M: Mommy Instinct

This is a part of my ABCs of (my) Parenting series.

There's something inside of all of us moms that tells us exactly what we need to know. We just need to trust it. Our instincts are there and know how to be a great mom! I decided to stop tuning mine out yesterday and went ahead and made an appointment to take Jeffrey to the pediatrician. He hasn't had a fever and hasn't been fussy at all. He's actually still sleeping better than he used to. The only thing that concerned me? He just kept pulling and holding onto his ears- very out of character for him. I decided that I would just go and suck up the co-pay and embarrassment if it turned out to be nothing or just teething. I needed to trust my gut, though. My gut? It was right. Poor little Jeffrey has his first illness of his life: an ear infection. It's not horrible, but it's enough to do something about. He's now on amoxycillin (which he's doing great with, thankfully), and we have some ear drops to help with pain as needed. After 10 days, he should hopefully be doing great! Just in time for his birthday party! We decided to just do the follow up at his 12 month appointment on the 22nd. I'll just keep an eye on him if things don't seem to be better after the 10 days. I have a feeling he'll do great, though. He's a trooper.

We almost made it to a year without a sick visit to the pediatrician or an illness (besides his clogged tear duct when he was a newborn)! We're very lucky to have such a healthy child, especially one that doesn't even act sick when he IS sick. It definitely taught me that I do know what I'm doing, that I know my child, and that I should always trust my mommy instinct.