Dr. Mom, MD

In the beginning, I was the ultimate first time mom. Every time Logan sniffled or coughed, I would immediately call my family doctor and freak out thinking Logan was going to die from some unknown illness that he clearly is the only child in the world to have. And 10 times out of 10, I was wrong and Logan was just fine with a case of the common cold. "Hugs and Kisses is the only cure" my very, VERY patient doctor Lois would say, a saint of a woman who didn't mind me calling her at 11pm on a Sunday.

Fast forward to now.

I have now turned into the ultimate second time mom. And with that new title, I have also received the title of "Dr. Mom, MD". The benefits of such a title? A new found sense of peace and calmness when it comes to a sick child. In a way, I kind of feel bad for Aiden BECAUSE I don't freak out every time he has the sniffles. I don't immediately call Lois the moment he coughs or cries too long. I have even waited a few days for a suspected ear infection because I knew he would have a regular check-up with her 4 days from then anyways. Lois couldn't help but share her amusement during that appointment because I had that laid back attitude that all typical second round moms share and that experience of knowing exactly what to do when certain, common illnesses arose. I knew exactly what to do when Aiden had a normal, run of the mill cold several weeks ago and just calmly gave him some Infant Tylenol to help keep any fever at bay, a little bit of Infant Benadryl to help him sleep at night and then went about our day as normal. When I saw the exzema rash developing on his skin, just like Logan's had, all I had to do was mention it to Lois at the regular doctor appointment and get the same cream we gave his older brother. Did I need instructions on how to apply? Not at all because I've been there, done that.

Of course, the problem with children is that no child is alike. And unlike his brother, Aiden actually develops fevers; a symptom I had not actually had to deal with before. Logan has yet to get a full fledged fever of over 100 degrees (knock on wood). Aiden, on the other hand, decided to throw Dr. Mom a curve ball and get a fever of 101.8. A very scary, new thing for me. So I finally caved and called in the master. Ironically, Lois told me to do exactly what I had already been doing. Apparently there is nothing actually scary about a fever as long as its manageable. Who knew? The only scary part about his most recent illness (of which the whole family is still in the process of recovering from) is that along with the fever, came a double ear infection and an amazing ability to gag (and consequently throw up) everytime any sort of medication touched his lips. An extraordinary feat that caused several days of misery and a wild goose chase looking for Tylenol suppositories or as Chris likes to call them, the ass meds. On a side note, apparently these suppositories are not sold anywhere anymore since it took me a trip to 4 different stores to finally find a generic version. But I didn't let this get me down. Aiden and I fought through it and came out better on the other side. And he has been such a trooper through all of his misery. Except for the 4pm witching hour where he turns into a tired, cranky mess, he has continued to be the happy baby we all know and love. And even when he wasn't happy, he was still such an angel to me. And with that, we have survived another illness in this house.

But the one thing I can take out of this whole ordeal is that I AM Dr. Mom, MD. I know when to chill out and remember that Aiden is only 6 months old and that the best thing I can do for him is give him "hugs and kisses" as Lois says. And that I trust my instincts well enough to know when there is a problem and when there is nothing I can do except make them comfortable. And this goes for both children. It doesn't faze me in the least bit when one has explosive diarrhea and the other has explosive vomit. It doesn't faze me to get peed on, pooped on, thrown up on, or any other bodily function-ed on. I just change what I'm wearing to even crappier clothes and venture on with the rest of the day. There is no illness that I cannot conquer.
I am Dr. Mom. Hear me roar.