Muddled Mommy Moments

In the last year I have reflected on many mothering moments and recently there have been two that have simply taken the cake. Lydia had a perpetual runny nose after a week I took her in to the doctor because we had noticed that she was pulling on her ear a bit and didn't want to allow an ear infection to set in. Luckily, the doctor said that her ears were fine, her chest was clear and that more than likely she was just teething. My precious daughter had become a precious nightmare overnight. All in all with her current 7 teeth we had been blessed with no side affects. We didn't have a series of restless nights or agonizing  screams. Matter a fact, each tooth arrived with a delightful gentle surprise and some extra toys in the mouth but nothing that would even be commented on really, in the scope of things. Not until this. Over this past weekend there was no consoling her. I offered her everything that I could think of and she just screamed. I attempted to comfort her, change her, put her down for a nap, feed her, even Tylenol and this child sat next to me on the couch and yelled at the top of her lungs. Just screamed. I looked at her and tried to reason with her. I gave her every cold item I could think of. Eventually I called the child's father who recommended that ibuprofen may be a better decision and could be given to her now. In that time I remember thinking...I got nothing. I have no idea how to help. And while there is that feeling of helplessness, there is also that feeling of why isn't there a 1-800-Help-MOM number that would provide suggestions. Something...just another reminder that there is no manual, my friends and we all do just the very best that we can as parents.

She loves Panera's Mac & Cheese more than anything.

In these high teething days I realized that Lydia really liked cold spoons. I enthusiastically grabbed a couple of them ran them under water and put them in the freezer. Honestly thinking to myself what a brilliant mommy trick. Of course she loves silverware that grown ups use because it is so shiny and mysteriously big in comparison. The ice will feel amazing on her teeth. This clearly is a win-win-win mom moment. A few hours passed and I gave her a spoon. She grabs it with zest and straight into her mouth it goes for a fraction of a second I am delighted with myself. Then I see that her lips are stuck to the spoon. I had Christmas Storied my baby! I immediately dislodged the silver frozen stick from her and ran it under water, again, to melt the ice off. She still liked the spoon.

Enjoying the Just Dance game with her mommy and daddy. (She is much better at it than both of us!)