Let the baby speak to you…

It’s very sad when your little one is ill. You get distracted and grumpy not because you want to, it has to do with channelling all those emotions that might be blocked up inside. Bear in mind that you also have to carry the pressure of holding the fort, and making sure everything and everyone is put together. Mommy cannot fall apart unless it’s when she is alone and the cute little face(s) are shielded from seeing their superhero equally being scared. I think the Mama Bear character kicks in quickly! Ready to knock out anyone who dares to hurt the little cub…

If you forget or neglect to buy anything for your tiny human let it not be a thermometer. Having a Thermometer is very important. I am sure we all know how quickly babies ‘ illnesses could go South, so early detection is always safe. The best thing you can do for yourself is to make sure you have it close by at all times.

Our main role as parents to these tiny humans is to advocate for them and be their voices because they obviously cannot say what they are experiencing at any time. We need to listen when they speak to us. And by listen I mean observe your baby’s behaviour, their moods, the energy they have or don’t have, observe them when they move around playing. What I mean is that you should be alert and always paying attention to them.

A while back I had noticed that AriBear kept tugging at her ear, so at first, I dismissed it as “a tell”, for being sleepy. Her tugging persisted for some time and always on the one ear…I took my phone flashlight got Hubby to hold it for me while I took a look into AriBears ear, needless to say, I found nothing because I had no idea what I was looking for…I am not a doctor just a very worried Mama Bear! I went on to convince Hubby that AriBear had an ear infection (of course he gave me a weird look, loaded with are you a doctor now question). Weeks passed and then she had a smelly breath which was scary for a 15-month old baby – here’s an article on Baby’s Smelly Breath. It got worse when she started burning up to 38.4 Degrees – which is bad, anything that is below 37 degrees can still pass as normal but not less than 36 degrees.

So I had to bring down the temperature, how you ask??? Well, this is not carved in stone, but I undressed her till she was left with her vest and then checked if there was a difference after 5 minutes, which there wasn’t so I put her in a lukewarm bath (alternatively you could just dab the child with a lukewarm cloth). Gave her: Calpol you can use Panado, or a Suppository, the temperature should come down if not then take the baby to the doctor.

As a Mom you get that feeling inside you, call it instinct or a gut feeling but you just know when your baby is not well. So despite AriBear responding and her temperature stabilizing I still felt the need to see a doctor. And to our shock, the little miss had swollen tonsillitis and a bad ear infection. These are very uncomfortable for us as adults imagine a small baby, this explained the constant crying.

Listen to your tiny human, let them tell you what they need and just pay attention to them. I almost dismissed my instincts but turned out I was right she was being troubled by her ear. And the smelly breath, definitely tonsillitis.

Ari’s Mommy