Stitches for Beebs

July started with a bang in our house... well, more like a bump. A bump that led to a parenting first for Bruce and I- a trip to the emergency room and stitches!

Stitches seem to be a right of passage for most kiddos, but up until this point, we have managed to avoid them. Beebs is our accident waiting to happen child, and honestly, now that I think about it, I'm surprised she hasn't needed stitches sooner.

She made it three and a half years.

The (somewhat) quick version of the ordeal- we were at a pool party, Beebs fell on the pool deck and her chin hit a step, pretty darn hard. Initially, our concern was that she had knocked her teeth, but Bruce quickly realized that her teeth were not a problem. The gaping chin wound? That was a problem.

We hurried to the car, leaving Sunshine and Man Cub in the care of our friends who were hosting the pool party, and headed to our local children's ER. Love. That. Place. 

Upon our arrival, we were checked in and a tech took Beebs' vitals. Then Beebs and I got matching "bracelets" and we were shown to our room. Now, the entire drive to the hospital, Beebs was hysterical... She had overheard me ask Bruce if she would need stitches and she freaked out. By the time we got to our room, she had calmed down but we immediately let the doctor and nurses know to avoid the words "stitches" and "band aids". (I think Beebs is the only 3 year old in the world who doesn't like band aids.) The staff obliged and that alone helped tremendously in keeping her calm. Other things that helped- wearing her jaguar hat and getting to watch movies and play on the iPad. 

The nurse cleaned up the wound and then put on a topical numbing stuff (that's the technical term, right!?). The numbing stuff was great. I expected them to give her a shot, which would have been a disaster, so when it turned out to be some gauze taped to her chin for thirty minutes, with us occasionally putting a little pressure on it, I was so relieved. 

Once the numbing stuff had done its job, a tech came in to wrap Beebs up. He had her out on a "cape", more commonly known as a pillow case, which pinned her arms to her side, then he burrito rolled her in a sheet. I had to smile when Beebs got all excited and insisted that she didn't want to be unrolled. We explained to the tech Bruce plays the burrito game with our kids, where he rolls them up and then unrolls them quickly so they spin. They love it, but Beebs was not in the mood, with her injury and all. 

Once she was rolled up, the tech hugged her to the bed and the doctor came in. She just chatted with Beebs as she started sewing her up and I don't think Beebs even realized what was going on. In fact, I know she didn't, because two stitches in, in the middle of telling the doctor about her siblings and our pet chickens, she fell asleep! She didn't wake up until the stitches were done and we unrolled her (carefully!) from her burrito.  At that point, she was given a Popsicle and she got to pick a toy from the "Owie Cart" which she loved. 

I'm acutally very surprised by how well Beebs handled the whole thing. We thought for sure that she would fight the stitches with everything in her, and despite her tiny size, she is strong! I was dreading the struggle. But she took it all like a champ and now tells us she liked having stitches. I think the My Little Pony from the Owie Cart has something to do with that. 

Bruce removed the stitches on Saturday, and everything looks great. Beebs is going to have a scar, but I doubt it'll even be noticeable. And now Bruce and I can cross "stitches" off our parenting bucket list.