Mommy Freak-outs!!

I'm assuming that most mommies have had what I call mommy freak-outs once or twice over the course of their child's life. If you are a new mommy and have yet to experience one, I'm sure there will be one in your very near future. They are inevitable.

A mommy freak-out is a very brief, very irrational period of time when, in that moment, you are convinced that something is seriously wrong with your precious child, therefore your maternal instincts kick into overdrive. These mommy freak-outs typically occur after an injury or accident and are usually short lived while you attempt to regain your brain's rationality. I can only think of a couple times I've had a mommy freak-out and last night was one of them.

On Monday afternoon, Josie started not feeling well...she was clingy, running a temperature and just overall sensitive. After a rough night I took her to the pediatrician just as a safety precaution, but by the time we got there, Josie was happy, laughing and her temp was down to 99. They swabbed her for a rapid flu test which came back negative...yes, thank you God! The doctor told me it was probably just a virus, to go home, keep her comfortable, but that there was a good chance her fever may come back. Nah, I thought, she seems so much better...I'm sure she's on the mend and in fact, I'm sure she'll be at daycare tomorrow and I'll be back to work! Yea right!

She went to bed a little early, but I knew she had to be exhausted---I didn't think I'd hear from her again till morning. Around 9:30 I heard her fussing and knowing that she hasn't been feeling well, I went right up to check on her. I picked her up out of her crib and she was totally limp and scorching hot. I'm still not in freak-out mode though. So I bring her downstairs, strip off her clothing and grab a cold rag for her head...i better take her temp. Well, I could tell by the heat radiating off of her that her temperature was high, but I was thinking 102ish. As soon as I inserted the thermometer...and I mean like within 3 seconds, the digital reading spiked to over 105. Here...comes....the...MOMMY FREAK-OUT!!!!! It was like I had dipped the thermometer into a pot of boiling water. And this was a cheapo Walgreens digital thermometer which usually takes a good 3-4 minutes as it slowly climbs before it beeps with the correct reading. I didn't even wait for the correct reading, maybe I didn't want to know....if it hit 105 in 3 seconds, what was her temperature really??

So the mommy freak-out came on full force....like an adrenaline jolt to my system. Again, these freak-outs don't last long...maybe less than one minute. But it's a physical reaction that occurs while you get your thoughts together and rationalize what you should do next. I immediately pulled the thermometer out and my heart started pounding. I looked down at her for a good 5 seconds somewhat paralyzed...her eyes were like slits and she didn't even have the strength to cry...just moans. OMG, my baby is going to have a seizure, she's got meningits...her temp must really be over 106, ...do i go to the ER?, omg...i've got to go get Anna ready to go to the ER and call D.J. to tell him to get in the car and come home ASAP. I can't do this alone....Wait, or do I even have time, should I just call 911? ok, I've got to call someone....anyone!!!! I picked her up and did a quick pace in the bedroom from one side to the next and back again before my freak-out started to subside.

Wait, hold the phone. Here comes my rationalizing brain...which, but the way does not take long to take over. Surprisingly, after the initial shock of a stressful situation, I handle them pretty calmly. And thank God my niece and nephew have both had temperatures this high because Anna never has---so I began rationalizing....this high temperature is OK for a small child, Ellie and Cole have had them several times...also she saw the doctor this morning who warned us that her temperature may spike again...she was neg for the flu and no indication of anything bacterial...she's 10 months already and healthy. So, now I'm feeling much better and I'm totally clear on what I need to do....I pick up the phone and page the pediatrician. In the meantime, while waiting to hear back, I called my sister who assured me that all would be ok.

Within an hour, after disrobing, cold washcloths and a dose of baby ibuprofen her temp had come down to 102.5 and she was happy and smiling again. She may have a couple more days of misery ahead of her, but hopefully they'll be free of any more mommy freak-outs.

So, yes, mommies I'm sure you know what I'm talking about!! A mommy freak-out, no fun, but inevitable. :-)