Thursday, July 31, 2014

Another ER Visit

My Mad Man is something else. We were having dinner the other night - all four of us, when Mad Man decided to entertain us, so to speak. He and T were making each other laugh. She put extra noodles in her mouth and was being a little sloppy which made M laugh out loud. So, M had to up the ante. He decided to put a Craisin up his nostril. It came right out, but he devoured the reaction he received. So, up went another Craisin. This one he managed to lodge up in his left nostril. Eew. 

At first we didn't take it that seriously, but his nose was bleeding a little. Then we realized that we couldn't get it out. Panic. We could see it (or at least a part of it), but we couldn't get it out. We tried everything we could think of. Massaging his nose. Having him try to blow it out. I got out the baby nose suction tool (which I never used on my babies). Nothing was working. At this point I turned to Google. Mad Man was being a good sport about it. Google advised us to plug the over nostril, cover his mouth with our mouth and blow in. YouTube even had a video of this technique in its grandeur. So, we tried, and we tried. Mad did not care for this technique, plus he had been enduring our efforts for about forty-five minutes. Google also informed us that we needed to get our little man to the doctor ASAP to get this thing out. Luckily, Poppi Man had stopped by, so he took T Bear with him. Off we went. 

M was fairly unbothered by the whole thing. We arrived at the ER, checked in and began the waiting game. Of course, the waiting room was pretty crowded. Let's see: there was a young guy in a wheel chair, who must have injured some part of his leg and kept wheeling toward the receptionist and trying to stand up; there was a young mother of two little ones, with the little boy seemingly sick; a middle aged woman with a mask over her nose and mouth; and a middle aged man with no noticeable symptoms. I figured by the time we left we would all have been infected by something. Mad Man sat on my lap, snacking away, reluctantly watching "America's Funniest Home Videos". Hubby leaned over to me and said that we should probably be trying to work that Craisin out. I laughingly agreed, and mouthed "we are going to be here all night!"  About two seconds later, M started sneezing. One sneeze. Two sneezes. On the third sneeze out flew the Craisin into my hand. Triumph!  M said, "Mommy, I got it out! I got the Craisin out myself!"  So cute. We reported the victory to the receptionist, who checked with the nurse, and allowed us to go on our way. Phew. Crisis averted. Knowing my Mad Man this will not be our last trip to the ER, but thankfully this visit was pretty innocuous. 

Note: this trip to the Emergency Room occurred almost exactly one year to the day of his last trip to the ER. Note to self: put M in a bubble the last week in July. 

High:  Catching that nasty Craisin and realizing M would not have to endure any invasive procedures!
Low:  The fear of what M would have to experience trying to get that little thing out. 

Wednesday, July 9, 2014

More Thunderstorms...Really?

I love summer. What's not to love?  Sun shining. Swimming. The smell of sun tan lotion. BBQ's. Eating outside. Swing sets. The park. Vacation. The list goes on and on. But wait, what has been putting a serious damper on our afternoons and evenings?  Yup. Good old Mother Nature and her thunderstorms. Really, every day at nap time and bed time?  Could we just pick one?  Or how about a reprieve...one per week instead of multiple times in a day?  I realize this sounds selfish, but I have two little ones who are petrified by thunder and lightning. It is the hottest topic of conversation all day every day since we heard the first crack of thunder. Every loud sound Mad Man asks if it is thunder. T checks the weather app on my phone several times every day. Perhaps I could have prevented this fear more effectively, but obviously I didn't. I tried the understanding and acknowledging fear approach. I tried the distracting approach. I tried the explaining the science behind this phenomenon approach. What am I left with?  I will tell you: a two year old and a five year old who panic and scream at the first rumble of thunder; children who cling to me like I am the big thunder warrior; little ones who beg to sleep with me.  Thank you Mother Nature for this extra emotional stress, but seriously can you chill with all the storms?

High: The extra snuggle time their fear brings me. 
Low: Seeing and hearing their fear manifest itself every day and being unable to "cure" their fear.