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A few weeks ago I was sick–so sick that all I did was lie on the couch all day. It was just a cold, with a nasty headache, congestion, and body aches. But I really felt cruddy. I was so sick, in fact, that the next morning my 7 year old told me he’d had a bad dream about me: he’d dreamt I turned into a slug. Good thing I don’t get sick too often.
But it does make me wonder how it affects my baby. During the first part of the day, she kept coming over and hanging on me. A few times she even pulled on my finger while trying to walk away, obviously coaxing me to get up. I did cuddle her, fed her bottles, held her during her nap, etc. But I did not move much, and I was much less interactive than normal.
By the end of the day my baby was toddling around after my 17 year old, begging to be picked up. Either she’d given up on me to respond or she just decided my teenager was more interesting that day, I don’t know which.
The next day, thankfully, I was lots better. So I tried to make up for my previous day’s impersonation of a slug by being extra-fun. We played on the floor. I carried her around. Played goofy games. By the end of the day she was back to fussing for me when my big kids were holding her. But I could really see how a serious illness could make it tougher for a baby to attach.
Oh, and my 7 year old? He and I fit in a couple of very competitive games of chess the day he had the slug-dream, at least one of which I won, despite the fact that he is a cracker-jack chess player. I just dare you to find a slug who can match that!
