Yesterday or the day before, I can’t remember now, I came down with something. I was so nauseous, I eventually lost my lunch, and have been going through the sneezing, coughing, asthma, and strangely enough, ringing ears. That’s a new one for me, well, in regards to having the flu, anyway. So I feel terrible, just awful. I got up in the morning today, and it seemed okay. I had breakfast, and about 20 minutes after I knew it was a very bad mistake. I have spent the larger portion of today, curled up on the couch in my dressing gown, holding my poor stomach, fighting to keep down lemonade and dry crackers. Yep, that’s what is has come to.

I am also dreadfully tired all the time, too lethargic to even sit up for long periods of time. I have to lay down regularly lest I feel utterly exhausted. As if that wasn’t enough, last night as I sat there on the couch, my girl cat ran across my lap. Nothing unusual there, but because I moved, she totally freaked out, and clawed my legs. Nothing really unusual there, either, but this time, she managed to slice one of her claws into a vein in my leg, and puncture the other side of the vein. So not only was my leg bleeding, but it was also bleeding into the tissue around it. Now I have red areas where she punctured my skin, and dark blue-black bruise like marks around the red ones. It truly looks horrible, and I am such a baby about that sort of thing. I had a similar incident happen when I had a blood test, once, and the resulting bleed out into the tissue nearly sent my into a panic. Of course, at that time, I didn’t know what it was.

Okay so before I fall asleep again, here’s today’s pattern. It had to be something soft and cozy to snuggle up in, so of course it is going to be a shawl or wrap of some kind. I am going with this one because it would be good for sitting around in, and because of the button you don’t have to keep it on you, it will just stay. Like a bed cape.

Off for naps now.

Since I babysat most of my high school and college life, I was ready when the first baby came along. I didn’t worry about germs or what to feed the baby. I trusted my instinct. He even played in the dirt.

The second baby was just two years behind the first, and the pattern of trusting instincts continued. The two of them had fun finger painting the furniture (outside where they could be hosed off), playing in the rain, and eating most anything they were willing to try.

When the third baby popped into this world, it had been five years since I have been in contact with a diaper.

It dawned on me that many new moms turn to their own mothers or grandmothers for advice and help with a new baby. I know I did. But if I managed to forget most everything I knew in just a few years, how could these people remember what they did and didn’t do thirty or more years after the fact? The truth is that they couldn’t.

If you want to know something about babies, ask someone who is around babies. It is the mommy who has just finished dealing with a teething baby that is going to have the most hints and tips (and sympathy). Everything is changing so fast, the only way to know what is going on is to be in the middle of it.

Even then, the choices are personal for the most part. You can read three different books on the subject of raising babies and you will most likely get three different answers (even if it’s the same author). It is an imperfect science at best. Sometimes you have to ignore all the advice that is being thrown at you and trust your gut.

After a few panic attacks, I settled back in to being a new mom. I resisted the urge to pour through the older boys’ baby books to see what should happen and when. Partly because the books aren’t finished yet, but mostly because I know that they were both different, so this little guy will likely be different as well.

The advice is still coming – solicited or not – and some of it is still listened to. You never know where that perfect “home remedy” might come from – maybe some crazy lady in the grocery line told you to use frozen waffles to help with a teething baby. (That was me by the way) Maybe your mother remembers how sitting in the bathroom with a steaming shower helped sooth your cough when you were a baby. Listen, ingest, then form your own decision.

I’m going back to trusting my instincts when it comes to the new baby.