Back on February 16th Nora had a run in with a wall, specifically the place where two walls meet at a corner in a doorway.  Scott and I had literally just sat down to eat dinner and the girls were supposed to be watching a TV show before bed.  Well, whenever Scott and I try to eat a nice dinner by ourselves, Nora is always coming and checking up on us.  I heard her start to come down the hall but didn’t think anything of it.  She wasn’t even running, which is amazing in itself.  Then, all of a sudden Scott and I heard the loudest bang we’ve ever heard inside our house.  He looked right at me and said, “This is going to be bad!”  I dropped my fork and ran to the hall to find Nora on the floor screaming her little head off.  I scooped her up into my arms and that is when I saw the blood on her forehead.  There was a lot of it.  Somehow I have the ability to remain pretty calm in these type of situations and I told Scott to get me a towel so I could apply pressure to the wound.  It was hard to tell right away the severity of the wound and not knowing exactly what to do, we decided to call 911.  Nora was pretty hysterical and kept saying she was tired and was starting to hyperventilate a bit.

I sat on the kitchen floor, cradling Nora while holding the towel over her wound while Scott stood watch for the EMTs, firefighters and police officers. Oh yes, we had all of those people at our house that night.  In less than five minutes the firefighters arrived, two big stalky guys came into the house and we were all crouched on the kitchen floor.  They were the nicest guys ever and asked about what happened and looked at the wound.  They agreed that it was pretty bad and determined that she didn’t have a concussion.  They wrapped her head with gauze to cover the wound. The EMTs arrived next along with a police officer.  We decided not to go to the hospital in an ambulance for a few reasons  – 1.  It was almost 8pm and I wanted Brinely to be able to get to bed (she was pretty upset about the whole situation) and if we went in the ambulance Scott and Brinley would have to come pick us up when we were done, and 2.  They wanted to strap Nora to a backboard for the ride.  Since the bleeding had stopped, she didn’t have a concussion, and she was already pretty upset, I thought that strapping her to a backboard and putting her in the ambulance would just have been too much trauma for her for one night.

So after all the emergency responders had left, I took Nora and drove her to the nearest hospital.  On the way there I kept talking to her to make sure she was ok and that she didn’t fall asleep.  It also started to rain which I didn’t think much of until we arrived at the hospital and there was no where to park near the ER.  I circled around a few times but nothing opened up so I had to park on the other side of the parking lot an carry Nora, in the rain, over to the ER.  Granted it wasn’t that far, but it just added to the chaos.

Once inside, we checked in and had a seat in the waiting room.  She was initially checked out pretty quickly by the intake nurse and I though this would be a quick visit, but boy was I wrong.  We sat and sat in that waiting room for an hour, then two hours, then nearly three.  It occurred to me after about the first hour that I hadn’t eaten anything since about noon that day.  By this point, Nora was just about back to her normal self.  She was waving at other babies in the ER and asking questions about the other “sick” people.  I finally spotted a vending machine and was quite relieved only to realize that I had zero cash in my wallet.  At that point, Nora was also asking for water.  I felt so unprepared, but then again, this is the Emergency Room and who is ever prepared to be there?  We took a few walks to the bathroom, not necessarily to go, but more to pass the time and I noticed a man filling the vending machines.  I asked if any of the machine took credit cards, even though I was pretty sure the answer was no.  The guy said no, but gave me 2 bottles of water for free.  He didn’t have the key to the machine with the food in it though.

Not too long after that, we were called back to a room.  We waited some more, and then a doctor finally came in.  She looked at the wound and said it definitely needed to be stitched and that it was pretty deep.  I was fearing it though sort of expected it.  Nora was lucky to have gotten off with just dermabond last time.  So I texted Scott to update him and then we got ready.  Nora was pretty tired at this point and but she was very cooperative.  She sat up on the table, laid down when told, and barely flinched when they put the numbing stuff in her wound.  They did have to wrap her up in a sheet so she couldn’t move while being stitched, but that’s procedure anyway.  Since the wound was so deep that had to put a mattress stitch underneath and then five more stitches on the outside.  They gave her some Tylenol for the pain, bandaged her up and we were on our way home – over three hours later!

It was a crazy, scary night that I’ll never forget.  But now, almost a month later, she is healing well and I know she’ll be fine.  We use Mederma a few times a day and cover the area with a band aid when we go out in the sun.  The wound is off to the side on her forehead and closer to her hairline than her eyebrow so hopefully it will stay out of sight for the most part.  Of course, she had to choose the brightest most colorful band aids they sell to wear out in the sun.  It suits her though.  She’s the type of kid that when injured she wants everyone to know about it!

So that’s the story of my second kid, under the age of three, having stitches in her forehead.  But if you think I’m finished with the head injuries, you’re wrong!  Just yesterday, Nora was playing out on the porch and she came in to show me something.  She has a tendency to carry more than she can handle and when she came in through the door, she wasn’t paying attention and walked right into the door knob.  No, she didn’t cut herself but she does have a little bruised egg on the opposite side of her forehead.

I’m seriously thinking of getting the kid a helmet. ::Sigh::

{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!

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!

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.

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

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?

]]> http://amothersworkisneverdone.com/2010/11/holiday-gift-giving-part-2/feed/ 2 http://amothersworkisneverdone.com/2010/10/a-probing-question/ http://amothersworkisneverdone.com/2010/10/a-probing-question/#comments Tue, 26 Oct 2010 13:00:48 +0000 Kristin http://amothersworkisneverdone.com/?p=360 More >]]> Nora has a blocked tear duct.  She has had it since birth.  Basically the duct in her eye that is supposed to drain her tears is blocked by a thin membrane.  As a result her eye always looks teary as if she has been crying.  Excessive tears roll down her cheek.  It causes no harm to her and does not effect her vision.  The annoying part is that I have to constantly keep cleaning her eye and wiping away the tears.  The even more annoying part is that people, mostly strangers, always make comments like, “Oh you poor thing, why are you crying?” when she is perfectly happy.  It has gotten to the point where I just smile at them and continue on my way.  I used to say, “Oh, she’s not crying, she has a blocked tear duct.”  To which the person would look at me like I had ten heads and ask what I was talking about.  Hello?  I don’t really have the time to stand here and explain to you what it is.  Just Google it, please!  Anyway, they no longer get an answer.

So what’s the big deal, you might ask.  Well, typically a blocked tear duct will unblock itself by the time a child is a year old.  It is recommended that the area is massaged daily and rubbed with warm compresses to help it unblock.  I have been doing these things day in and day out.  Nora is nearly a year and a half old and since the duct has not become unblocked on its own, her pediatrician has recommended that we take her to a pediatric ophthalmologist, a baby eye doctor.  They will want to probe the duct opened.  The thought of it makes me queasy and nervous.  Basically they would take a thin metal probe and stick it into her tear duct.  I’ve been told that it is a very quick and simple procedure that has no lasting effects.  However, silly me decided to look it up and now I’m not so sure what to do.  There are pros and cons to having it done versus not doing it and I simply can’t decide.  Nora has her 18 month well visit in 2 weeks and I’m sure that it will be brought up again (unless of course it happens to unblock on its own by some miracle).

So, I’m reaching out to my readers to see if anyone has any experience with this.  Has your child had a blocked tear duct?  Did it unblock on its own or did you have it probed?  What was the procedure like?  Where there any side effects?  Did it work?  Would you do it again if you had to?

It’s crazy how much she wants to be just like her big sister.  Last night, Nora really proved just how much she wants to be like her big sister.  You see, a little less than two years ago, Brinley had her first visit to the ER.  She fell and hit her head on a wrought iron fire place basket and wound up with six stitches right in her hairline on her forehead.  Nora wasn’t yet born back then, but she was with us through it.  She was a mere 8 weeks along in gestation.  I know she was taking note of it all.

How do I know this?  Well yesterday we had a BBQ.  It was raining so it turned into an indoor event.  After we had enjoyed our food we headed down to the family room to play some Guitar Hero.  The kids were making a phenomenal mess with the toys and the adults were taking turns playing Wii and supervising the kiddos.  It was just about 7pm and we were getting ready to call it a night when we heard a loud thud.  We all turned toward the direction of the sound and saw Nora face down on the brick fireplace hearth.  I ran over to her and turned her over and she had a gash on her forehead that was bleeding a lot.  I picked her up, brought her upstairs and put pressure on the wound.  It just so happened that we had both a doctor and a nurse in the house.  Once the bleeding stopped, both doctor and nurse had taken a quick look and Scott stopped vomiting (he has a weak stomach at the sight of blood), we got in the car and headed to the hospital.  We left Brinley home in good hands with our friends.

Now I am not a fan of Emergency Rooms at all (not that I can imagine anyone is).  The wait is always very long and it’s no fun to see all of these sick/hurt people waiting for care.  But I have to say, it was as good of an experience as a visit to the ER could possibly be.  We were in and out of there in less than an hour and a half.  Nora, unlike her sister, did not require stitches.  The doctor was able to use Derma-Bond glue to close the wound.  Though both girls hurt themselves on or around a fireplace and had their wound on the same side of their forehead, Brinley’s was up much higher near her hairline while Nora’s is more right in the front of her forehead.  It fits her personality.  She’s a bruiser.

She will not be out done by her big sister!

Nora is quite the stunt woman.  She thinks that she can defy odds and walk on water.  She’ll be sitting on the couch and stand up and think that she can take a step and just be on the floor again.  It doesn’t seem to click in her small mind that the couch is 2 feet off of the ground.  She tries to climb everything and can’t seem to grasp that certain objects weren’t meant to be stood on.  This results in quite a number of boo boos.  She has mastered putting her hand on her head and announcing to us “boo boo”.

However, what really drives me crazy lately is her eating behavior.  Now maybe her taste buds aren’t fully developed yet or something but the manner in which she consumes food often grosses me out.  Case in point:  Last night for dinner we had tacos and Mexican rice.  She loves this meal.  I piled her tray with seasoned beef, shreaded cheese, rice, olives and pieces of taco shell.  She shoveled the food in her mouth so fast I doubt she could even taste it (which may have something to do with the following)!  She finised her food before anyone else was done.  At that point she was twisting and turning in her high chair and exclaiming “uck, uck” (stuck).  I kept telling her, “No, you’re not stuck.  You’re sitting in your chair while we finish eating.”  Realizing that she was just going to keep trying to get out of her chair, I decided to give her something to keep her quiet.  Enter popsicle!

I opened up a green apple flavored mini pop and handed it to her.  She devoured it in about 2 minutes.  Not quite enough time for Scott and I to finish our food.  I assumed that she’d go back to trying to get out of her seat and yelling “uck, uck” but instead she did something that sort of grosses me out.  She picked up some small pieces of beef and rice off of her try and ate them.  Then she asked for more.  So I gave it to her.  It sort of bothered me that she had just finished eating a cold, sweet, popsicle and was now putting pieces of beef and rice in her mouth.  That is something that I’m pretty sure a grown person would never do.  This is also not the first time she’s done this.  She’ll finish her food and have “dessert” and go right back to eating whatever the meal was.  Maybe I’m the strange one, but I can’t stomach eating spaghetti and meatballs then having some ice cream and going back to eating the meatballs.  GROSS!

Right after she was born, Nora gave us quite a scare in the hospital.  Scott and I were just about to (attempt to) settle down for the night when he looked in her little glass crib and noticed that she was very red.  She seemed to be struggling to breathe and eventually coughed up quite a bit of mucous.  We paged the nurses and within seconds a group of them came rushing in to see what was the matter.  They ended up taking Nora to the nursery to check her out a bit deeper.  She appeared to be fine and the chalked the mucous up to her being birthed so fast (5 minutes, 3 pushes) and not having a chance to get a good squeeze on her way through.  Well, within a few minutes she had another repeat episode.  This time it landed her a spot in the NICU.  Luckily for us, I gave birth in a hospital fully equipped with a NICU and Nora didn’t have to be transferred to another hospital.

To make a really long, emotional roller coaster of a story, short, Nora spent 9 nights in the NICU as a result of having an immature breathing pattern and being unable to keep her oxygen saturation stable.  Of course we were nervous, scared, heartbroken, you name it, about having to have her there, but we realized how much worse it could have been.  It was so hard seeing some of the other babies that were in the NICU and knowing that Nora would be fine but just needed a little more time to mature.

The most difficult parts of having Nora in the NICU were traveling to and from the hospital on a daily basis, maintaining exclusive breast milk feeding, and trying to take care of two children that were in two different places.  Somehow I succeeded at doing it but not without the help of an extremely amazing husband and truly supportive family members and friends.  You see, our house was 45 minutes away from the hospital (without traffic).  Once I was discharge and went home, I would wake up every morning, spend a few hours with Brinley and then drive in to be with Nora.  While I was in the hospital with her, I would nurse her, hold her, take pictures of her, watch her sleep, and cry.  I kept my sanity by going on walks around the city while she napped and by being blessed with some of the most amazing nurses ever!  I’d spend from 11am until 11pm daily at the hospital.  I’d nurse her while I was there and then when I went home, I set an alarm clock for every 2 hours so that I could pump and bring the milk to the nurses who would use it to feed her when I wasn’t there.  I am extremely proud of the fact that during her 10 day stay in the NICU she was fed breast milk exclusively!

It’s so crazy how fast the past year has gone.  Nora has been such a joy.  Her smile can light up a room and her hugs just make me melt.  She’s walking and “talking” and trying really hard to keep up with all of the things that her big sister is doing.  I can’t imagine my life without her and I am truly blessed to have TWO such wonderful, beautiful, amazing daughters in my life!

Happy Birthday, Nora Jade!