Common Cold & A Paranoid Mom

Till about 3 pm the day before, All Was Well in my house. The little one was playfully engrossed in his toys; as was the newbie mom in her laptop. Then suddenly, one sneeze changed all dynamics!

Acchooooo!

The little one sneezed with such a force that I left whatever I was doing. This wasn’t a normal sporadic sneeze; this one came with dirty souvenir for my little one that his newbie mom rushed to wipe. “Now how on earth did this happen?”, I pushed myself to think. 3 layer cloth – check, Cap  - Check, Socks – Check, Cozy Room – check. We hadn’t even gone out in the garden that day! Then from where did this uninvited guest come?

I immediately made a SOS call to my MIL and made notes so quick I had never made even during my college days! I have often heard elders criticize modern moms, who rush to the doctor at a sneeze of their little one. Not wanting to become one of them, I decided to try MIL’s advice, but it was just too much to possibly execute! 

By the time Mr. Hubby returned home (which was coincidentally early that day), little S and I looked like troubled passengers of a stranded flight. We both dashed to him for comfort. A sleepless night later, the next morning, we were sitting among many other coughing, sneezing little souls at the Paed’s clinic.

Had someone from my parents or in-laws called, I would have sounded like a failure, for I had indeed rushed to the doctor at what was regarded technically as just few sneezes. Mr. Hubby however, convinced me that as educated, modern parents, we were indeed being proactive to take professional advice before the situation worsened.

But, the words “Weak, Failure, Modern” echoed loud enough to be ignored in my mind. So, the moment our turn came, I took total charge of the conversation. Before the doctor could ask us her usual questions, my monologue had already begun; giving a detailed account of what we did, what we ate, baby poo, pee, precautions we took and home remedies tried in a jiffy. After I was done, I gave a little relaxed, triumphant smile; the way we do after we give our best shot during campus interviews! It was now the moment to be recognized as a caring, good, wise and efficient mother who had tried her best (add to this synonyms and more related adjectives and you know my feelings so well!)

Instead, I heard something like “R-E-L-A-X” (Oh I looked relaxed, didn’t I?). “You –Are-A-Mom-Now. First-Learn-To-Stop-Being-paranoid”. “You can’t keep your baby in a Kavach & Kundals” Lesson learnt – No matter how much you tried, it was impossible to get 10/10 from a teacher, doctor and an experienced mom (my paed is also a granny!)

My triumphant smile died in the wake of this new addition to the to do’s. So I have to learn to get less paranoid. But C’mon, this is my baby & I am Mother India. Can you imagine Nirupa Roy, Durga Khote, Nargis, Achla Sachdev, Kirron Kher, Kamini Kaushal or any onscreen mom looking calm and composed when her Aankhon Ka Taara (Apple Of her Eyes) gets nebulized?

But doctors only know the language of medicine, so it was futile to argue. We collected our medicines, paid the fee (for something which as per my dad, common sense and homeopathy would have cured) and came home as a happy and hopeful trio.

A typical Mother India is ready to barter her child’s trouble for his happiness and well being. However, some wishes get granted too quickly, with the mother getting the trouble even before the child is fit and fine. By the next evening, another big “Acchhooooo” roared in the house, this time by the mother! Yes, my wish had been granted, but now both of us were the victims of cold, thanks to something called virus!

Am I a melodramatic mom? Yes, in bold italics. But, somewhere behind layers of tension, concern and love lies just a simple compassionate new mom who wants to be somewhat as good as her own mom was.  After all, every girl idolizes her mom for they stand like a rock between us and troubles even when we see tears of concern rolling down their cheeks.

Leaving you with pics of these amazing onscreen moms we have grown up watching. 

Nirupa Roy

Durga Khote

Nargis

Achla Sachdev

Kirron Kher

Kamini Kaushal