Sicily was absoloutely fabu-tabulous! But it was also hard work, especially when Austin started acting up - in a BIG way. For the first few days we weren't sure what was going on, and just put it down to lack of sleep, but when he stood in the lounge room screaming uncontrollably and nothing we did was able to stop him we knew something was up.
So here is a list for you of what not to do with a sick toddler overseas:
1. Just presume the your child is acting CRAZY because they are sleep deprived (insert late night flights, early morning starts, back to back activities, change of scenery, cot in new area, etc etc etc)
2. Start doubting yourself BIG TIME. There are a few small moments as parents that you sit back and think wow, we’ve nailed this parenting thing! (SMALL MOMENTS PEOPLE, this doesn’t happen often!) And then you have moments when all you can think is what in the world are we doing wrong? Everything? Surely? We must be the worst parents in the world! This was definitely one of those moments.
3. When you figure out (finally) that something is up, don’t organize a doctor during the day because, you know, that would just be waaaaay to convenient. Wait until the evening for your child to have another screaming fit THEN decide that you should probably do something about it.
4. Don’t worry about turning on data roaming, having the address of where you’re staying written down, knowing how to order a taxi in Italian… let alone know where a local doctor or English speaking health professional is.
5. Forget all the kids toys in the dash to the local hospital (where the only bambino doctors are – a bit dramatic I know, but that’s where we were instructed to go for a general doctor)
6. Cry when your kid has a blood test….oh my THE TEARS, THE TEARS. Oh yeah, and then there were his tears too.
7. Just sit back and do nothing…and let your mind get the better of you of what might be wrong with your kid. So glad this is the one thing we did not do! Although it meant a two hour wait at 11pm at night surrounded by all the screaming bambino’s at del pronto soccorso, after all the drama it was just a viral infection (PHEW) and at least we could relax knowing it was nothing serious.
Also, side note - bubbles are the best thing in the world to cheer up a sickly toddler!