We had some plans with a few sets of friends to meet up for a late lunch.  Husbands, wives, babies, in a place that is nice but open so the little ones could crawl around a bit.  Things got pushed later and later because one of the little ones had a fever.  Upon seeing him, you could tell he was not feeling “tip top,” and we are convinced that it is teething, not sickness, but it leads to a good question.

There is a trend with babies of this age (around 10 months) where the moms we know are always saying their babies are sick.  I mean A-L-W-A-Y-S.  Like, “oh, how is X?”  answer, “he’s been sick, so he has not been out of the house for a few weeks.”  Now, here’s the deal.  1) If a baby is sick that often, maybe you need to re-define your definition of the word “sick.”  2)  If your baby really is sick, why is he so sick, so often?  3)  Is the baby really sick, or is it teething, a growth spurt, separation anxiety, something else, or all of them combined?

I guess it kind of depends on your outlook on what the word “sick” means, and how you think you should handle being sick.  Basically we do not necessarily believe that if you are not feeling 100% that you should stay inside locked up.  On the other hand you need to be responsible if you are going out not feeling 100%, and keep your distance from other people, wash your hands a lot, and so on, so you do not get others sick.  My wife is of the same philosophy – basically, you do not need to be on full quarantine immediately if you are not 100%.  We are humans, not robots, and after all, those 100% days might not be as often as we think.

So now with the little guy, I think this philosophy is showing thru in how we are raising him.  He is currently either teething or having a cold (same symptoms), so we have warned the friends we have that he is like he is, and we are not going to the play rooms (in case he is sick), but we are still leaving the house with him and keeping an extra eye on him.  Maybe we do not go out for as long, but we still go.  As long as he is able to get the rest he needs, and has the right things (food, water, not too much heat), we keep on moving forward and live life accordingly.  After all, you can’t put him (and us) in a bubble, right?