Poor Riley

I have just determined that being the mommy of a sick little boy feels far worse than being sick myself. Riley is sick. Sick with a cold that seems to be kicking his tail.

A few days ago I noticed that he was getting stuffy and snotty. Yesterday morning, as I was loading him up in his car seat to go to the sitter, I noticed a substantial amount of “goop” on his left eye. I wasn’t sure if it came from his eye or his nose so I quickly wiped it off and sent him on his way. After checking in with the sitter throughout the day, I learned that the goopy eye was getting worse, as was his cough, and he should probably be seen by a doctor. Great. So I made his appointment for today, took the day off work, and tried to cope the best I could in the meantime.

I’d like to go on record to say that last night was our worst night ever. I will take two-hour feedings over last night any day. I had his humidifier on high. I propped up his bed so that he was elevated. I tried laying him on his back. I tried laying him on his belly. The poor kid couldn’t sleep. All he would do is softly cry. And break my heart in the process. But my baby wanted his mommy, that much I know. He would only sleep soundly when I was holding him. That in and of itself made me feel as if I was doing at least something right. Except…how was I supposed to sleep? For hours, I was up and down, in and out of bed to sooth him. I was finally at my whit’s end and resorted to lugging his car seat up to his bedroom and laid him to sleep in that. I then, slept on the floor beside him so that I could reposition his fallen pacifier, or gently rock him when he stirred. It was a long night. A long and difficult night indeed.

But, today is a new day and I think he is showing signs of feeling a little bit better. We visited the doctor, who confirmed that he had nothing wrong with his chest or ears but prescribed some drops for his eyes. Id like to add another notch to my mommy belt by saying that I successfully added two drops in each of his eyes! Either he’s a great kid or Im gettin’ the hang of this mommy business. Or maybe its both. That being said, he’s still more comfortable in his car seat, so that’s what we’re going with. Here’s to hoping spring gets here sooner rather than later so we can all feel better!