Monday, June 9, 2008

Reality Check

Well there were alot of things I wanted to write about this week, but of course life got in the way and I've been too busy, too tired, and my brain too numb to come up with anything. After my glowing post about how May was the best month ever, in comes June to give us a big reality check.

It all started on Friday, my usual day off with J. We immediately should have known something was up because he slept in until 7:30am (trust me, this is sleeping in for him). As soon as he woke up we could tell he didn't feel well -- he didn't want to eat or drink, and he didn't want to do anything but lay on our bed watching TV. Oh yeah and he had a 103.2 fever. Yikes. There were no other real symptoms, just lethargy and fever, so we loaded him up with Motrin and he basically hung out on the couch all day. By the end of the day the fever had only come down a little bit to 101.0, and thus began the Weekend Illness Shuffle: Go to Urgent Care or ride it out? How long with a fever should we be worried? 24 hours? 48? (Yes I know, I'm a doctor, as my husband never fails to point out. Why don't I know the answers to these questions? I'm a vet, people. If he was a puppy he'd already have the appropriate antibiotics and maybe an IV. Since he's not a puppy, I'm just as clueless sometimes with these things as every other parent.)


The fever continued throughout the weekend. I had to work on Saturday and when I got home J looked a little better but along with the fever he acquired Extreme Crankiness which resulted in Extreme Satanic Tantrums. I'm serious. At one point in the midst of one of these 30-minute episodes of screaming, kicking the floor, and growling (best way I can describe it), TH looked at me and said, "I don't think he needs anymore Tylenol. What he needs is an exorcist." Then we laughed kind of nervously...just kidding, right? Right?

That was pretty much how our weekend went. We tempted fate by going to Home Depot on Sunday for much-needed house stuff, and of course The Universe rewarded us with one of the most embarassing public melt-downs J has ever had. I won't go into detail except to say that as we were trying to scoop him up from the floor (where he was doing that flailing limp rag-doll thing) this pregnant lady who was looking at nursery wallpaper was standing there with the most horrified look on her face. You know, that judgemental look we all gave moms with screaming toddlers in the store back when we were still the supermom who hadn't had kids yet. I wanted to say, "Sorry to burst your bubble, lady--what you just witnessed wasn't bad parenting, it was a glimpse into your future," but instead of being snarky I figured she'll find out on her own eventually so I smiled apologetically and gave the Lame Mom Excuse: "He's just tired."

Sooo....here we are on Monday. J's is at daycare (after much debating again this morning about whether he should stay home) and I'm back at work. All I have to say is THANK GOD we're going on vacation in a couple of weeks.

5 comments:

Rita said...

So about the Home Depot lady...
I swear, before I had kid(s), I was THAT Home Depot lady.
Not that I was judgemental on purpose, but somehow people without kids think they know better than people with kids. Delusional, I know.

Nowadays, I'm in your shoes. Everytime X decides to have a "moment" in public and people are looking at me with the "I would have handled that much better" look in their eyes, I just think - they probably don't have kids yet and their time will come. Muwahhahahha!

Hope J feels better soon...

-Bridget said...

I'm with Rita. I was that all knowing pregnant lady that had a whole list of things I'd never do. I've broken every last one of them and when I get those looks now I look right through them like they aren't even there.

Hope he's feeling better. Why won't they ever get sick M-F between the hours of 9 and 4, dang it?

deebo47 said...

Ahh, the good old days...Seriously this is one thing about having a toddler that I don't miss at all (and I hate to bust the bubble for those of you who still have toddlers, but the tantrums don't necessarily end when they grow out of diapers). I don't know if I was one of those judgmental non-parents or not, but I remember how much I hated those people when I first had kids. Now I just brush it off and move on, the true battle-hardened warrior. I'm sure there are parents of teenagers out there, smirking as they hear about the trials and tribulations of little kids and thinking, "Just you wait..."

Mountain Mom said...

Poor little guy! I hope he's feeling better. We, too, have had the major meltdowns in Home Depot, with both kids at the same time. Talk about embarassing! It's not like we can just leave and come back another time, either, since it's about a two hour drive to get there in the first place. Oh yes, and I was definitely one of those delusional, judgemental people in my pre-Mom days. I'll admit it, but I'm not proud of it. :)

Julie said...

Man, I was that judgmental person too. I waivered between being judgy and being frightened of what I was witnessing. Karma is kicking me in the butt b/cLana has had some supreme meltdowns in public that make me turn beet red and sweat with embarassment.

I hope the little man is feeling better. I hate those nonspecific fevers--I never know what is coming next if anything.