Sunday, February 28, 2010

Day Four: Argh!

Nothing is more heart wrenching than to hear your daughter cry out in the middle of the night, "Momma. Help. Hurt."
With her limited vocabulary, last night was a game of Clue. TG kept crying for milk. I surmised she was trying to quench the fire that was a sore throat. DH thinks that's malarkey and that she was just being needy. This is not the kind of conversation I had wanted to have at 2am in the dark with a sick crying child.
"A toddler isn't just needy. They can't communicate what's going on so they meltdown. From what I see, I'm guessing she has a really bad sore throat."
"Well why would she suddenly get a sore throat? Shouldn't she have gotten it when she had the fever?"
"Have you ever been sick? Do all the symptoms come at once all the time?"
"I'm just saying it's late in the game to get more symptoms. I can't help it if she wants you. You did this to yourself with the breastfeeding and AP."
This last statement put me off the most. I don't know why he needs to say those things.
At one point she got up like she did the night before. I take it as the I-have-a-fever-and-don't-want-to-lie-down 15 minute cruise to her play area. During this time, I went to the bathroom and waited until DH took her to the playroom to sneak into the bedroom for a 15 minute breather. I waited because when it comes to me or her Dad, TG will chose me most of the time. I don't say this as a brag either.
Anyway, as I lay in the fetal position in bed hoping not to be seen, DH and TG head towards the bathroom. TG says, "Open. Open." DH responds, "No TG. I don't know why your Mom feels she needs to sit in the dark in the bathroom." He then moves to the bedroom and then spies me laying in bed with a finger pressed against my lips.
He closes the door and leaves.
Again, this pisses me off. Why does he have to say that to her? That clearly was an issue with me and him not our daughter. I figure the night is not the time to start the 'discussion' and close my eyes and try to have 15 minutes of sleep.
Later that night, TG woke up and cried again. "Momma! Help! Hurt!" She then took my hand and put it on her tummy. I prayed for gas and hoped it wasn't the onset of a stomach virus. I gently pressed on her tummy and rubbed it gently allowing the heat of my hand and the pressure to penetrate. She fell back to asleep sounding like a wheezing elephant. The congestion has come in.
This morning, she's like a glazed donut. I didn't understand what they meant when they said toddlers are walking snot farms but now I know. Holy moly, I can't keep the tissues close enough. I turn and she's got another two lines of boogers flowing from her nose. Then there is the oh so pleasant, sneeze. Toddlers don't know to cover their mouth yet. As soon as you recover from the spray that hits your face, you wipe your eyes and see two huge rockets dangling from your child's face as she grins and chuckles at your funny sneezed on face.
The dutiful crazy new mom that I am, I spent the night reading up on colds and symptoms and remedies for a toddler. So far what I've been doing seems to be the best bet. Tylenol if agitated or high high fever. Keep hydrated. Offer lots of chicken soup to soothe the throat. Avoid citrus items that may burn the throat. This could explain why she wasn't keen on her usual favorite, tomato sauce and pasta. According to one of the articles I read the typical cycle of a cold in a toddler is 3:3:3. 3 days of fever and malaise. 3 days of congestion and sore throat due to the nasal secretions running down their throats. 3 days of dry up (humidifiers are a good bet during this time).
I guess this means she's par for course. Of course, I can't just say this to my husband, the man who refuses to let me take TG's temperature.
One of TG's playmates, text messaged my husband offering to bring her son over to play even though she's ill. "A cold is par for the course. I don't mind." That's very sweet of her but I'd prefer not to be the Mom passing germs off unnecessarily. I'm not sure what to make of that offer. Honestly, I wouldn't wish this on any Mom and it's just a cold."