True or False: Babies first illness

True:  Babies get sick
False:  You will panic
True:  Your wife will panic
False:  Your life will be horrible while he's sick
True:  Your life will be horrible while you're sick

Oliver came down with his first illness last week, nothing too bad, just a head cold.  The first day he had a fever, it started at about 100 and went up to 102 shortly after I left for work, which resulted in a long string of texts from the wife.  She called the pediatrician and he told her to keep an eye on him and make sure he was still eating, and that it would probably pass over without any trouble.

The next day the fever was gone, but he was still miserable.  He had a bad cough and (I'm assuming) a sore throat.  He was cranky, and didn't eat a lot, and started sleeping more than normal.  By the next day (which coincidently was the first day I had time alone with him) he was hardly eating and just wanted to sleep all day.  Which made me feel really bad for him.  On the other hand...

It gave me all sorts of time to do things I wanted to.  It was almost a day to myself, he was only up for about 2 hours total before I left for work, so I logged a good amount of me time.  I felt bad as I got him ready for daycare, he wasn't fevering anymore, so even though I knew he was no longer contagious, I still didn't want to get anyone else sick.  That feeling ended the moment I opened the door to his room and heard his cough...only it wasn't him.  Then again, still not him.  Turns out every baby in that room had the same cough he did, must have been a rough day for the caregivers.

Of course the next day, I awoke to a sore throat of my own.  Fortunately, he was still sleepy, so I didn't have to do a lot for him, but it took a lot of the fun out of my alone time.  It only got worse from there, and unlike him, I didn't get to sleep through it all.

And here I am, a week later, and I'm still stuffy and loosing my voice by the end of the day.  Fortunately, Oliver's back to normal now.  It was nice having that extra time to myself, but I sure did miss all his giggles.

Gravity and your baby

You're lying in bed next to your baby and drift off accidentally.  Next thing you know, THUD.  Springing into action you're feet are on the floor before he's even crying(which at this point you're just glad to hear), you're at his side within seconds.  Thanks to that wonderful first aid class you took, you know to check his head and neck before you move him, but not suspecting any damage, he's in your arms in moments.  A few seconds later, and the crying is subsiding, and by the time mom has rushed out of the shower to see what happened, he's smiling at her.  I think it's important I note here, that if you suspect a serious injury, or any head trauma, or just need some peace of mind, please call your pediatrician, better safe than sorry.

You however, now feel like the worst parent in the world.  You just allowed a totally preventable and highly dangerous accident to happen to your baby.  For what is probably the first time, you've experienced that moment of panic, remorse, and ultimately the painful experience of having let down your son.

What you need to remember though, is that this happens to most new parents at some point.  As you're transitioning from a baby that can't go anywhere you haven't put it, to one that can move himself, you're bound to miss something.  It's ok.  Secondly, this definitely isn't the last time he'll get hurt.  In a couple months he'll be walking and then it's skinned knees and bruises on a regular basis.  These guys are built tougher than they look, and that terrible feeling you have will well outlast any pain they feel.

In the words of the great physicist Dr. Sheldon Cooper, "Gravity, thou art a heartless bitch."