Lessons from Having a Sick Baby

1. Even though I’m in medical school, I still panic like any other mom.

I think I might panic even more because I know all of the horrible one-in-a-bagillion chance things that can go wrong or that it “could be”. No fun. No fair.

2. School isn’t that important to me.
Don’t get me wrong. It’s a big deal to me, just not compared to my baby girl. I think whenever you have a career AND a family, you will always question in the back of your mind if you’re priorities are truly straight or if you just talk a good talk. Sometimes it’s nice to be reassured that I really will drop everything (the day before a test) to be there for my baby.

3. Baby’s know their bodies better than we think they do.
If you have a baby, you’ve probably been there. They don’t want to eat anything, they won’t drink anything, and they won’t even take any crunchy ice from you. So, like a good mom, I try to make her eat something or at least drink something. Yes, usually it takes persistence. But when it requires force, it is not going to end well. Every time that I have forced her to eat or drink something, she has always thrown up…yep.

4. It’s ok to ask for help.
This will probably be a lesson that I learn over and over and over…
I don’t like pity. I don’t like people to feel bad for me. I also don’t like for anyone to think that I am taking advantage of anything. I especially don’t like for people to think that I’m weak. I was going to just take my test Thursday morning and suck it up and deal with it. Some of my wonderful colleagues encouraged me to e-mail the course coordinator to see if I could postpone the test. I didn’t plan on it. But on my way to my car, I ran into the very person I was trying to avoid e-mailing. He was very understanding and gracious; my test has been moved.
Sometimes, you just have to swallow your pride and realize that asking for help doesn’t mean that you’re weak. It means you are wise and know your limits.

5. Dogs make everything better.
When Abby has a fever she just lays on my chest, staring, and dozing off and on. During our one hour wait in the exam room (yes, really—one hour), she did just that. But there was a picture of dogs on the wall. She would randomly sit up and point “Da-do! Da-do!”. (Translation: Dog.)
When we got home, she still wasn’t feeling well because we hadn’t quite gotten to the Motrin bottle. But once she realized that we were outside, she started pointing across the street where they have dogs that we look at almost every day and saying “Da-do! Da-do! Do!”
I guess no matter how old you are, a furry friend can make you smile.

6. Mom is all you need. Hands down.
She doesn’t care what I’m wearing, whether I sing on key, or if I can entertain her. She just wants my attention and my love. Nothing fancy. Just mom.

7. Jesus will cover your butt.
I can’t say that the computer malfunctioned and that we all got a bonus point in phys today because I wasn’t able to be in the lecture yesterday…but…who knows. God is good.

“Trust the Lord with all your heart and lean not in your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.”
Proverbs 3:5-6