16 Stitches

We have had the inevitable first trip to the emergency room as a parent.  Yesterday, I went out to start my car and the battery was dead.  I called my Mom and asked her to come pick up the item I was dropping off at her house.  About thirty seconds after she got to my house, New Fish fell and hit her eyebrow on the corner of the banister.  I ran upstairs, found her covered in blood (darn head wounds!) and just picked her up and called down to my Mom to get back in her car because we needed to head to the ER.  After three hours, two bloody outfits, 16 stitches, one new ballerina princess Barbie- we headed home.  Good thing my Mom was at our house because I don't know how I would have driven to the hospital by myself while holding a screaming child or how I would have taken care of Red Fish at the ER.  It was completely embarrassing that we were all in our pajamas because we were having a very lazy Saturday.  Red Fish didn't even end up with socks or shoes on. I had to request some socks for her at the ER so she wouldn't be walking around on the gross floor.

New Fish was very brave as long as I was holding her the whole time. We sang a lot of songs while we were waiting and I rocked her the whole time. I had to lay on the hospital bed with her on top of me while they numbed her eyebrow (must they use such a hug needle?) and cleaned it and stitched her up in three layers.  I didn't panic or cry and kept telling myself I'd have a good cry later. (I actually didn't end up needing to cry later because she was fine.) It was pretty horrible to have to hold her down and listen to her scream.  I did bribe her with a new doll and a box of princess bandaids and she calmed down and was very sweet. (Remember when I didn't think I wanted my kids to have Barbies?  I've given up.)

After she calmed down and she was talking to me while they worked on her. She was saying the sweetest things.  She said: "I'm just going to close my eyes and imagine beautiful things like princesses and flowers and rainbows."  She requested several songs and asked the doctor if he liked princesses. Then she just kept repeating the names of all the Disney princesses and what color their dresses are.

We had a very rough night and I slept in her bed so I could comfort her the 20 times she woke up or bumped her eyebrow.  Now she is completely fine and bouncing off the walls.  I've spent most of the day trying to keep her from re-opening her stitches. She is happy that she and her Daddy are going to be "twins" with their matching scars.