And What Do You Do About The Kid

who is suddenly too sick to go to church
but has shown no sign of illness all morning?

Tell him he's fine and send him anyway?
Trust his own judgement?

Call Daddy and say, on second thought, he can be the one to stay home with the hypochondriac kids (now that a majority of them are here) and I'll go to church, instead?

Why Do Kids Always Seem To Recover Right After...

...You Tell Them They're Too Sick To Go To Church/School?

And then I find myself in the ridiculous predicament of,

"Well if you're not going to act sick,
you'd better go to school/church, after all."

I'm creating Ferris Buellers.

How Can I Possibly Have a Fever on Day 6 of Antibiotics?

I woke up yesterday with a fever of 100.2.

I took Motrin and Tylenol all day long.

I went to bed with a fever of 102.6.

And now it is 103.5.

I am so mad.

And sad.

And hot.

And cold.

Why Does Nursing Matter To Me So Much?

Naomi was nursed and had formula every day because I was working full-time.

Eliza never nursed once in her life.

Chas never had a taste of a bottle until he was seven months old and I was in the hospital for the second time and I weaned him cold-turkey.

They all turned out bonded to their mother, physically healthy, emotionally secure, and we still have enough money to put food on the table.

So as I enter back into the throes of recurrent mastitis I'm wondering why it feels like it matters so much to me to nurse him.

He seems so little. He's not yet three weeks old. It feels like my breast-milk might protect him from the big, bad world out there. And maybe it will fill his blood with super-duper antibodies, but what I actually want to protect him from (abuse and evil and drugs and bad teenage friends...) Well, nursing doesn't create a shield for those things.

There are breast-feeding die-hards around here. They're shocked when you use the word "formula." I tend to roll my eyes at this attitude. Millions of babies have turned out just fine and were only ever bottle-fed.

Maybe it's the expense? I didn't love the cost of formula, or the midnight store-runs when I realized we were out.

The hassle of bottles? They are a hassle, but then so is a fever of 103.

I do believe that the regular-old-way, in most cases, is the best way. I don't get caught up in new diet fads. I don't buy protein bars or protein powder. I just deliver babies without drugs whenever they want to come. When my kids are sick, I wait and see, and it usually all works out. I believe in leaving well enough alone whenever possible.

Maybe that's it. I just want to feed him the regular-old-way.

Or maybe I don't want to patter across to the kitchen at 2 am to make a bottle.

Or maybe I am one of those mothers who seem to love breast-feeding for themselves more than for their baby's sake and will nurse until the baby is eating steak for dinner and taking piano lessons.

Or maybe I don't want to admit that Mastitis can win. I don't want to be beat.