Nora
How to Ruin a Surprise (or Not)
Sep 29th
Yesterday was Brinley’s 5th birthday. Scott and I had given her all of her presents from us at her family-and-close-friends party on Saturday and were felling a little bad that we didn’t have anything to give her on her actual birthday. So on Tuesday, after Brinley got on the bus for school, I took Nora up to Toys R Us to get Brinley a new bike.
{Aside: Brinley has a bike but it’s way too small for her and she stinks at riding it because her legs are too long. She can’t build up enough momentum on it and gets frustrated. We’d talked about getting her a bike back and forth but didn’t want to invest a lot of money so close to winter in fear that she might outgrow this one just as fast as the last. Well, turns out that the bike she liked last time we were at Toys R Us happened to be on sale for $49 so we figured it woudln’t break the bank. Then when I got to the store, I was informed that it was on clearance for 25% off of that. So it only ended up costing me $35!}
So, Nora and I go in the store, I find the bike (it was the last one!) and grab it. I also get her a cute little basket for the front because she keeps talking about putting her (already-named-but-not-yet-and-may-never-be-owned) puppy, Sprinkles, in a basket to take him for rides. Nora and I get back in the car with the (unassembled) bike and basket and head back home for nap time. The entire excursion was pretty uneventful and we were back home in no time.
Later that night after the girls were in bed, Scott and I assembled the bike and left it in the downstairs family room with the plan to give it to her after breakfast the next day, her actual birthday. So morning comes, I made chocolate chip pancakes and we we ate breakfast as a family to celebrate Brinley’s birthday. Scott mentioned to Brinley that we had a present for her and her face lit up. Then Nora chimes in, “We got you a bike, Brinley.” I try to change the subject with Nora and direct her toward her pancakes because I was pretty sure Brinley didn’t really hear her. Then she says it again, “Right, mom? We got Brinley a new bike for her birthday? Hey Brinley we got you a new bike. It’s for your birthday.” Ugh. Brinley is complete into her pancakes and I still think she may not have caught on. But the she looks up and says, “I don’t want a bike for my birthday.” FAIL!
I figured the surprise was ruined but we all just carried on eating our pancakes and pretending like that conversation never happened. We finished breakfast, I gave the girls baths and got them dressed. Then Scott went down and got the bike. When Brinley saw it, she was really excited. It was the exact one that she had picked out and she hopped right on it and started riding it in the house!
So I guess the surprise wasn’t ruined after all. Only a two year old to could try to ruin a surprise and fail!
Nora’s Eye Update
Mar 28th
It’s been nearly two weeks since Nora’s tear duct probing. I’m so glad that it is over but honestly it wasn’t nearly as bad or traumatic of an experience as I had thought it would have been. Here’s how things went:
On Tuesday morning,March 15th, Scott and I got up and ready. Nora decided that she would sleep in which was honestly a great thing considering that she had to fast. She couldn’t have anything to eat or drink after midnight. When she woke up, I quickly dressed her in a sweat suit and we headed for the car. Scott and I drove Nora to the hospital which was about 25 minutes away. Her procedure was scheduled for 9:30am but we were asked to be at the hospital by 8:30am. Once we arrived at the hospital, we checked in and then waiting in the waiting room. We distracted Nora with toys and by looking out the windows at the birds and squirrels. I knew that if she had time to think about it, she’d definitely ask for food.
A little bit after 8:30 we were brought into a pre-op room where Nora was given some toys to play with and we were asked a few basic questions like her height, weight and if she was on any medications. Nora didn’t seem the least bit phased by any of this. She played with the toys and during that time we changed her our of her clothes and into a hospital johnny. She was given a bracelet for each wrist and one for her ankle. Then a nursing student came in and brought in the mask that they’d be using to administer the anesthesia. Nora was reluctant at first to touch it but eventually did. They put strawberry flavored lip gloss inside it and encouraged her to smell it. This was to help prepare her for when they’d place it over her mouth.
Since only one of us was allowed in with her, Scott and I decided that I would ride into the operating room with Nora and he’d wait in the pre-op area. I had to wear a white suit, shoe covers and a hat. Nora thought this was pretty funny. Then I got into the bed with her and the team of doctors and nurses wheeled us into the operating room. This was the first time I had ever been inside an operating room and boy was it bright! You always see them on TV with all the lights and stuff but I didn’t realize how bright it really is. Once we were in the operating room, I got off of the bed and helped move Nora to the operating table. She was a bit clingy to me at first, not knowing what was going on, but she eventually got on without a fuss. The nurses and doctors couldn’t believe how compliant she was being. I helped her to lay down and then held her hands as she clutched one binky and sucked on another. She looked a bit scared but never cried.
Then the anesthesiologist put the little mask over her face and she looked up at me and started to whimper. It broke my heart. She didn’t fight it, but just looked so sad. I just held her hands and talked to her and in less than a minute she was asleep. At that point, I left the room. It was so hard to do but I knew that she was ok and that I’d be with her in a few minutes. I met back up with Scott and we headed out to the waiting area. Within about three minutes after sitting down to wait, the doctor was coming toward us. She said that Nora was all done and that everything went great. Nora was in the recovery room starting to wake up and we were brought to her. She seemed scared but wasn’t crying. She did eventually start fidgeting and crying when she saw us but I think it was because she wanted to get out of the bed. She kept asking to leave.
In the recovery room, she got to snack on some Cheerios, apple juice and graham crackers and she watched Elmo on TV. Coincidentally Elmo’s World was about going to the doctors. We stayed there for about 20 minutes then got Nora dressed and were ready to head home!
It’s been almost two weeks and her eye looks great! I had to give her eye ointment for the first week. On Friday I thought we might be having a set back because some tears were starting to pool on her lower eye lid but I called the doctor and she said it was likely because Nora was developing a cold. That seems to be the case. She’s had a runny nose and slight cough for a few days now. Her eye still looks awesome though. No goop or wetness in it when she wakes up in the morning and no tears constantly running down her cheek. Hopefully it will stay this way. There is a chance it could close up but it’s not common.
Nora was such a trooper and did amazingly well with all of it. I’m so proud of her!
Today is the day
Mar 15th
By the time you’re reading this, Scott, Nora and I will already be in the car on our way to the hospital. Today is the big day. After a few visits to the eye doctor and discussing it at length together, Scott and I {along with Nora’s pediatrician and ophthalmologist} have decided to go ahead with the eye probing surgery. They call it a surgery, but it’s really just a quick procedure. I guess the fact that she has to be under anesthesia means it’s a surgery though. But when I tell people about it, I just can’t use that word. It makes it seem too serious. Not that I’m not taking this seriously or that I’m not very nervous about it… it’s just that calling it a procedure makes it less scary for me.
I know that everything is going to go great and we’ll be home and done with it before we know it, but I’m still going to be a nervous wreck. Nora can’t have anything to eat or drink after midnight tonight {last night when you read this} and I know that is going to make for a very rough morning. I don’t even want to think about walking away from her once she’s in the hospital. I know I’ll probably lose it.
When Brinley had her stitches I didn’t have time to prepare for what was to come and it was just easier that way. It was awful, but somehow I remained calm for her because she was wide awake and I had to stay strong. This is different. Nora will be put to sleep and I’ll have to walk away and I’ve had plenty of time to think about it all. That’s making it much more difficult. But in a few hours we’ll be home and it will be behind us and Nora will {fingers crossed} have an unblocked tear duct.
Scars
Mar 14th
I seem to get a lot of hits to my blog by people searching for dermabond, scars and facial lacerations. It’s not much of a surprise to me considering the posts here and here. So, I decided to do a little follow-up, if you will, on how things have turned out for my girls, scar-wise. If you remember (or if you go back and read those two posts) Brinley and Nora both had accidents involving facial lacerations. Brinley was just over two years old and Nora was about 16 months old. Brinley had six stitches and Nora was treated with dermabond.
Over two and a half years later, Brinley’s scar is barely noticed at all. It’s about an inch long and luckily it’s right in her hair line. We’ll still be sure to put sunblock on it whenever we’re out in the sun for long periods of time, but for the most part it’s completely off of our radar. We never see it and it has no lasting effects. Here is a picture of her scar as it looks today (with me pulling her hair back off of it):
Nora’s scar hasn’t had as much time to heal as Brinley’s but so far I am happy with the results. If you remember from my original post on it, I was a little bummed that her pediatrician said he’d probably have stitched it instead of using dermabond, but it was too late. He obviously wasn’t there when we were in the ER and he didn’t see the original wound but that was his opinion. It made me a little upset that we may have missed an opportunity to have the best outcome for her. But now that time has passed and the dermabond has long since fallen off, I couldn’t be happier about the appearance of her scar. It’s virtually unnoticeable! Unlike Brinley’s, Nora’s is more in the front and center (well a little off to the left) of her forehead. So a visually noticeable scar there wouldn’t be so great. I guess she could always opt for bangs, but I’m not a huge bangs fan. I can honestly say that her scar is never mentioned or noticed by anyone. Again, we’ll use sunscreen and all that, but it’s a non issue to us. Here is a picture of Nora’s scar as it looks today:
Nora’s scar wasn’t a nice straight line like Brinley’s is. But honestly, I had to circle it in the picture because otherwise you’d never have been able to find it. It’s more of a little bump in her skin than anything. Hopefully it stays the way it is or gets even better.
So there you have it. I know the wounds were different and they were on different kids, but that’s my experience with both stitches and dermabond. I wouldn’t say that one was better than the other because honestly I’ll never know that. I will say, though, that I am very happy that we went with the dermabond for Nora. I think that she’d have a much more noticeable scar with stitches.
THE END
Holiday Gift Giving, Part 2
Nov 16th
In addition to some joint gifts, my girls will each be getting gifts of their own this Christmas. Though I am almost positive that they’ll end up playing with each others toys regardless of how age inappropriate they may be. Case in point: Nora loves to play with Brinley’s LeapFrog Scribble and Write even though she doesn’t know the right way to use it and Brinley is equally excited to play with the shape sorter and ball popper even though she’s four. Anyway, I digress…
It’s a little difficult to figure out what to get Nora for Christmas this year. We’ve already got most of the toys that kids her age play with because we had them for Brinley. Sure, they’re hand-me-downs in a sense but it doesn’t bother her (thankfully). However, Nora is interested in a lot of things that Brinley never liked. You see, Brinley was (and mostly still is) a very passive player. At Nora’s age, Brinley enjoyed books, puzzles, coloring and flash cards (I kid you not!). Nora, on the other hand, prefers to throw, break and destroy said things. She’d much rather be climbing, running, dancing and generally causing trouble. So, in that sense, there are many things that she’ll like that Brinley never had.
Here is a list of some of the things that I think we’ll be getting Nora for Christmas..
First is the Playskool Sit N’ Spin
The funny thing about this toy is that we had one for Brinley (it was handed down to us from a friend) and she never could figure out how to use it. She’d sit on it and try to her hearts content to get going, but just couldn’t manage. It frustrated her so much that we eventually gave it away. Nora, though, loves it. There’s one at the playgroup we attend and she got on it one day and started spinning and spinning. I was so amazed that she was able to figure it out so fast. A perfect gift for her, for sure!
Next up, a ball hopper
This one has Disney Princesses on it but I may opt for a more generic one. Nora is not really into princesses yet, but Brinley might like it 
This is another one of those toys that Brinley didn’t care for that I know Nora will like. She loves to bounce and jump and even if her little legs won’t quite reach the ground yet I know she’ll love for me to bounce her on it.
Then comes the toy vacuum
Nora loves to mimic what I am doing. She’s always grabbing the broom and walking around saying “dirty, dirty”. She loves to sweep and wipe up messes which is nice since she’s so great at making messes! I think she’d get a kick out of having a vacuum just her size. I haven’t decided if I want to get one of the working toy ones or not. I’m torn between thinking it would be helpful and thinking it’s child labor
And finally, the Fisher-Price Classic Record Player
This gift might be more for me than her I had one of these when I was little and I remember playing with it all the time. I loved it! I think it will be so cool to see my girls playing with it. Ah, nostalgia!
That about wraps it up. I’m sure there will be some other little trinkets and stocking stuffers (and gasp! clothes) thrown in but those are the “big” things. Stay tuned for Brinley’s list in the next week or so. What will you be getting your 18ish month old for Christmas this year?
