Monday, August 23, 2010

Bathtime Stress?


It's the beginning of a new work week and Diego is feeling much, much better. Unfortunately, he is not yet 100%. I'd venture to say that he is at least 92% back to normal. After his last appointment on Friday, his regular doctor told me that she was mostly convinced that he has Bronchiolitis, not Asthma. This is good news for me for the following reasons:
1. It's a virus, not a chronic disease like asthma. Although he's still on meds, the effects will eventually dissipate, and he'll be back to full health, unlike asthma which is an on-going concern.
2. For now, people can STOP blaming Qori, my golden retriever for Diego's wheezing. Qori is a very sensitive topic for me, and most non-animal lovers just don't get it, so I won't try to explain.

It was a semi-cold the week that I took off to care for Diego. I kept him nicely bundled up or at least with long sleeves most of the time. When I dropped him off at the baby sitter's this morning, I was ready to ask her to keep him warm with long sleeves and to not bathe him. She often bathes him when he cries a lot, and it calms him down. Unfortunately, my mother told me that she noticed the baby sitter usually has a window open at her house, and we live in a cold area.
This may be TMI but almost the entire week that Diego was sick, I did not bathe him. I was afraid it could lead to pneumonia or something. Additionally, my husband seems to be against bathing the baby. He says that I bathe him too much and that's probably why he got so sick in the first place. Last night I mentioned to him that I was going to bathe, Diego. Even after a WEEK of non-bathing glory, he still felt strongly that I should not bathe him. This turned into a strong disagreement between the two of us. Needless to say, I was going to bathe my son whether or not he liked it. When Diego woke up, he was in a foul mood. I prepared his bath and put him in. He screamed like I hadn't heard in the longest time! I was afraid from his reaction that the water was too hot and I was scalding him, but it was not hot. He screamed the entire bath; he's usually so good at bath time. I was a little upset that Diego was proving my husband right instead of me. After the bath, I was sweating from the stress of bath time. I was relieved that I didn't have to hear an "I-told-you-so" from my husband, though he was probably thinking it.
When I woke up this morning, it turned out to be the most beautiful day. I felt awkward asking the sitter to keep him warm, but living where I live, I know that these beautiful days are an exception rather than the norm.
While I was discussing how the week went with the baby sitter, I dropped my keys. Since I was holding Diego, I decided not to pick them up until I was ready to leave. I continued talking with the sitter, then my sunglasses fell. I guess the sitter saw how frazzled I was, which I usually am in the mornings. Before I left, she said that a stressed mother can also affect the health of a child.
I don't consider myself stressed, just busy which I like to be. Plus, I stay busy during the day, so I can have bonding time in the evening. It's the only thing that makes sense in my master schedule. The baby sitter only sees me in the mornings, my most stressful time. Though she's probably right, sometimes I could use a bubble bath or two. But when I play with my son in the evenings, who needs a bubble bath, really?! Just him :)


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