Why didn't he come with a handbook!?

One question I will ask God when I get to heaven is, "Why didn't you send a handbook with each baby!?" I mean really, how many of you walked out of the hospital thinking, "That's it? They just send you out the door with this baby and you're expected to know what to do?" Dear God, why didn't you roll up a handbook in the womb to be delivered promptly after the baby?

Silas has been waking up 3 times per night with watery eyes, nasty-sounding cough and stuffy nose/boogers. Well this morning at 4am, all of those symptoms were at their worst...and I'd had him sleeping in his swing to help facilitate breathing. The poor babe was still asleep but I had woken up hearing him try to breathe through his snot. He wasn't running a fever and was acting fine but I would be really upset if someone brought their child to daycare like that and exposed my baby. Here's where the handy handbook would have come in nicely. Page 104: What to do when your child is sick. Page 107: When to stay home with a sick child. What's a girl to do? I ran my thoughts by Jake and thankfully we both agreed that sending him to daycare to expose other children wasn't a good idea. Have you ever seen those poor kids that have snot smeared across their face, dirt all over their clothes, hands and faces, hair is a mess, but they're still smiling? I have vowed to NEVER, EVER send my child in public looking like that. It's one thing to have a runny nose, but it's another thing to have a filthy child that no one has bothered to clean up. So in my attempts to be a good Mother, here I am home with my snotty baby. :)

I just got back from Target where I loading up with Vick's vapor rub, Vick's smelly-thing (supposed to put the scent in the room), saline drops for babies, boogie wipes (yep, that's what they're called) and anything else I thought might help out the poor baby. I feel so bad for him - his cough sounds awful and I can feel the rattling in his chest, his eyes water even when he's asleep, and I keep coming at him with the bulb syringe to suck out boogers, which he hates. I do think he loves being home with Mommy, though, and so I feel good about being home with him because I know it comforts him.


I'm guessing I'll be asking God the handbook question again in a couple years. In case God decides from here on out to deliver each child with a handbook, I have a couple suggestions for chapters:

-How to handle the first few weeks
-What to do when he still won't stop crying
-Terrible two's: how to cope
-Teaching your child the basics of driving
-What to say when your son wants to date
-How to handle boy hormones
-Poop: when to be concerned about color, smell, and consistency


You get the idea....I'm sure there will be many more chapters I'll think of as the years pass...


When you think of it, say a little prayer for baby Silas. I'm hoping this nasty cold or whatever it is goes away soon!