They Don’t Prepare You For This

So yesterday I was cleaning up electric red Gatorade vomit from my daughter’s illness (yeah, sorry about that image there) :ick: and today the universe decided that I needed even more parenting experience. Today’s fun event was cleaning up blood. Niiiice….

My baby boy, who has learned to walk, toddled from an ottoman over to a windowsill that’s a foot off the ground. He stumbled and did a face plant on the sill. I saw it as it was happening but was too far away to grab him (you know where you let out a slow-motion Noooooooooooooooo….. as you see your child heading for an accident). Much screaming, and blood coming out of his nose.

First reaction? Did he break his nose? Didn’t seem so–it was that soft area beneath the nostrils, just on the upper mouth part. But with all the crying and the runny nose, it was taking an act of God just to stop the blood. I had just taken my daughter to the pediatrician yesterday to see if she had strep, and today, was I going to have to drag baby boy for a smashed up nose? I was really, really hoping the blood flow would stop. Not fun.

I iced it down, and thankfully that slowed it somewhat. He was still bawling, and I was trying to see if these were sympathy tears or I’m-in-pain tears. I handed him a hairbrush. You might think I was out of my mind, but the tears stopped immediately, and he began brushing my hair. Weird, huh?

He was more annoyed with me as I cleaned him up, but with a little Neosporin, he was pretty much as good as new. I guess all little kids get banged up from time to time. I’ll confess, I did call the doctor’s, just to make sure it was all right if I just treated the cut at home (with it being so close to a runny nose and him having a cold, I wanted to be sure).

It won’t be the last time he falls. It’s funny how no one can prepare you for the disgusting, nasty messes that ensue when you have a child.

And then, too, no one can prepare you for the way you feel when an infant stops crying, smiles, and brushes your hair.