Momma Bear Instincts

Instincts.noun 1. an innate, typically fixed pattern of behavior in animals in response to certain stimuli. Ex "birds have an instinct to build nests"

I got a taste of my instincts this afternoon when I picked my daughter up from my In-laws because

my Little Miss wasn't feel too great. My husband called and told me that my father law said she was crying for a spell and had a small fever, but it went away. Okay, I thought. No biggie there. Perhaps she's cutting a back molar, gassy, or just in a mood. When I got there my mom in law was there fussing over Little Miss' right eye because there was an icky discharge. Oh Snap!  Que mommy adrenaline rush.

My first thought was pink eye or some infection along those lines. Well, there's nothing I can do at this point except take her home and try and get ahold of the on call nurse through the pediatrician's office because it's late Friday afternoon and they are closed! Just my luck.

We get home and I take her temperature again and she still does not have a fever. Good sign. So, I then preceded to call the ped's office and get a chance to talk to someone. In the meantime Miss is playing, lightly snacking, and watching TV. I explain to the nurse the situation and she tells me I should see a doctor within 24 hrs. I can go to after hours urgent care or go my our regular doctor during Saturday hours tomorrow. Of course, I'm told that if she spikes a fever or becomes irritable and uncomfortable to call back. Let the internal freak out and anxiety begin.

"So what do we do? So what do we do" keeps running through my mind. There are no pediatric after hours facilities near us, this is not an ER worthy visit, and tomorrow seems miles and miles away.

The most logical thing for us to do is wait, hope she doesn't get worse and go from there. I mean, this is just an eye infection and I feel like my world has stopped. I just want to protect her from all discomforts, problems, boo-boos, and icky eye goobies. My "momma bear" instincts want to fix this, but my hands are tied. So, I pray and ask my prayer warrior friends to do the same for Little Miss.

It's true what they say about parenting---it's like have your heart outside of your body. She is my world and my world stops for her. To make matters more interesting, these little hiccups make for lovely little parental frustrations between mommy and daddy.

Fast forward to Saturday morning and the hubs takes her to the doctor. Little Miss does have pink eye (I have no idea where she got it or how) and we get a prescription eye drops. I do my inner hallelujah for diagnosis and medicine.

Her spirits  remain good, but she's not as interested in eating any food at the present. She kind of picks here and there. Maybe because she is not feeling well?

So where do we go from here? Well, I am going to spend my weekend sanitizing, cleaning sheets, toys and furniture and washing my hands like I have germ driven OCD . Chalk this one up to a another life experience in the mommy column.

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