February 15, 2008

Home Remedies ...

Some days you wake up walking on sunshine, while other days you wake up fit to be tied. And some days you wake up with your child's snot crusted to your face.

A number of weeks ago, Ella came down with a cold—the first cold of her life. It was endearing in so many ways. She had a cute little cough, teeny tiny eye boogers and a small drip running from her nose. Her sneezes were as soft as her cheeks, and when you tried to wipe the remnants away she'd wiggle like a bobblehead. And, throughout it all, she never once stopped smiling.

Then early one morning, after letting her sleep on my chest, I woke up and noticed her entire face was covered in snot. Worse yet, so was mine. And like any logical, well-educated dad would do, I handed her off to her mother and tried to keep the calm by uttering this combination of words:

"Oh my God, what's wrong with her? Infection? Pneumonia? It's West Nile, isn't it!?!"

"Calm down," said my wife. "It's just the congestion escaping from her… What are you doing?"

"Seven, Six, two … Wait, what's our doctor's number again?"

Brittany gracefully took the phone out of my hands and shoved the receiver where receivers shouldn't be shoved. And it hurt. She then calmly explained why the doctor wouldn't appreciate a call at 5:30 in the morning over the sniffles. If it got worse, she said, we'd call and schedule an appointment during business hours. Until then, we'll try all the home remedies that we know.

I hate it when she makes sense.

So we tried each home remedy to help our suffering babe feel better. We sat her in the bathroom with the hot shower running. We laid her in an upright position when she napped. We even put on back-to-back-to-back reruns of "Saved by the Bell" (always made me feel better when I was sick). Unfortunately none of those seemed to work, so we scheduled an appointment with the doc.

Turned out she not only had a cold, but was also suffering from a double ear infection, which I'm told is about as painful as an angry wife on Valentine's Day. To get Ella back on the healthy horse, the doctor prescribed medicine, rest and more "Saved by the Bell" (who knew?). He also told us that it's very common for children under the age of one to get colds and earaches throughout the winter, and we should be thankful our kid takes it in stride with a grin. And we are thankful.

Meeting with the doctor helped calm my nerves a bit. I still plan to overreact to all future sicknesses, but I plan to overreact in smaller doses. It's just what parents do. I've forgiven my folks. You've probably forgiven yours. Hopefully Ella will be able to forgive me as she grows up. If she's like her father, she certainly will.

But if she's like her mother, I'm going to have to remove all phones from the house.

The Life of Dad is updated every other Friday (barring the call of family duties). Thanks for stopping by and following my attempts to be a good dad, husband and co-ed softball player. I hope you visit again. -- Brian

7 comments:

Tom said...

You missed the boat BK, I know why Ella needed the doc. If you would have put in "Saved by the Bell: The College Years" you'd have been set.

It is a little known medical fact that the older Zack and Screech get the more potent their healing powers get. An episode of the grade school SBTB will get rid of minor aches. SBTB High School is ok for the common cold, and helpful for the Stomach Flu. However, SBTB: The College Years, has been known to put cancer into remission and, if current research turns true, might be the only known cure for the ebola virus.

GO BIG BK, GO BIG

Wise One said...

I'm never using your phone again...

tessa said...

You crack me up! Thanks for the Friday afternoon laugh.

ShannanB said...

ear infections are awful. The boys both had several and I could never figure out what I was doing wrong. Turns out, kids just get ear infections!

Bummer about the boogers on your face. If it makes you feel better, my oldest once sneezed on an entire pie, only to tell me after I took a bite!

sarah said...

I hope Ella if feeling better--and that you got a shower before the doctor's visit!

Laurie // 312 Beauty said...

Awww, she is so smiley. I love seeing the new pictures of her, we want more!

mayG said...

hope Ella's better now, our little one is suffering from cold and ear infection too these days..

loved the bit about "I've forgiven my folks. You've probably forgiven yours. Hopefully Ella will be able to forgive me as she grows up.." :D