That Time I Accidentally Drugged My Kid

Mal went to sleep last night about like normal. At 11:30, he woke up crying and coughing. After I held him for a minute and tried nursing him to help with his throat, it became clear that it wasn't helping at all. I went to get him some medicine, and he freaked out when I left the room, even after I had explained what I was doing.

The more upset he got, the more barking his cough got, and it was to the point where his chest was shuddering loudly every time he inhaled, too. James had to help me open the cough medicine, and I had a pain reliever in line, too, when I decided he needed a breathing treatment to open up his airways.

Mal has witnessed me doing breathing treatments before, but we've never tried one on him before. He HATED it. Although I had him set on the bathroom counter and was holding him, he managed to wriggle away, without even putting the inhaler up to his face. He was screaming, "I don't want it! I don't want it!" and sounding more and more in distress.

He ran into the closet, and I know he was just completely freaked out because he's super sensitive both to light and to sound after he's asleep (just like I was/am). I got him and held him on the bed while James reloaded the nebulizer. Mal had just calmed down when we tried again, in the bedroom, and again, he screamed and wriggled away.

I was angry. I wasn't mad at Mal, per se. But I was scared to death that we were going to have to go to the hospital, I was certain that the breathing treatment would help him, and I was upset that his fear is bigger than his trust that we wouldn't do anything other than help him.

I left him with James and went into the bathroom to get the pain reliever. James got Mal calmed down, then I gave him the medicine, and we went back into the bedroom to see if he could breathe okay.

As James was lying him down, I realized... I'd given him children's Benadryl instead of acetaminophen. Oh well. Allergies are awful around here, anyway, so I figured that wouldn't hurt, and might help him sleep.

And I KNOW. It's a rookie mistake that could be dangerous. But we don't have medicines that are risky for a one-time accidental dose, and also... we were all a little frazzled. I'll look more carefully next time. Turns out we were out of pain reliever, a situation I've already remedied.

Mal was pretty congested all night, but otherwise okay. James had asked, after Mal calmed down, if I wanted to take him to urgent care, but he seemed to be a little better, and we waited it out. He seems 100% this morning, but did tell James, "You scared me last night!" We both apologized, but I also told him sometimes, you have to do scary stuff to help you feel better.

Anyway, guess what? Benadryl does not affect his sleep either way. That kid is a perpetually-charged machine. And he's been in no way groggy today. So glad I never resorted to using that to help him sleep. No dice.

FYI, if Mal ever tells you he had a story, and says something incomprehensible... He means "dream" when he says "story." I mean, he means story sometimes, but he never says "dream."

Today, Mal wanted to play outside, and it's just so dry and chilly that I almost hated to, but I try not to say "no" to outside unless it's absolutely necessary. His poor lips are all cracked and red, but he had a blast. At first, he tried going out in undershorts and a long-sleeved shirt, even after I'd told him to put on clothes. "I have on pants, see!" He quickly came back in asking for a coat, and I convinced him that pants first and THEN a coat might be wise.

Mal hates mittens, so before it got cool this year, I bought him gloves. They only sell mittens in his size, so I got ones that are for a slightly larger child, and it's some work getting his hand comfortably in them. 

I have been saying, "Push your hand forward while I pull up," but he doesn't get it. When I pull the cuffs up, his arms yield to the direction. Today, I had an idea. I said, "Try to touch my boob." THAT WORKED. As he reached out toward me, I pulled the gloves all the way on. He never made it to the target, but I call that a success.

Have a great weekend!