Tuesday, March 26, 2013

A Mother's Intution

All you Mama's out there know exactly what I am referring to when I say "mother's intuition".  Just in case you don't know, it's that little voice or feeling that tells you when something just isn't right.  I like to think that I have always had fairly good intuition, but ever since my little boy came into this world my intuition has been taken to a whole other level!  Typically, I can be at work and can tell if my little man is having a rough day or if he isn't feeling well.  For me, intuition usually manifests in the form of a funny feeling in my stomach...  Just like in the childrens book, Madeline.  Miss. Clavel can always tell when "something isn't right"...  I can just tell when something isn't quite right with my little boy.

Today my intuition was tested...  To add a little bit of context to this story I will let you know that my baby has had a head cold since last week so he has had a runny nose, a bit of a cough, and his eyes have been a little gooey (which isn't too uncommon for him while he is sick).  Even though he has a cold, he seems to be feeling OK.  He still eats, naps, plays, and is as smiley as usual.  So back to the story...I had dropped my little man off at daycare this morning and told the ladies that he was still battling a cold and that his eyes are a little gross today, but I don't think its anything to worry about.  No more than two hours after I got to work, I received a call from the daycare asking if I could take my son to the clinic to get checked for pink eye... 

There I was...sitting at a mental crossroad... I had to chair a meeting across town in about 45 minutes and had a meeting with a potential intern in a few hours.  I saw two options and neither felt right.  Option one: I cancel the meeting and take him to the clinic. Option two:  I ask if they can keep him until the afternoon and schedule an appointment for after work.  What to do???  Do I ask the daycare to suck it up because my intuition tells me that he is fine or do I appease them and take him to the clinic and derail the rest of my work day? Today I went against my intuition and derailed my day... I quickly made an appointment for him, got someone else to chair the meeting and shifted my 1pm meeting to 3pm.  So we go to the clinic and are in and out within 15 minutes.  They told me that he may or may not have a viral infection in his eyes from his cold.  Moms - you know how it goes... kids wipe their nose and then their eyes and things spread.  Needless to say, there really wasn't anything wrong with him.  The Dr. prescribed some eye drops and said things will clear up in a few days and that he is fine to go back to daycare.  So I ignored my intuition and derailed my day...

So here it is ladies (and gentlemen),  Tip #1 to Help Juggle Work and Kids: Use your intuition! You know your child better than anyone else.  If you think there is nothing wrong - than there probably isn't anything wrong. Save yourself the agony and inconvenience of rearranging your day when you know nothing is wrong.  Listen to yourself - more times that not you will find that you are right!

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