A Spoonful of Sugar

Oh, Mary Poppins, where are you when I need you?!

Poor peanut has had a fever since Tuesday. We've been to the doctor and it's nothing serious, but it's also nothing with a name. So I spend the day taking temps, giving Motrin, kissing foreheads and looking up possible explanations that only stoke the fires of my tendency towards hypochondria projected on my precious peanut.

And through it all, he's acting like a totally normal kid. Further frustrating me! I keep trying to get him to sit on the couch and cuddle. I've tried books, I've tried stuffed animals. I even broke my rules of no TV and tried The Jungle Book and Sesame Street. Nothing keeps this kid still longer than 2 minutes.

Meanwhile, every little illness throws me for a loop. Oh, I'm good in the mommy moment - taking temps, soothing, sucking out the snot with that horrible little bulb thing, even the time I had to scoop out the cracker that was choking him - but when he's sleeping, like now, I have time to think about all I must be doing wrong or am missing about his symptoms. I suppose it doesn't help that we've been battling a cold and teething for the last month and I've had my own long-lasting cold that it just seems like we're never all going to be feeling good.

Maybe I just need to get out. All this illness has had us feeling trapped within our four walls when we're usually out and about, playing on the playground and going for walks. Or I just need to suck it up. After all, my mom's words of comfort (?) were that even though I'm only a couple of weeks away from 32 (really?! When did that happen?) she still worries (great, so it doesn't go away?). Or, maybe I just need to indulge my little pity party during his nap time so that when he wakes up in a bit, I'll be armed and ready for the next few hours of fever onslaught and distraction measures.

But if you see Mary Poppins floating through the neighborhood, send her over to my house. Even if peanut doesn't want it, I could use that spoonful of sugar. A sugar high never hurt.