What you said you would NEVER do and then you became a parent

I swore up and down I would never let my child watch TV before they were 2. I've read the studies, even read how they performed the studies. Absolutely, no brain stimulation whatsoever. A baby is better off watching you do something boring, like cleaning, than letting them watch television. That was before I had a child who would scream bloody murder in her car seat and before the flu struck our house.


The Apple hated her car seat (luckily, it is not so terrible now, but until a month ago she would scream, and it was that scream that would make you want to beat your head against the wall). Thank goodness for smart phones (I think now, "what did I ever do without the Internet on my phone" prior to that I would think "what did I do without a cell phone" etc, etc. Really the list goes on and on). But anyway, if we were on a longer trip (more than an hour) I would prop up my phone and play, Elmo. The baby loved that little puppet. The video that catches her attention the most is, none other than, Elmo with the scantily clad Katy Perry. She would go from the blood curling scream to perfectly content in less than a second. It was heaven for 2 minutes, once the video ended the screaming commenced just as quickly as it had stopped.

Then today. Brad had been sick throughout the weekend and last night the sickness from hell got me. I was up all night with chills, a fever, vomiting, and aches and pains, it continued through today. I was miserable. Luckily, the babe sleeps well so I was able to nap while she napped, and then I did it. I did the thing I said I would never do. Desperate times call for desperate measures in my book. I was still feeling horrible. I propped up my laptop and played Elmo and Katy Perry. On repeat. For an hour. She watched contently and I slept wonderfully. Don't judge. Brad called to check on me I told him I was a terrible mother, he tried to comfort me by saying "It's not like you do that everyday." And he is right, I don't. Sometimes a mother just needs a nap. Sometimes a mother needs to do something she swore she'd never do, so she can be a better mother for the rest of the day.

And for your viewing pleasure: