Month 8: Sick & Loving It

That pesky little ER incident from last month (and the last posting) revealed a virus that didn't exactly stay in San Diego. While the hospital treatments did help for that week, Daniel's persistent "flu" didn't get any better. In fact, 3 and a half weeks later, it was worse: constant coughing, green sinus stuff, and a general feeling that he was just not himself. We finally took him in, and they prescribed an antibiotic for a sinus infection, and lots of rest and fluids.

Four days into the antibiotics and things took a turn for the worse - suddenly he was burning up, and the fever got worse throughout the night, spiking at 103.8, and tapering off over the next few days (during which he decided it would be fun to reject all food and drink. Our best guess is that it was a really sore throat, so it hurt to swallow. So he didn't - and the amount of drool was insane).

Let all that (kind of boring) information serve as the foundation for my main point: I love it when Daniel is sick.

Don't get me wrong - it's tough to watch him suffer, and I just want to "fix it" when anything is wrong. I'll probably be that mom who bullies the bully who picks on my son. But when Daniel doesn't feel 100%, a whole new side of him comes out: an affectionate, cuddly side. He's a very physical kid normally, but isn't usually prone to sitting still in laps, giving long hugs, or cuddling for extended periods of time.

Sick Daniel is a whole other animal. The night his fever spiked, Daniel slept in bed with me. We decided before he was born that he'd only sleep in his own room, and so far he has. (And for the record, I completely believe that it has helped him sleep through the night from early on). But a piece of me has always wanted him curled up next to me every night, even knowing I wouldn't sleep a wink.

That night, he was just so miserable, and burning up from the fever, I just couldn't bear for him to be in a different room. So we laid down for a quick nap in the bed, and just stayed there. He was cuddly, and sweet. He put his little forehead on mine, and slowly babbled himself to sleep. Some of my all-time favorite Daniel memories happened that night, and I uncovered a deeply maternal, nurturing piece of me that hadn't surfaced up until that point. (And wonderful Fernando slept on the couch, leaving room for a giant body pillow that prevented Daniel from rolling off the side of the bed :).

Daniel is feeling better, which is great, and some of that affection stuck around. He's giving longer hugs (and at this point, his version of a hug is flopping over on your shoulder while you hug HIM!) and he's more insistent on being physically close to us. Crawling into the kitchen (on our un-mopped floors) while we're cooking, or following our voices into another room.

He's also back in his own crib, which I know is the healthiest decision for all of us. But the next time he wakes up with a bad fever, I'll probably convert to attachment-style parenting... but just for the night. :)