Mommy Panic Moment

  Yesterday I had a major mommy panic moment. One of those dreaded moments where something happens to your child, and in that moment you are the worst mother on Earth. No-in the entire universe. What exactly happened? Well I was cooking dinner, and I asked The Princess to take Milk Monster upstairs to play in their room. Normally this is an uneventful moment. The most that usually happens is a small argument over a toy. Suddenly I heard Milk Monster screaming hysterically, as if he was in pain. Next thing I know, he is downstairs grabbing at his leg and crying for me. His pajama pants seemed bleached out on his leg. I ripped them off and smelled bleach. I don't buy bleach so I didn't know where it came from. The Princess came down carrying a spray bottle of mildew cleaner that Milk Monster had gotten into. Then it dawned on me, the landlord had left the bottle here. So we put it upstairs under the bathroom sink with the safety locks on it. Milk Monster, being the smart little guy he is becoming, had figured out the safety lock. I called their father panicking and had him come home from work. While I waited for him to come home, I put Milk Monster in the tub with cool water to wash the bleach off of him. He instantly calmed downed and started playing. I was in tears when daddy arrived home. He checked Milk Monster's leg and found that other than his eczema being irritated, he was fine. Then he spent the next half hour trying to coax me out of my mommy bashing mood. Even though it seemed terrible in the moment, accidents happen. Milk Monster is okay, alive, and other than his skin being irritated, nothing horrible happened. We want so badly to protect our children from everything that can hurt them, but we also need to accept that sometimes we can't always protect our kids. We can do our best, but when accidents do happen we need to stay calm instead of panicking. I know, easier said than done. Now I was planning on writing more, but Milk Monster is demanding to nurse.