February 21st, 2010

Bad Mommy: Yup, That’s Me!

In keeping with my not-so-vocalized plan to take care of myself this year, I have been going to various doctors to ensure that my health is up to par. This includes the dentist. Back in December a tooth broke so I found a dentist who referred me to a Periodontist to make sure that the gum area where the tooth broke was clean enough to have a replacement. Between my dentist appointment and my periodontics appointment, the tooth next to the on that fell out- a tooth that was previously root canaled- also fell out.My years of making fun od the various toothless people in my college town of Oneonta were coming back to haunt me! At any rate, I saw the periodontist on Saturday and had to have both teeth extracted.

If you have never had a tooth extracted, consider yourself lucky. In fact, despite having been in labor for over 30 hours and eventually having to recover from a c-section, I will tell you that the post-operative pain of a tooth extraction is the WORST pain that I have ever felt. It is a combination of back labor mixed with a perineum tear all while having a root canal without anesthesia. One day after the surgery, I found myself breaking down in tears every few minutes as my body received jolts of pain.

Now, I have pain killers. He prescribed, along with an antibiotic, Tylenol with Codine which never really works for me but does allow me to sleep. However, when it comes to drugs, I am a lightweight. One Tylenol PM knocks me out for 12 hours and I have to refrain from taking anything when I am home alone with my daughter. So today, while my husband was at work from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm, I was forced to go medicine free, take care of my daughter and even walk the dog.

And that’s where the “bad mommy” thing comes into the play. My husband fed her breakfast this morning, and for lunch I fed her fudge cookies and milk. I followed that up with a snack of fudge cookies and a few sips of my soda. For dinner, I begged her dad to bring her Chicken Nuggets and apple slices from McDonald’s. I did not get her dressed today nor were her teeth brushed this morning.

And I feel very guilty. This never happens- even when I am sick she gets balanced meals and a bath. Today, however, I had an Aiming Low moment and I swear all I could do was apologize to my husband. Luckily, the Tylenol with Codine will kick in soon and I suspect that the guilt would be forgotten. I am sharing this simply because I want proof that we all mess up. And that I am human.