Sick Baby Snuggles

Raising kids is HARD!  We all know that.  Watching your child sick or in pain is even harder.  Last month my fourteen-month-old daughter, Ella, became dehydrated after getting a stomach virus.  A trip to the pediatrician determined that she needed IV fluids to keep her hydrated and out of the hospital.  This wasn’t Ella’s first adventure with IV fluids.  A year ago when she was ten weeks old she was hospitalized for four days to be hooked up to an IV.  Apparently she likes to get poked with needles every August!

As an avid babywearer I rarely carry anything besides a wrap with me when we go out.  We don’t use strollers often.  I think my kids should be exhausted at the end of an outing and when they ride in a stroller they aren’t!  My kids are old enough that the diaper bag stays in the van and we return to it as necessary.  So, I’m standing in the pediatrician’s office with my toddler and Ella thinking, “Wait, I have to carry this bag of IV stuff with me everywhere?  How am I supposed to wrap her on my back?!”  

We pretty much exclusively back wrap and the thought of not doing that while she was sick crushed me.  Then it dawned on me, there are other carriers I can use and front wrapping is not a crime.  Sheesh.  I laughed at myself and the nurse looked at me as if I was crazy.  (I might be.)

We hoofed it out of the ped’s office and over to the IV office.  I grabbed my trusty ring sling that was miraculously in my van and held Ella for an hour as they tried to find a vein.  Eventually she was taped up and ready to go home.  The ring sling was great because her arm rested over the top and the IV tubing never got twisted, kinked, or otherwise knotted.

Eventually the ring sling was too covered in sick baby goo to continue its usefulness.  I resorted to my husband’s Ergo Performance since he was out of town and not using it.  Ella enjoyed the Ergo since she didn’t have to support her weight at all.  She sunk into my chest, pulled her IV arm in and quickly fell asleep.

Not long after her nap, Ella worked her magical sick powers on the Ergo and we switched to wrapping.  A front wrap cross carry tied under her cute little bum worked for an hour or so until she covered that wrap with goo.  Thankfully we own many wraps.

The moral of this story for me is that I need to be more flexible with my wearing preferences.  Yes, I prefer to back wrap but it wasn’t practical for me this week.  Wearing Ella helped her feel my love and warmth while she was ill.  It helped me pay attention to my toddler instead of putting her in front of the TV for three days.  And, hey, everything is getting washed for the first time in who knows how long so now my carriers are all pretty and fluffy again.

Ella is all better from her virus and is back to climbing too high and eating all the chicken she can find.  Please don’t judge all the bathroom pictures too harshly.  My husband was at training while Ella was ill and mirror pictures are better than sideways “selfies”!