On the First Day of Christmas, My First Son Gave to Me...Stiches on His Chin (More than 3!)

Yesterday was a terrible day all around. I had had a bad stomach ache the night before, which kept me racing to the bathroom yesterday. I was feeling weak & achey, but mommies don't get sick days. Joshua had been so sweet, bringing in books to me and giving me hugs. Pretty soon, Caleb joined in the fun, and he went through several outfits and eventually got a bath from having the mess the whole way up his back. Unfortunately, Daddy had a meeting about FINALLY handing over the A/V team responsibilities, so it was just me and the boys last night. Since I was starting to feel somewhat better and we had spent most of the day upstairs between the office/playroom and bedrooms (and bathroom), I suggested we go down to the family room for a change of scenery. There are a different set of toys down there, and I put on the TV in the background as we snuggled together on the couch. Then it happened... Joshua had energy to spare...he was the only one who seemed not affected by this weirdo sickness (could it have been something we ate? Maybe!). He first climbed onto "Daddy's chair" and jumped onto the couch. I sternly scolded him and told him that I didn't want him to get hurt. He seemed to understand and moved completely away from the chair and that side of the couch. So, I picked up Caleb and began to feed him. Then Joshua was showing me his jumping moves...he literally just learned how to jump with both feet off the ground and is so proud of himself (we're proud of him, too!). It was then that for some reason, he decided to sail into the couch/leather ottoman. I have no idea what prompted this belly flop move, but he assumed the couch and ottoman would catch his weight. Unfortunately, the ottoman slid on our floor and Joshua - with arms spread between the couch and this moving object - landed straight on the cement floor with his chin. He screamed! I shrieked! Caleb cryed. I yanked Caleb off of me and threw him on the sofa to grab the Bean, who I cuddled into my arms. He was thrilled to be held, and as he seemed to be calming down, he and I weren't so close so I finally got to see him...

There was blood all over my shirt. There was blood all over his face and hands. There was blood dripping from his shirt. There was blood still spurting from his chin. I was trying to stay calm. Caleb was still on the sofa, and since he's rolling all around these days, I grabbed tissues from the end table right next to us and applied a little bit of pressure to Joshua's new wound and told him to keep them there. Then I put Caleb in the "bee" toy (which seemed like the safest option at the time). With that, I whisked Joshua back into my arms and we headed upstairs. I cleaned the wound as best as I could and put two band-aids criss-crossed on it since I didn't have the right size equipment to work with. I told Joshua that if anyone saw my handiwork, they'd wonder why God gave me children. I took off his outfit and changed him into PJ's, and I changed my shirt (I had been wearing a pajama-like outfit all day since I was sick). Joshua kept asking me to fix his chin and saying "ALL DONE, CHIN!" It was after we were both dressed that I called Daddy. Shawn told me that I was panicking for no reason, chins bleed, it won't be the last ... he told me to calm down. Calming down was good advice. I did actually calm down. Shawn is usually right, and just hearing his voice helped. But, something in me told me that maybe I should get another opinion...So, I called my mom. I almost didn't because I knew she was supposed to be with my sister, but then I decided "why not?" She told me that it wouldn't hurt to call the doctor if it was still bleeding. Let them decide what's important to be seen or not...she didn't know for sure, but they were experts. She was right! The doctors office was still open! And the nurses there are really good about giving advice. So, I called. Instead of leaving a message, which was what I was originally doing with the receptionist, I was transferred immediately to a nurse. I was surprised. I was aslo surprised with the nurse's response. She asked me where the injury was, how it happened, and how big was the mark. I said about an inch on the bottom of his chin. She immediately said, "He's going to need stitches. Even if it does close on its own, which is hard to do in that area, he could re-injure it." She told me she'd call back with whether we needed to go to the ER or whether they could squeeze us in there. When she called back a half hour later, she told me to come at 8:40 pm, after they are typically closed, so that Dr. Reilly could close up the wound when everyone else had left. (I was soooo thankful not to have to go to the ER where we would have to wait all night and not be treated as nicely!)

We got there at 8:20 and there was a waiting room full of kids. Literally. So, we didn't get taken back until after 9 pm. I was highly impressed with both the nurse and the doctor, though. The nurse was very gentle but firm with Joshua. She explained each thing she was going to do. As she cleaned the wound, Joshua gently said "All done!" He kept crying out "Mommy! Mommy!" Normally he wants his daddy, but I had been with him all day and I think that when you're sick, you just want your mom. They put a numbing agent on his chin, and he screamed bloody murder since you have to apply pressure to the wound. The nurse stayed in our room, and she went through every single sticker they have, showing him the pictures and giving him a few on his PJ's to look at. (She was a God-send!) I couldn't restrain him enough (man is he strong!), so I switched with Daddy and held Caleb while Shawn kept Joshua from ripping off this gauze stuff. Then, the nurse dug out a lock game. I propped Caleb up next to me and helped Joshua with the locks. Both boys were starting to be happier, or at least a little bit. Then, Dr. Reilly came in and tilted Joshua back under a light (it took all of us to hold him down). The wound was REALLY deep. I was genuinely surprised at how deep it was....no wonder it kept bleeding! She said they do have dermabond glue, but she didn't recommend it for his chin since it was still bleeding. She said that it needs a dry surface and chins don't dry up that well. So, she said he really needed stitches.

Joshua kept crying out "Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!" (I can still hear it in my heart.) We were in a predicament. Originally I was going to leave Shawn home with Caleb and just take Joshua. But, then I thought about how calming Daddy is sometimes for the Bean. So, I thought we'd both go and whoever was more needed in the room would stay and whoever was left would take the baby out. It seemed last night that we were both needed. I was the one who was more calming to Joshua; however, he was so writhing in pain that Shawn's strength was needed to keep him still. Finally, this nurse who had the grace of God saw the dilemma and suggested that there were three receptionists on duty who love babies. She offered to allow them to play with Caleb in their area so he wouldn't upset Joshua with his crying (or us, truthfully). Within seconds the receptionist came back and said Caleb had fallen asleep immediately. I wasn't worried...I was concerned about Joshua.

First, they took a HUGE needle to numb the area. The doctor warned us that this really, really hurts. Joshua screamed but was still (with our help). Dr. Reilly commented about how strong the nurse was with keeping Joshua's head and neck still (she was at the top of him. I was next to Joshua and got his shoulders and arms and kept looking into his pain-filled eyes. Shawn was at the bottom of the table and got his torso and legs. The doctor was across from me and concerned herself with his chin. Suddenly I realized that the room was over 100 degrees, and I was wearing a fleece shirt. The walls started to spin, the ceiling was getting dark, and nausea hit the bottom of my empty stomach like a lead brick. They said the numbing agent needed five minutes to work, so I asked if I could go to the bathroom. Again, the nurse looked concerned about me. (Don't worry about me! Worry about my Bean!) I went to the bathroom, dry heaved - it's hard to vomit when you haven't eaten and have already been sick most of the day - pulled up my sleeves and splashed cold water on my face and the back of my neck. I felt not great, but a little better. I heard Joshua crying for me the whole time, so I quickly rushed back in to be with him. As Dr. Reilly started the stiches, I weakly started to sing to try and calm my sweet son. But, this time, I knew that if I didn't sit down within seconds I would hit the floor. I told Shawn that I wasn't going to last...the nurse told me to sit down and put my head between my legs. Since everyone else in the room was concentrating on Joshua as they should have been, I took off my shirt right then and there (I had a nursing tank underneath) and put on my leather coat which was colder from coming in from outside. I was still hot, but it helped a little. The nurse asked how I was doing...the doctor said it was the coat making me look greener. They finished stitching Joshua up and putting sterile strips on his chin. He was so brave! He was also sweating, and his hair was wet with tears. He asked for crackers (gotta love how they always know they get animal crackers at the end of a doctor's visit!) and sat calmly in Daddy's arms as they looked for something to cover this precious area. [On a side note, at the beginning of the night, I had asked Shawn how he was going to handle the needle...I would have put money on him passing out and me being the calm one...everything was upside down & backwards yesterday!!!]

As the doctor and nurse were debating on how to best seal up their handiwork, I almost laughed out loud when the nurse suggested putting on "two band-aids criss-crossed as mom had done," saying it was a good idea! They don't make band-aids the right size for this wound. Eventually they decided to cut a big one in half, hoping that Joshua wouldn't be able to get at his wound. I have to take him back in in a few days to get the stitches removed...Christmas Day is when they should come out, but we'll be getting them removed Friday sometime instead. They gave me a paper on wound care, thank God, since I could barely hear what the doctor was saying over the spinning room. My legs felt like a mixture of jello near my hips, thighs and knees and solid lead at my ankles and feet. I caught a glance in the mirror and realized why the nurse was panicking that I would pass out - my lips were whiter than my eyeballs and all the color was gone from my face. Daddy offered to carry Joshua (who was in his PJ's still) and Caleb's carseat in case I would drop either one. Thank you, Daddy! I'm glad I didn't take Joshua by myself - isn't God awesome in knowing what we need? He also didn't let me just let it go that Joshua's chin was bloody. Although I was calm at that point, he kept me thinking about it enough to keep calling.

We got home around 10:15-10:30 pm when it was all said and done. I had to nurse Caleb yet, and I felt so sick. We allowed Joshua to watch some beloved Sesame Street at his request (I think we would have given him chocolate, gold or whatever he wanted after watching this trauma!) and I laid down with Caleb while Shawn called his parents. Shawn then made me some chicken noodle soup so I would have something in my stomach, and I tried to drink some water and some hot tea. The kids were in bed by 11:30 pm, and Shawn passed out around midnight. I think I drifted off around 1 am. Thankfully both boys slept through the night. Caleb woke up once but got himself back to sleep.

This morning I'm feeling better, but poor Joshua has asked me to take off the band-aid from his chin and keeps saying he's "all done!" Please pray he feels better! These were his first ever stitches...I'm hoping the last, too, but Shawn told me many horror stories of injuries from when he was little. BOYS!!!

So, on the first day of Christmas, my Bean Dog gave to me...stiches on his little chin so sweet.