Bad Mothering

On Saturday I entered the realm of very bad parenting. Others agree that what we did was not so good, but they encourage me to let go and move on. On Saturday I took my baby, knowing that she was getting a cold, to the beach. And let her get a sunburn. Yes, you read correctly. Ouch. And here's how I found myself in this position:

Molly has been "off" for a few days now; a little puffy eyed, a little tired, a little whiney. On Friday night she got very very stuffy, upset and, well, sort of sick. We decided she was really on the edge of a cold. So, what do we do as responsible parents? We take her to the beach. In the middle of the day.

But we have good excuses! We meant well. Really. A friend of mine got married this weekend. It was a weekend affair, but in an effort to have some foresight, we opted not to camp out with the other guests on the beach. Instead, we went up for the bbq on Saturday. Thinking the beach would be cold and windy we decided going for the middle of the day would be best - that way we'd be there for the warmest part of the day. At this point anyone from the east coast should be cringing. But in our defense, this shouldn't sound so crazy to anyone living in the Bay Area. After all, the beaches around here are notoriously cold and windy. Add to that a cold and foggy weather report ("50's on the coast, warmer inland, patches of fog throughout") and we figured we were good to go.

In typical Bay Area style, though, it was as cold as expected at the parking lot, but nice and toasty at the beach. But wait! We still thought we were golden. I brought along the sun hat, light blankets, and it was foggy after all. We'd just keep her covered up, right?

Well, after Molly convinced us she was no longer having fun (she was getting sick, after all) we packed her up and headed home, only to find that she had gotten a dreaded sunburn!!! How could I have let this happen to my child? How stupid I feel. The poor girl, however, has been so caught up in coughing, sneezing, and trying to breathe, that I don't think she's even noticed the burn. And, with a day between me and the discovery of my bad parenting I can see that it's not really as bad as I first thought. It's mostly her cheeks and forearms. And it's a very very light burn. Really. I swear. I'm not that bad!

Through this all, though, Molly has proven she is a trooper. She's clearly very uncomfortable, but still smiling! She's a wonderful wonderful happy baby. And Zach is a wonderful wonderful lucky dad.