Diary of a Third Time Dad

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WEEK 47 - JANUARY 2003

Heads up.

I taught the little guy how to crawl out of our bed safely. He'll now crawl to the edge, turn around, and lower himself down feet first.

When he wakes up from a nap, we usually hear him through the monitor (as he chews on it) and we get him before he crawls out of bed. But today, the little sneaky guy silently woke up, crawled out of bed and across the floor before Cheryl heard him through the monitor. When she ran up to the room she bonked him in the head as she opened the bedroom door.

He hasn't crawled out of bed since.

My baby just looks sick.

When I can't figure out what's wrong with a particular baby in the office, I'll usually ask the mom. Often they give me enough clues to figure things out. But sometimes, a mom will just say to me, "I don't know what's wrong, he just looks sick".

Well, that's no help. I mean, sometimes they are right, the baby really does look sick. But many times the baby is sitting there smiling and laughing, and I really can't imagine what the mom sees as "sick looking".

Well, since Joshua has been healthy for the most part, I haven't really learned what his "sick look" is, until this week. The little guy got a fever for a few days, whined and fussed, and wouldn't be put down. On day four the fever left, and he became rashy boy. He had Roseola.

Well, I didn't really know what was wrong with him until the rash appeared. But I did learn one thing about him. He has a really obvious "sick look" that no pediatrician could miss.

Couch potato.

So this morning I find Cheryl sitting on the couch with sick Joshua. She says, "This will be my day. I can't lay him down. I can't go anywhere. I'll just have to sit here on the couch all day and hold him."

I'm thinking to myself, "Hey, I'll do THAT and you go to the office today. Gimme a few books, the TV remote, some chips and salsa, and a beer, and I'm good to go."

Even my 9-year-old, who I was shoving out the door, thought it sounded much better than going to school.

Cheryl's comment, "Ya sure, but not ALL DAY for 3 days."

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