I have never thought of myself as a hypochondriac until Carsten was born. Not in reference to my own health, but to his. I am constantly paranoid that something is wrong with him. Most recently, within the last couple of days, he has developed a bad case of Eczema (through my own diagnosis, of course). A few days before that, I found a little nodule of some sort on the back of his head under the skin. I am convinced that he has some sort of tumor. I am currently looking for a reason to take him to the doctor, so I can mention this as a "side" note. After all, I don't want to take him in solely for this reason or then the doctor will know that I am off my rocker. Let's see... what else. Within the last few weeks, I have diagnosed him with a tooth infection, ear infection, Fifth Disease, and yes, the worst of all, Autism. I blame my paranoia on the internet. Every bump on the head is a tumor, every ear pull is because of an ear infection, every child that has quirky habits has Autism. Babies are just such an enigma. It's a constant guessing game to figure out what's going on with them. This is not an ideal situation for a control freak and worry-wart like myself. I am working on it.
1 year ago
4 comments:
Bird you are crazy! He is normal! The bump on his head is probably from when he was hitting his head on the cabinet!
Exactly the quirky behavior I am referring to... :-) He must just take after his Dad!
It's so easy to take the smallest little thing, and run with it. Do not consult the Internet for health issues!
When the doctor diagnosed me with polyhydramnios when I was pregnant, the first thing I did was go to the Internet. There were four main causes listed: 1. gestational diabetes...didn't have; 2. big baby...OK, so they were saying he was big, but could that really be it? 3. structural birth defects in the baby’s digestive tract; 4. Completely unknown (the cause of most cases of too much amniotic fluid are never determined). I of course zeroed in on #3, went back and looked at all of James’ ultrasounds, and completely freaked out the last month of my pregnancy…as if I didn’t have enough to worry about!
Long story short, I should have listened to my doctor, who said he was not really worried about the baby; he just wanted to monitor me more closely to make sure I didn’t go into pre-term labor, or go into labor and have cord prolapse. If I had not gone to the Internet, I never would have known about #3, and could have enjoyed the last month of my pregnancy in relatively stress-free bliss (except for worrying about labor and delivery…)!
There is a fine line to walk between being an informed patient who can take an active role in her healthcare (or her children’s healthcare), and having too much information that just causes unnecessary stress. Now that James is having problems with his tummy, it’s all I can do not to go off the deep end. I can understand what you’re experiencing!
Melissa-
I am glad to know that I am not the only worried-out-of-my-gourd mom out there. The internet is a double edged sword. It's great to have all the info at your fingertips, but every website conflicts another and before you know it you are confused as hell and like you said, concentrating on the worst case scenario. I had a bad habit of doing this too when I was pregnant. Anyways, thanks for the personal stories and tips!
I am sorry to hear about James being sick. I hope that he is feeling better soon! Keep me updated...
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