Waiting for the motrin to kick in

• There really isn't anything like holding a feverish child in your arms. You realize how little they really are, as they are curled up in a limp hot ball on your lap, the heat coming off of their bodies in waves. How helpless you feel to take care of this child.

  It's hard to know when to call a doctor. What are they really going to do anyway? I've got the motrin, and the antibiotics. Do I just let this take its course, and hold my child for the rest of the day, praying that the fever will go down? Or do I drag him out into the cold and make him sit through another exam, in the hope that more can be done to help him, or out of fear that I'm not doing enough?

  And the fact that this doesn't happen in a vaccuum. There are 3 other children to care for, feed, look after (take to the doctor's office or scramble to find care for). And no relief in sight.

  BUT Thank God that I live in a country and time where ibuprofen is readily available, and the pediatricians office is a quick 10 minute car ride away. That if I were in a true emergency situation, I have plenty of people to help me out. It helps to remind myself of these things, and give myself perspective.