The last thing any parent wants is to have their child sick. So after we learned that one of her friends was sick with an ear infection late last week, and they had spent time together, I wondered if Kaia would catch the sickness. Ear infections are not contagious, per se, but apparently the colds that result from ear infections are. In the last couple of days, my sweet baby’s appetite has not been good; she’s even rejected her favorite things, like oatmeal fingers, mushrooms, and even bread (MAJOR RED FLAG). Kaia has gotten sick a few other times, but only once before, when she had COVID back in June, was her appetite affected. She’s been fussier than usual, especially in the late afternoons and evenings. Luckily, in the mornings, she still seems of good spirits, and she even enjoyed her first music class yesterday and was bobbing her head up and down and “dancing.” And then last night, she kept waking up about every 1-2 hours to fuss when she changed positions. She’s been sneezing a lot, and with each sneeze, her boogers and nose discharge fly everywhere. My poor little Pookster.

I cannot even imagine what it would be like if she were sick literally every week, which is what I hear from many parents regarding their young babies/toddlers in daycare. It would be never-ending exhaustion and borderline worry. I really feel for other parents and their seemingly perpetually sick babies. It’s like you never get a real break.