It was not so long ago that I wrote all about my experience and evolution as a mother, and how I have learned so much in just four and a half years.
I wrote, with confidence, about my expertise, and how I no longer have crazy frantic calls to the pediatrician or rushed emergency visits because I am now cool, calm, collected
and wise. Oh so wise.
But today, something strange happened;
My mom watched the baby all day while I was at work. When I got home midday she alerted me to a bright red splotch on his mid-section.
I’m way too seasoned now to worry about every little bump and rash, but this was unusual. It was big and it was bright red and had not faded all day.
It gave me a bit of anxiety,which is shocking, I know.
I waited a few hours to let it fade but when our babysitter came over to hang, she who is a nurse, mind you, and said it looked funky, we decided that a call to the Pediatrician was in order.
The nurse on cal was worried about a systemic reaction. She advised topical cortisone and a small dose of Benadryl. She would call back in an hour to check on him, as it was definitely a strange sounding rash.
Because medicine had become involved, I decided to finally call my husband to alert him of the situation.
I told him what was going on, our plan of action, and just as I was about to spoon some anti-histamine into my son’s mouth, he stopped me.
“It’s water ice,” he said.
“What?”
“Yes. I meant to tell you. It’s from the cherry water ice last night. It wouldn’t come off of his skin.”
And low and behold, I went upstairs into his hamper and took out the onesie that he had worn during dessert when my best friend came by to drop my kids a special treat of water ice for dessert and there was a huge red splotch, in the exact same spot on his abdomen where we found his “rash”.
So I had to call back and speak to the nurse once more.
She could not stop laughing. She was literally laughing so hard that she was unable to speak.
I guess it’s a good day when you can make a kind nurse laugh,
when a scary rash turns into a water ice stain
and, most of all, you can go back to being a cool parent after all,
one who lets her eight month old eat things that are bright red and filled with dye and sugar. Because that’s what really counts after all.