Google - friend or foe?

In the past week or so I have had to Google a few toddler dilemmas to get advice from the experts and not so experts on what to do when - say, a toddler sticks a crumbled up flower up her nose, or has smelly greasy stool (sorry, had to share...), and then, tonight, how much should I be worried that she shoveled an entire dune of sand into her left eye.

Compared to most moms, I think I am pretty low key and not much of a stressy-betty. But at what point am I forsaking my child's well being with my island attitude?

I don't know what happened to the flower up her nose. The more we wrestled so I could attempt to grab at it with tweezers, the further it went up her nostril. If it were a pebble or something not degradable, I would have been to the ER lickity split. But it wasn't a pebble, it was a flower and really, how much harm could it do while it rots away in her nose? (Truly, I think she swallowed it while snorting when we were wrestling...) But I am keeping my eye on it and it has been about 2 weeks and nothing smells foul just yet - except for her breath - but that is a whole other toothbrushing post!

I am waiting out the greasy poop for another day or so. It could be she is just drinking too much milk or it could be a parasite infection... or ten other things the internet suggests. If it is still lingering by Wednesday, I will call the doctor.

Now for our beach excursion... I mean not beach excursion, but that damn sandbox our neighbors gave us. I am beginning to understand why they wanted to get rid of it as it is just the dusty, dirty, pain in the sand-in-every-bed I was expecting it to be. Tonight Emma was playing in it after dinner and accidently tossed an entire shovelful of sand into her left eye. I didn't panic because I didn't want her to freak out, so I carried her into the bathroom and gently whisked away the larger part of the sand around her eye socket with a dry towel. Her eye immediately teared up and washed out the majority of it but I could see a few grains still floating. I knew there was no way she was going to let me rinse out her eye without freaking out and rubbing her eyes and making it worse by scratching up her cornea. So I am letting nature run its course - meaning I am letting her body flush the remaining grains with tears. I will keep my eyes on her eyes (and nose, and butt...) and my fingers crossed that she will be fine.

I often wonder how our parents raised us without the internet - and then I wonder if I would be better off without it and just called my mom when stuff happens... Or trusted my instincts - like so many Mamas do.