How long is this going to take?

On the evening of Friday, May 15, 2015,  one of my worst nightmares was partially realized. Our 18 month old son tripped and fell right into the corner of our bed frame (which is oak and comes to a sharp corner - one of the precious few sharp corners in our house). There wasn't a comforter on the bed at the time, so there was nothing to buffer the blow.

I immediately picked him up and rushed into the kitchen to try to get some ice. When I looked down, his blood was on my chest and arm. I looked at him, and it was spilling down his face. I wanted to hug him and cry... but I couldn't. I didn't want him to panic.

Instead, I yelled to his father to bring me some clean, wet rags. I wanted to use one as a cold compress with the ice to hopefully stop the bleeding... and the other to clean my precious boy's face and hopefully help calm him in the process. 

I managed to get him calmed down as I sent his father to get me a band-aid. Making sure not to remove the rag for longer than I had to in order to check on the status... it appeared that, by some miracle, he may have impacted the side more than the actual corner…which spared him a deep gash, instead making a small L shaped cut.

That being said, it still bled. We still needed to get it checked out. So, once everything was under control, and we had someone in control of our older boy, off to the ER we went.

We arrived at about 6:30p.

To wait.

And wait.

And wait some more.

All the while, Snow Monkey was giggling, dancing, bumming cookies off of a friend, and just being his normal, happy little self. 

We got into a room at 7:45p. 

The resident came in, then had a staff physician in at 8:00 p. 

They put the numbing gel on his forehead at 8:30.... 

At 9:30 the resident came in with his sewing kit.

There was some debate as to whether they could just glue the cut and go with that, but the staff physician urged them to go ahead and stitch the wound shut and then use glue as it was located on his forehead. 

Two stitches and 4 hours after the initial injury occurred, we were back home.. safe and sound. Snow Monkey had eaten and was on his way to dream land... and I was in for a restless night of checking on my little sweetheart.

Of course, I didn't need to be so diligent, he was perfectly fine... but mommy instinct kicked in and I found myself checking up on him several times.

Flying

To the stewardess on the flight between Minneapolis and Oklahoma City:

I realize you may be fairly new to the job. I also realize you probably don't have children... but please try to understand...

1. We are seasoned travelers. Both of our children have been on airplanes several times and are used to them. That being said, we already know that there are 3 masks on the right side of the aircraft and only 2 on the left.
2. Given that knowledge, we understand that our child in arms should stay on the side of the aircraft with the proper oxygen mask availability in case of an emergency.
3. Children are funny creatures. By making us switch seats, you caused our 3 year old to be upset. Causing other passengers distress until we were able to calm him.
4. Once we switched and everyone settled, the 1 year old decided it was time to play a few fun games.
5. The basic law of toddler-hood states that there is always more fun to be had on the other side of the aisle...until you are on that side, then there is more fun on the other side. This game can go on for hours. It is futile to remind us every single time the baby shifts to the "wrong" side of the aircraft as his position will shift frequently.
6. Rest assured, in the event of an emergency, we WILL take care of the babes. We WILL make sure they have oxygen masks. Therefore, you can rest. You have let us know, your job is done.

To the man and woman on our flights returning home. You know who you are. You gave up your seats and moved - whether this was a thoughtful gesture or purely selfish desire to not sit next to a toddler is irrelevant - thank you.

You realized that flying with a small child is challenging. You both had window seats - his favorite spot on the airplane. You both let us have your seat so he could travel securely and see out the window. He really enjoyed his flights because you were able to move. He loves to fly - almost as much as he enjoys his personal space. So, thank you for allowing him that space.

I hope you were pleasantly surprised that the flight was relatively peaceful and neither of our boys threw tantrums. We know how to keep them entertained and happy. But you deserve some credit for your assistance. You will never know how helpful you were.