insert practice*." NO, you're fastidious. OCD is a thing, a serious thing, and people who suffer do not make light of it, so nor do I.
I digressed, didn't I?
Back to it.
I'm so beyond tired, y'all. I'm typing this with my little 18-pound noodle resting in the crook of my arm. It's the first real rest he's gotten all night. No fever, but I assume a combination of new teeth and residual don't-feel-good are likely wreaking havoc on his Circadian rhythms (i.e. internal clock) and he's finding it harder to get to sleep and stay asleep.
This wasn't my usual upbeat update. *frown*
Such is life!
I've received a flurry of emails about why I haven't written in a while. Truth is, I'm beat! I was in the thick of birthday planning when the baby took ill, and between that and some personal storms, I've just been focused on getting to the proverbial silver lining.
In the meantime, WASH YOUR HANDS.
Namastè!
-- Tayè K ♡
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