Little Shopper

I haven’t blogged in a few days, because my baby has been sick. Other than an occasional runny nose or little cough or reaction to a shot, this is the first time he has been sick since he was 4 weeks old and had pyloric stenosis, which required life-saving surgery. There is a part of both my husband and I which is afraid that this is somehow going to develop into another life-threatening thing, and that we will again find ourselves in the hospital, but really, I think this is just a normal virus. He has just about fully weaned himself, which means he is no longer getting the anti-bodies from the breast-milk, so it is no wonder this has hit him so hard.

Today I was debating whether to take him to the doctor or continue home treatment. The other day when he first ran a fever, I called an talked to a nurse who gave me some guidelines about when to bring him in. According to the guidelines she gave, it sounds like even if I brought him in, the doctor would just make sure I am doing what I am already doing, and encourage me to continue. I am quite certain that this is the same virus that other people I know have had, and that he is on the upswing, so I decided to go to Wally-World and spend the money I would have spent on a doctor’s visit on a new humidifier and some extra medicine the nurse suggested I try. While we were there, Bug-a-Boo showed me that he was feeling better in a way that made me laugh out loud. Before I tell you what he did, let me preface it with one more thought. My friend Amelia asked for recommendations for books on parenting toddlers on her blog. The comments listed a bunch of books that had helped people, so I have been working on going through some of them too. Maybe another day I’ll blog about some of the things I’ve been learning, but for now one of the many things I have taken away from them is that toddlers understand a lot more than we often give them credit for.

Before Bug-a-Boo was born, my father-in-law gave us the advice to enjoy each stage. I have tried my best to do so. I enjoyed the baby stage where he was so dependant and innocent. I love the newfound independence that has comes with Bug-a-Boo turning into a toddler. I love that he can interact more with us. I have also realized that he is learning to exert his will and I need to be very intentional in my parenting and training him.

So back to Wally-World. I was standing in the infant section looking over the sippy cups, trying to pick out a new one for Bug-a-Boo, when I heard a squeaking noise. As I looked over at him, I just barely caught the end of him putting a new toy into the shopping cart! He had picked up two toys, one of which he was dropping into the shopping cart, and the other of which he was squeaking. Perhaps I shouldn’t have, but I laughed out loud! I put back the squeaking rubber ducky, then the peek-a-boo blocks which he had dropped in the shopping cart, while explaining to him that he already had similar toys at home. He was kind-of-okay with me putting back the ducky, but when I put back the blocks he started fussing. Has he already figured out that what goes in the cart goes home with us? Was he really trying to sneak a new toy in. My word! At 14 months! I decided that this is definitely a sign that he was feeling better, at least a little, and that I better continue that intentional parenting.