A Sick Lilttle Babe

I hear the words 'welcome to parenthood' go through my mind a lot these days. Every time I think I'm smooth sailing, something inevitably comes along that makes me remember that I am so amateur! HA!

So the ol'boss lady was coming into town so that we could go visit clients together. She isn't actually who I report to anymore and we never get to tag team like we used to, so I was really looking forward to going into clients together - the dynamic duo. Lisa got in yesterday and I was so excited! She called to let me know she would be over by 8pm. No sooner did she call that MP came home with a very sick Ireland.

Poor Little Babe was coughing and kinda wheezing and just really didn't sound like herself at all. She was even kind of moaning. Oh, what this does to my heart. It's just a little too much. It seems that I only ever call my doctor after hours. So, once I again I called his answering service. His nurse called back and after talking to the doctor it was determined we needed to go to urgent care.

Urgent care, while I am glad that I went, turned out to be a great waste of $75. Thankfully, Ireland doesn't have a bacterial infection, but she does have a lot of congestion and a cold. She is sneezing, coughing deep from the chest and the little midget is in so much pain. She just kinda moans and whimpers.

So, last night, MP ran out to Walmart to get Ireland a humidifier. We got that set-up in her room with a little pedi-vapors plug in. She was all set. She slept fairly well, but by 5:30am, it was apparent that she wouldn't be making it to daycare, just too sick. I couldn't send her - I couldn't let the other kids near her and I couldn't let her go there and not be consoled by her loved ones.

So, long story short, I had to cancel my afternoon meeting, Lisa flew home early and I didn't get to work all afternoon. While that sucks, and I'm going to go answer work emails now, tonight, it was so worth it. My poor little babe only wanted to be held by me. So, we took to camping in my bed. I got her all swaddled and we snuggled up. She slept for a few hours and by about 5:30 seemed to be doing better. We ate carrots, played and had a good bath time. I got to nurse a lot today instead of pumping. So, even though my day was turned upside down - as parenthood must allow for - it wasn't so bad getting to take care of the sweetest little babe I know.

6.5 Months

Where does 6.5 months go? How is it possible that I just put to sleep a 6.5 month old baby?

This time last year, I was pregnant, in school and just waiting. Anxiously awaiting the arrival of Miss Ireland. Now, I find myself in full mother mode. It's all too much for me to take in sometimes.

Sometimes, I want and need time to slow down. I CONSTANTLY look at pictures of Ireland at birth, a week old, 2 weeks old, 2 months old, etc. My dad always laughs that I have too many pictures of Ireland, but I don't. Because I have almost a picture a day for the first 6 months and I can see the growth day to day, but I can't believe the growth. The pictures help remember.

I look at Ireland and I'm still in awe. How did we create such a magnificent and beautiful daughter? What did I do in life to get a baby that is so happy and smiles from ear to ear every day? How is it that she has been holding her own bottle for months? How is she crawling?

I look and Ireland and I wonder what she thinking. She is smart. She seems to always be thinking, calculating, and learning. Yet, she's so playful and just sits or crawls around saying 'lalalala' or 'dadada' in the sweetest little voice I ever did hear.

The days seem to short and they go too fast. I JUST put her to sleep, and I miss her already.