First ER Trip

June started out a bit rough when Carter fell and took his first trip to the ER! Luckily it happened right as Taylor was getting home from work- although he walked in the door to find me and Carter covered in blood... probably not the best scene to come home to! Our tough little guy barely cried, and it was right after dinner, so he took a nap on the way to the hospital. But whatever cut him (we think a branch,  or maybe a rock by the branch) definitely did enough damage to warrant a doctor's visit.

We went to the Vanderbilt Children's ER, and they were fantastic. Taylor, our crisis manager in the family, kept Carter laughing and kept the whole experience positive and low stress- even knowing the exact moment when to grab my hand as the nurses strapped our little guy to the bed and started stapling while he screamed. I'm proud to say I completely held it together so Carter didn't have the added stress of a crying mom! All the nurses and doctors were so nice and focused on keeping Carter (and his parents!) calm and happy. Carter did great. He cried every time they touched his head, or when anyone in a white coat got too close... but the minute he was with just a nurse or one of us, he was running around, dancing, laughing, eating purple popsicles, and playing with the toys they brought to our private room. They even sent a child life specialist with an iPad full of cartoons to keep him distracted when the doctor came to put three staples at the top of his head. The second they handed him back to me after the procedure, he was our happy, smiling boy again (although he clung to me and kept saying "bye bye" loudly to all the nurses and doctors until they cleared the room :)) . Kids are so brave and so resilient!

We then headed to Walgreens at 9:30pm to pick up some pain meds and antibiotics, and Carter just thought that was the most fun he'd ever had! Of course, having his dad there helped a ton!  While waiting on the meds, his amazing dad ran him around the store in the cart (I could hear his sweet toddler giggles all the way at the back of the store), and picked out some ice cream for him to snack on (and for us to sneak his meds into).

After finally getting home after 10:30pm, we got him cleaned up and medicated, and finally into bed. At which point, I completely broke down for a few moments. I'm just proud of myself for not crying in front of him- quite a feat for this overly emotional pregnant mom!  He had trouble sleeping that night when he kept rolling over onto the sore parts of his face, so I just slept on the floor by his bed on a futon mattress where he joined me, waking up every hour or so crying, and then snuggling into me and back to sleep (so so sweet!). And the next morning  (even on about 5 hours sleep), he was back to his playful little self again...bragging to anyone who asked that he "hurt head" last night and was a "big boy." Now if only that could be our last trip to the ER... highly unlikely with this little daredevil!!