A Case of "First-Time-Mom's Disease", May 1, 2008

I have been amazingly blessed with a healthy baby! Caedmon is almost 20 months and he's never had an ear infection, only had a slight temperature twice, and a stomach bug once. He does have a runny nose about half the time, but what toddler doesn't have a constant stream of gunk for their moms to wipe 251 times a day? Still, with all of his good health, I have taken that child to the doctor so many times that his pediatrician and I are pretty much on a first name basis and I'm almost certain that the nurses have put my cell number on their speed dial! Why is that?

I've come to a couple conclusions...Although Caedmon is almost always healthy, he is NOT almost always happy! Some days his behavior is so terrible and he's just walking around the house crying and whining with nothing that will satisfy him. That make me think to myself, there is no possible way that he CANNOT be sick! No child who feels well would act this way! So I find myself taking his temperature to no avail just to try to find the source of this fussy attitude. Hmmm...98.6 again, huh?

Sometimes I'll call the doctor when I think he actually is sick. As I'm describing his symptoms, the nurses always ask if he's being overly fussy. I just want to laugh and say, "What kind of question is that?" Overly fussy? Yes! But if I only used that as my guide, we might as well just move into the hospital!

The crazy thing is I am not a medicine person. I would rather a sickness or headache just run it's course than to load myself up with all kinds of drugs. I really have to feel like I'm going to die to go the doctor. AND, I don't want someone loading my kid up with medicine either. I tell my doctor, "Now I don't want him to take any antibiotics unless it is absolutely necessary." I cannot tell you how many times I've taken him to the doctor only to hear, "Everything looks and sounds good!" So pretty much I just paid my $25 to get a pat on the back and the peace of mind that he's okay.

One time when Dr. Jones came in the room, I just had to admit, "Caedmon's not the one with the problem. I think I just have a bad case of 'first-time-mom's-disease'. He laughed and said, "I treat a lot of that disorder!" So after one more, "All clear," Caedmon and I were on our way! At least for a couple weeks...