Murray seems to be healing nicely. The Pepcid and prescription “belly coater” he was given seems to be working wonders for his appetite. The vomiting has stopped entirely. Things are good in Murrayville. (Thank goodness.) But we’re not in the clear just yet. After his belly heals, we have to then take him back to the doctor and put him on a lifelong diet, which won’t be fun because this little man loves to eat. But he’ll most likely have belly issues for his entire life.
Em has been sick as well. And today I finally decided (after two weeks and three nights of little to no sleep) that it was time to take him to the doctor. My guess has been that he has a common cold, but what if I turned out to be wrong and he was actually suffering from something worse? I would never forgive myself and we all know that motherhood is fueled by guilt—love is a given—it’s the guilt part that we don’t often talk about because admitting we do something out of guilt makes us feel guilty because, well, doing something out of guilt is actually selfish, right? And being selfish makes you a bad mother.
(I’m sorry, have I gone off topic? This is what happens when someone is sleep deprived, guilty and unable to stop her child from coughing long enough so he can get a good night’s rest. It’s also what happens when someone is rundown. While level crazy may be high today, I reckon I’ll be back to a relative normal tomorrow.)
Where was I?
Today I took Emory in for a sick visit to the doctor. But not before having a major breakthrough where crazy is concerned. I’m so sleep deprived, I actually considered taking Murray along with us. Why? Because Emory kept him company last week, so Murray would naturally want to return the favor, right? I mean, that’s what brothers do, right? They make their siblings feel better when they’re down or sick. I had the cat carrier in my hand when I realized how completely and totally insane I was being. Who brings a cat to a pediatrician’s office? Apparently, I’m a few steps away from becoming that person and I’m not even sure that person exists yet, I’m not sure that person has yet been defined. But leave it to me to define that person.
Anyway, I talked myself away from entering crazyville and went to the pediatrician without our shaved cat.
The doctor confirmed my thoughts: Emory has a cold and a nasty cough to go along with it. Other than slathering a vapor rub on his feet, chest and tummy, there’s nothing much I can do for him. So I packed everything back into the car and we headed home.
That’s when something spectacular took place.
The second I removed Emory’s jacket, and the moment we walked through the door, he toddled over to the armchair where Murray napped and climbed up next to him. And he spoke clearly, concisely and with syllables (not the English variety, mind you) and told Murray everything he had missed.
Naturally, I ran for the camera. (I so wish I had audio too!)
I hope our pediatrician is open to the idea of welcoming pets as binkies.
And brothers.
I think you might be closely related to my mother. I LOVE that you seriously thought about bringing Murray! I also love that the child has about 2 inches of space on that chair while the cat is unabashedly taking up the rest. Pets are cool.
So glad Murray is feeling better.
Dude, you totally made me cry.
Get well soon, both of you little sweeties.
I think it’s adorable that you wanted to bring Murray along to Em’s pediatrician appointment! It has nothing to do with being crazy or sleep-deprived, but everything to do with your (correct) perception that Murray is like a brother to Emory! And how incredibly cute that Em had to fill him in on all the details.
Does your pediatrician believe in misters/steamers/room humidifiers? That might help break up Emory’s cough at night…
She did suggest we use one! But not to go out and buy one if we don’t have one already. I am torn because living in a building like ours, with radiator heat, one does tend to get dried up. Perhaps we’ll invest in one.
Poor booger is knackered. He went down almost three hours ago and is still sleeping. I wish I had known he’d take such a long nap, I”d have joined him. :] Murray too.
a duane reade opened below my office. should i buy one? you have one hour to tell me. GO.
No. Grab motrin and tylenol and sushi.
I’ve suffered from some crazy sleep deprivation in the past year. At one point I think I yelled at my husband (sweet, sweet man that he is) for sleeping. The gall, right? Anyhoodle, much better now.
My 13 mo. old, Diego, has had the SAME SICK! Over a week of coughing and now it’s only at night. The humidifier has helped a lot, so I would look into a cheapo one. Ours is a penguin from Target. Diego loves it.
And, like Em, Diego loves our kitty, Eva. But his love is more of the “Come here and let me hug and smooosh you!” variety. It’s just squishes my heart to hear how Em and Murray are so close!
Get better soon!
I’m actually crying up here! I remember when Evan was sick when he was younger and feeling so helpless. I hated seeing and hearing the poor guy suffer and felt really guilty that I couldn’t do anything.
I love Emory and Murray’s relationship.
I’ll go wipe my eyes now…
The health visitor here told us once when Ryan had a nasty cough that if we had radiator heaters throughout we could stick a huge bowl/vase of water near the radiator.
We don’t have radiators around our house so I don’t know how it works, but it’s worth a shot before jumping out and buying something.
I always just sat in the bathroom with Ryan while the shower ran on full heat. It steamed the place up and seemed to make him feel better for a little while at least.
Hey there, just had to comment on Emory’s cold. I second (third?) the motion about a humidifier. It really helped my son.
If he uses a pillow, you could also try propping his head up a bit. Or, if he is not using a pillow and you are a bit freaked out by the thought, you can put a pillow or a rolled up towel under the head end of the crib mattress just so his head is slightly elevated, it helped my son sometimes.
It is very hard to watch him get no sleep and get no better. You did the right thing to take him to the doctor in my opinion.
Hope he gets better soon.
I am doubled over laughing out loud at you, carrier in hand, about to bring shaved cat to the pediatrician. As is often the case with utter madness, your logic was flawless.
The relationship between Em and Murray is magical.