This was originally written by my daughter and shared on Facebook. She blogs here, in case you want to read more of her stuff.
WARNING FOR PARENTS!
It’s my son, Collin, in 2013. He was just 5 weeks old. After running a high fever (102-103 degrees) for three days, we finally rushed him to the hospital when he started vomiting up the Tylenol and refusing to nurse–fearing dehydration.
At the ER, they told us we would be admitted right away and that we needed to wear full gowns and masks to hold him. Then we watched helplessly while they poked our baby with needles, whisked him for a chest X-RAY, held him down for a spinal tap, and filled his tiny body with two different antibiotics, while we waited for cultures to find out what was making him so sick.
We never did get a diagnosis. All the tests were clear. And, though we were able to rule out bacteria, the official word from the doctors was, “Maybe just some type of virus…? Probably.” We’ll never know for sure which one.
And maybe this is where I should tell you that Collin is FINE today. Once the hospital-strength Tylenol made him comfortable, he was able to rest and start nursing again. We went home from the hospital after 48 hours. So why did I call this experience “the hardest week of my life?”
Well, I was struggling with HORRIBLE postpartum depression and anxiety during the ordeal, but that’s actually a side story…What I promised was a “WARNING,” so here it is:
Parents: please don’t let fear-mongering and pictures of sick babies scare you into wrapping your kids in bubbles.
PLEASE, please don’t believe the lie that you can prevent tragedies if you refuse to let your babies be kissed or snuggled. Please don’t demand that everyone within 20 miles get flu shots, or they will be eaten by “Mama Bear.” Please don’t threaten to rip apart families over a pacifier that didn’t get sterilized. And please–please–don’t isolate yourself from family and friends out of fear that they’ll contaminate your baby. Because…
THIS DOESN’T PREVENT TRAGEDY–It’S ACTUALLY A SICKNESS OF ITS OWN.
We are using pictures of babies and rare stories of freak accidents to SCARE THE CRAP out of mothers, until they view everyone in their community as germy, dangerous enemies who need to be pushed away… Now we’re afraid to let even our husbands and other children touch the littlest member of our family. I actually saw a post the other day warning MOTHERS not to kiss THEIR OWN babies on the lips. 
This is crazy, guys. And it’s not “healthy.”
So I’m sharing this picture of Collin as a reminde that sometimes tiny babies get sick and it doesn’t mean we need to tell everyone on the internet how to “avoid” it.
Yeah, I know, I know, there are kids with serious issues or other special needs that should be treated “differently” than others. But I’m talking about most normal, healthy newborns, whose mothers are struggling with anxiety already and are seeing pictures of bloated babies with tubes coming out of them and WARNINGS that whooping cough is lurking around every corner.
Dear Mama who is afraid that something terrible might happen if you let others come into your circle: the truth is, I would do everything with Collin exactly the same.
I would still let Collin be visited by excited grandparents and aunts and uncles when he was born. I would still let him be kissed and snuggled by his toddler Big Sister. I would still go to my parents’ house roughly every other day, so I could talk through my insomnia and racing mind, and they could give my little family food and snuggles…
Because we NEED EACH OTHER.
And, if you think this picture of a baby in a hospital bed is tragic, I can promise you: it’s not nearly as tragic as letting our lives be run by fear and horror stories we see on the internet.
