The Little Things {like sick days}

It has taken two full weeks of doctor visits, antibiotics, and nose-sucking, but Lyla is finally on the mend. Hooray!

It's the little things that sure make this ride of motherhood so delightful. Take sick days for example. Having a sick little may mean lots of tears, but those tears are quickly followed by extra needy snuggles. It also means being unable to clean, cook, or do anything really without your toddler begging to be held.  But oh my, the snuggles.

We're lucky in that this was really the first time since Lyla's been born where she's been pretty sick. Of course the downside is that when it takes this long to get sick, the monster infection decides to make up for lost time and refuses to leave or even subside for two full weeks. 

Day two of monster infection. Poor baby!

And although it's nowhere near the struggle I felt last year, I can't help but feel extreme mommy guilt when my baby is sick. Of course I am very happy and feel balanced most of the time with our daily routine, but there are some days when I think I'm missing out and should be staying home. Especially when my baby bursts into tears when I drop her off at daycare and cries "mama" over and over. 

Ugh. The never-ending internal battle as a working mama. 

Anyway, I was able to take one day off and utilized every moment of the weekends to give lots of extra love, attention, and cuddles to my little muffin. And although we had to skip music class and play dates, we were able to spend a lot of one-on-one time together. Just me and my mini. 

There's no doubt about it, having a sick child makes you pull out your cape and turn into Super Mom. Doesn't matter if your baby is 2 weeks old or 20 years old. No one but mom can make sickness feel better. Mom is just what the doctor ordered. 

And minus the whole being sick part,  I've come to the conclusion that sick days are the best days. They're downright fulfilling for the heart and soul. There's just something heart-enhancing about the unexpected reminder that your normally-independent toddler really just needs her mama. The last time we had a sick day was last year. Always a "good" time. 

We had two visits to the doctor - gotta follow that mommy instinct that things are not okay! Found out we had our first ear and sinus infection. 

But of course the extra cuddles with the fur-babes perked us right up. Almost as good of a remedy as chicken noodle soup.

Got out of the house for the first time in three days to stock up on saline and Pedialite. Oh, and finally caved and bought one of those nose frida nasal aspirator things. You.guys. I swore, swore, swore I would never buy one of those gross things. But friends, it is the best invention ever made. Ever. Promise the snot goes nowhere near your mouth. My only regret is waiting until Lyla was super duper sick.

 She wanted to give high-fives to everyone we passed.

Broke all kinds of rules, like eating in Mom and Dad's bed and watching movies for 4 hours straight.  For multiple days in a row.

And of course soaked up hours and hours of snuggles.

Oh my goodness. 

Is there anything better?

I can't possibly even begin to imagine. 

Except maybe, when the snuggles start to pay off. And your kiddo smiles for the first time in over a week. 

Now that. That's better.