What Did You Do for the Fourth?

The Castruccis had quite a day.  We started out by going to one of the few parks in Atlanta that actually has shade.  We let Monkey run around for a couple of hours (it's all about prepping for the afternoon nap) and Chloe had a chance to nap outside - one of her favorite things.  Once all of us were completely dehydrated we headed out for some lunch.  We decided to go to a restaurant that Evan goes to a lot with his sitter.  We all sat down (except for Chloe who was still asleep), Daddy and I in our chairs and Evan in his booster seat (he is growing up that little man, no more high chairs for him) and we ate.  I was commenting on how good Evan was behaving, he was singing a little song for everyone, and all was good.

Well... I guess he decided he was all done because all the sudden, he put his feet on the edge of the table, pushed back as hard as he could, the chair kept going backwards but Evan and the booster seat didn't.  He fell right off the chair and landed flat...on...his...face.  He started screaming immediately (which I later learned was a good sign) and Daddy whisked him out the door (along with tons of napkins to stop the flow of the blood from his nose).  I got our stuff together, grabbed Chloe, and quickly followed.  When I got outside Evan was still inconsolable, his nose was still bleeding, and a gigantic egg was beginning to take shape on his head... and I started to panic.  Head injuries scare me - apparently a lot.  I asked Brian what we should do, he said he wasn't sure, so I made a decision.  We headed off to the ER (one we have been to before when monkey was super dehydrated - on another holiday weekend - and he had lost his Monkey light).

Since I decided to focus on the worst case scenario and had visions of a concussion in my head, I wanted to sit in the back with Evan.  "In the back with Evan" means squeeze in between Chloe's car seat and Evan's car seat.  My mom had done this when she was here and even though she weighs like 1/2 of what I do I somehow thought I could squeeze in there... well, not so much.  So I basically drove to the ER while kneeling on the hump on the floor in the back seat to keep Evan awake (who was probably tired because it was close to his nap and he just had a traumatic experience).  By the time we got to the ER I wasn't sure I could walk... two men down... but my adrenaline propelled me in.

We checked in and sat down to wait in the front waiting room.  By this time Evan had calmed down and the egg on his head, while still big, was slowing getting smaller.  He apparently felt better and decided to run around the waiting room - specifically running out of the automatic doors (but not running back in, that was Daddy's job).  As we got called back to triage Chloe woke up and wanted to eat.  So, while Brian stayed with Evan through triage I went to the back waiting room to feed Chloe (there was nowhere private so I figured I was in a pediatric ER people could handle some boob).  While I was feeding Chloe all I could hear from the triage room was "momma... momma... momma", over and over again.  And then Brian and Monkey joined me in the back waiting room and Monkey wanted to play.

Turned out we had to wait 1.5 hours to see a doctor (right after us 6 really sick babies came in and I can't begrudge waiting that time period since my child was only hurt but still healthy and these babies were not).  When we finally got back to the room the egg on Evan's head had really gotten to the size of more like a big plump cherry... but I still needed a doctor to tell me everything was okay.  He basically saw the room as an opportunity to play and ran around like a maniac (an overtired and overstimulated Monkey is not a good thing).  Chloe decided to eat again (and the tech asked me if I wanted a blanket for privacy... where was she was Chloe was feeding a few hours before out in the open of the waiting room), I declined, and everything moved forward.

While the doctor was getting ready to examine Evan he decided to climb the bed/gurney.  Brian thought I was watching him and I though Brian was watching him (since I was tending to Chloe at the moment) and of course he fell off the bed/gurney and cut his gums.  I mean, are you kidding me?  In the ER my son hurt himself?  And of course, all everyone kept saying was, "Well... he is a boy" - does this mean that Chloe won't hurt herself like this because I'm totally okay with that. 

The doctor felt everything was okay but wanted to take an x-ray just in case.  While we were waiting for the results, Brian found my camera in the diaper bag and we decided to document this event:

Yeah - this kid ain't sick.

This was me trying to stop him from running around in the room and hurting himself... again.

So, if your child is bored in the ER (which he shouldn't be because he should be, you know, sick) then have them roll on the bed/gurney.  And, look under the sink... yup, there's Chloe.

See, she was fast asleep after she ate for the second time.

So, the outcome.... drum roll please... he hit his head and nose.  Yup, that was it.  But, I'm okay that I paid for that piece of mind.  If he does this again (and I've been assured by different sources that the likelihood is high) as long as he doesn't lose consciousness or have any of those other scary signs, I will take him home and put ice on it.  But for the first time around, the ER was the place to go.

Oh, and this morning... he has a small bruise on his head.  Seriously... that is it.  And, thank God that is it.