I am a Mom!

When Owen woke up yesterday morning, he was a little fussy.  He wanted his Mama and only his Mama, which is unusual for him.  He usually wants to see Justin in the morning, since he knows he is leaving, but yesterday, he wanted me. We had plans to go to Books and Blooms, which is a program at the UT Gardens.  We had never been before and I was really excited about going.  I briefly mentioned books, songs and coloring, but tried to entice Owen by really playing up the sprinklers part of the morning.  Although he was still really fussy, he acted excited about going and kept saying, "play sprinklers"...or something that sounded a lot like that.  He wanted to be held the whole time I was getting ready, which I thought was odd, but we went anyway.  He cried when we got in the car, and then slept the whole way there.  He acted fine while we were there, though.  He heard a train while we were walking to the gardens, so that's all he was concerned about.  He did not want any part of singing "Old MacDonald Had a Farm".  When the lady would name a new animal and ask the kids what the animal said, Owen would respond, "Choo Choo!"  He didn't want any part of the sprinklers either.  He just wanted to be held.  He cried all through our picnic and our walk back to the car.  He cried until he fell asleep and then slept the whole way home.  When I was getting him out of the car, I noticed he was really hot.  I took his temperature and it was 102.  He was sweating, crying and saying, "Mama hold!" and I was trying to give him Tylenol.  Then he threw up all over both of us.  It was the first time in his little life he has ever gotten sick and he was really scared.  He kept looking at the throw up all over both of us and then looking at me and crying.  He didn't know what was going on and he just wanted me to hold him.  So I stood there covered in throw up, holding my crying, sweating also covered in throw up little boy, and I felt like crying, too.  As I stood there I realized...wow...I am a Mom.  It was a messy, stinky Mommy moment...but I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.  That's what being a Mom is all about.  It's about being there for your baby during the fun times and the stinky times.  It's about holding him when he needs to be held...no matter how messy he is.

Here is a picture of my sweet patient the next day, once the Tylenol started working and he felt like sitting in his own chair...