The Magic of a Sucker

On Monday, my daughter already had an appointment with her pediatrician before she got sick. She was supposed to be checked to make sure she was up to getting tubes put in her ears. However, because she started tossing her cookies -- a few times even in the lobby of the doctor's office -- they've postponed surgery. Her doctor did check her out, though, to make sure it is just a tummy flu.

In the doctor's office, just as she had been doing all day, she just rested against me, not showing any real interest in playing. She'd whine a little, and at one point, she began crying. I had a feeling another bout of vomiting was about to come, and sure enough it did. My husband and I tried to balance her over the sink to keep it from getting everywhere. Her doctor sent the nurse to get her a sucker.

After just a couple of minutes of licking on the sucker, our daughter seemed like her old self. My husband and I were amazed. She was smiling and babbling. I couldn't believe it. I had no idea that a sucker could settle an upset tummy. That seems a little counter-intuitive to me, but it worked it's magic.

Of course, it didn't cure her condition. She did go back to being fussy once the sucker was gone. But it sure was nice to see her smile for even a little bit.