Bean,  Health,  Marriage Confessions,  Parenting

Carrier Monkeys

September 8, 2009 /

Last week I noticed that Beanie had a stuffy nose.   I figured it was the sudden drop in temperature we’ve had lately.   Two days later though he added a cute little sneeze to go with that stuffy nose.

Baby sneezes are funny.

By Saturday, Beanie had added a lovely hacking cough to his cute little sneeze and stuffy nose.

Baby hacking coughs are not so funny.

And by Sunday, his cough had developed into what sounded like a rather large bullfrog that had been lodged in his throat.   If he could talk, he would have had no voice.   I’m sure of it.   As it was, he sounded horribly sick.   When he cried, he was raspy and screechy.   When he babbled, his voice was cracking and wheezing.   And every time it did, my heart broke a little more.

After so much heartbreaking, you start to look around for someone to blame.   And I had just the culprit.

That bunch of carrier monkeys at Beanie’s daycare.   Sure, babies and toddlers are cute.   Sure, they’re smiley and they sing songs about sunshine and rainbows.   But don’t be fooled.

They’re just a bunch of carrier monkeys in cute clothes.

And by Saturday morning when Chris and I started coughing, sneezing, and generally feeling like crawling in a hole and dying, I realized that my own son was a carrier monkey, too.

It sucks to be sick when you’ve got a baby.   I’m one of those people who wants to get in bed and not come out until I feel back to my normal self.   None of this pushing through the pain crap for me.   I want to wallow in it until I feel better.   And then I want a popsicle for my throat.   Only then will I consider coming out of my cocoon.

But with a baby, there’s no time for wallowing.   Especially when that baby is sick, too.   You have to not only be awake, but alert enough to be a full-time caregiver.   It really cramped my wallowing.   You can’t wallow and think about someone else at the same time.   Proper wallowing requires 110% focused attention on yourself.

So, instead of sleeping through the night and waking up refreshed and feeling better, I have been waking up through the night as Beanie wakes up.   He is uncomfortable laying down in his crib because I think it clogs his little nose up, so we have been letting him sleep in his swing in our bedroom for the past two nights.   It keeps him sitting upright a little and helps with the drainage.   But I think it freaks him out because he would wake up throughout the night, cry just long enough to wake us up, and then fall back asleep.

When I wasn’t being woken up by Beanie, I was waking myself up to give him more medicine, to check his humidifier, to make sure he hadn’t kicked his socks off, to make sure he wasn’t running a fever.   Each night seemed like it was 2-days long.   And by the time the sun started creeping through the windows, I felt like I hadn’t even gone to bed yet.

But as tired as I was, Beanie was even more so.   And I felt so bad for him.   He would get himself crying because he was over tired, but that would hurt his little throat, so he’d cry harder, which made him more tired, which made him cry more, which hurt his throat….   Vicious, vicious cycle.

I took him to the doctor this morning and they said it was just a bad cold and that we had to ride it out.   Keep giving him Tylenol when he’s running a little fever, but other than that it was a cold that had to run its course.   When the doctor said this, I actually laughed out loud.   Just let it run its course, she said.   So nonchalantly.   As if that was the easiest thing in the world.

As if it was easy to let Beanie cry himself hoarse.   As if it was easy to be up all night taking care of a sick baby when I feel like a carrier monkey myself.   As if it was easy to coax liquid Children’s Tylenol down the throat of an unwilling, wailing child.

And then the doctor told me to pay my co-pay and I wanted to smack her in the head with my cold compress.

But I looked down and saw this little face staring up at me.   Those big eyes all glazed over and teary.   His little nose all red and puffy.   And just like that all the anger and frustration and tiredness of the past weekend melted away.   Because I’m someone’s mom now.   And mom’s always make everything better.   That’s their job.

Even if their child is a carrier monkey.

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27 Comments

  • DeAnna

    September 9, 2009 at 12:34 am Reply

    He is such a doll!! I hope both of you get better quick! Being a sick mom with a sick baby is no fun at all. I count my blessings and knock on wood that I haven’t had too many days like that in a few months.

  • Lisa

    September 9, 2009 at 5:47 am Reply

    I feel really bad for you, I really don’t know how I’d handle the same situation since we don’t have kids. I’m the type who hates to call in sick from work (which is probably worse since I’d be the carrier monkey too) but when you’re trying to take care of your whole family, that’s a whole other ball game. I guess you’re right, you’re a mommy now and its kinda you’re job but I really admire that you’re able to push through and be there for him. I hope all of you get better very soon!

  • Kelly

    September 9, 2009 at 6:36 am Reply

    Beanie probably did get sick from the carrier monkeys at the daycare. All of my students, I teach kindergarten, who have never been in school before are sick this week. Lots of germs coming together in one room!

  • Dana

    September 9, 2009 at 7:58 am Reply

    We always call my 2 kids carrier monkeys! The bummer of it all is that they end up bouncing back quicker being young and being able to rest more. Even thought they are miserable, they are sleeping better without the added stress of worrying about someone else.

    When he is a little bigger, you can semi-wallow while he watches a video when he gets you sick.

    AND he is so precious, so I bet that does help a little!

  • Kristen

    September 9, 2009 at 8:32 am Reply

    Aw, poor Beanie! The only benefit I think all of you will get out of this is when he goes to preschool/kindergarten he won’t be so prone to getting sick. I went to daycare around the same age as the Bean and I never missed a day of school until the fourth grade. So there is hope! I hope you all get better soon!

  • Sarah H.

    September 9, 2009 at 8:38 am Reply

    Aww–I hope you all are feeling better soon! That sounds really tough : ( I’m not a good sick person either–I just want to sleep and whine and complain and eat soup and sleep more. Sounds like once a baby comes that might not be happening anymore–darn.

  • Liz, JM, and Leo

    September 9, 2009 at 9:13 am Reply

    We hope you’re all feeling better soon! Sorry you’re all sick – it stinks :(. Oh I so remember being sick altogether last year around Thanksgiving – we were all sick as dogs for a week straight! Makes you long for the good old days when you could just wallow in your own lousy cold. Dangit!

    It does make you realize how much you can endure (more than you thought) and how tough you can really be (yes, I can still get out of bed to nurse my child although I am deliriously sick with a 104 degree fever). Way to be a tough and good Mommy!

    Your Bean is so stinkin’ cute – I can’t wait to have a teeny little munchkin again! He makes Leo look HUGE! I love his eyes and hair!

  • Donna

    September 9, 2009 at 11:25 am Reply

    Hope you all are feeling better today. It gets better, soon he will be old enough to give decongestant to, which will help you both get a little more sleep.

    We did the same thing with our swing. We often just left it on for hours to help her sleep when she was sick and coughing.

  • Sara

    September 9, 2009 at 4:49 pm Reply

    I hate when mine are sick too! When my oldest was born 2 yeras ago, it was September, so just starting the cold season. He would get a cold, which would then turn to an ear infection and a few times to a double ear infection. This happened every month from November (he was 2 months old) until he was about 6 months old. AHHH!!! At least our second (who is 3 weeks younger than Beanie) will be a few months older and already exposed to daycare before this cold season starts. I feel your pain!!

  • Tressa

    September 9, 2009 at 5:31 pm Reply

    Most precious sick baby I’ve ever seen!
    Hope you all are feeling better now. Prayers that you get the rest you need to care for yourself and the Bean.

  • Kelly

    September 9, 2009 at 6:16 pm Reply

    So I know all Mom’s are different, but I had a winter baby and she caught a cold. I absolutely swear by the Vicks humidifer. I’ve seen them different places, I got mine at Walmart for like 13 dollars. Anyways you add a vapor liquid to the water and it works on her every time and she’s 10 months now. It will also work on adults!

    I read your blog a lot and think baby Michael is adorable. Love reading 🙂

  • Keiko

    September 19, 2009 at 12:01 am Reply

    I hope you guys are feeling better!! Being sick while taking care of a sick baby is never fun!
    When you said “I €™m someone €™s mom now. And mom €™s always make everything better. That €™s their job.” – it totally hit home… I remember exactly the moment when I came to that realization… Serena was probably a few months old and she was running a fever for the first time. I was nervous and scared, not really knowing what to do as a first time mom. It was the middle of the night, Serena was crying and Mike was at work and I was thinking how much I wish I had my mom to make things better… only to realize I am the mom! It was totally a “holy cr%&!” moment 😛

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