Beckett Updates

Beckett is quite the little bruiser. We had him weighed at Urgent Care on Sunday - 20 lbs 8 oz!! He is over half of Carter's weight. 

He sure loves his brother. Today he was actively trying to get Carter's attention by grunting and laughing until  Carter would look at him. Carter has been looking forward to his brother giggling for a year now. The only other thing Carter has ever asked for baby to do is play football with him. That will be a while longer!! 

My only hope for now is that he will sleep through the night. He was doing really well, until that first tooth. Now his sleeping is worse. He is back to his colic days when he would cry in between. He isn't even awake, he is just crying. He will cry for 5 to 10 minutes at a time, then stop. An hour or 2 later, he will do it again. I wish there was something I could do for him. 

Stitches Update

Carter started out the day very embarrassed about his accident. I babysit, and the little girl asked about his large band-aid. He ran down the hall and locked himself in the office. When I broke in, he was crying. He said he didn't want to talk about it. I told him a lot of people were going to ask, and that if he didn't want to talk about it, he could say "I don't want to talk about it."

Then I asked if he wanted me to talk about it or not. He said he wanted me to tell the story. After a couple times of hearing me give a one sentence synopsis, that didn't make him look bad, he was much happier to tell the story - with no shame. 

It is so nice to have a kid who is so much like me. It is easier to help him because I already understand where he is coming from.

The hardest part was the changing of the band-aid. I had to pull off the old Band-aid, put medicine on it, and replace the large Band-aid. He was very resistant. I squirted some medicine on his fingers and let him squish it around, then I asked him what would make it fun. He wanted a Cars Band-aid. So, I had him peel and stick the Cars Band-Aid onto the monster of a Band-Aid. I then applied the medicine and the Band-Aid on his forehead. It went so much easier!!

Now, onto helping him cope with the removal. I have some fishing line we are going to practice cutting. I am hoping that will show him it is quick and painless.

Not for the faint of heart ***Warning graphic photos***

Carter is a runner. No surprise.

Today, shortly after church started, David took Carter to the bathroom. Just as Carter was running down the hall, someone exited the gym - opening a door into the hallway. He was going so fast, he ran into the door and it split his forehead open. Blood all over his shirt ant tie. Poor kid. Luckily, his tie was already red!

Two ladies noticed me get up after the very loud banging, and followed me into the kitchen. One grabbed Beckett for me, and one was a nurse who came in with gauze and a wrap.

 

Carter also HATES blood. If he doesn't see it, he is fine. However, the sight of blood causes hysterics. Once we had the blood cleaned up, his mood improved 100%

 

We went straight to Urgent Care. They told us they would numb his forehead, then they would have a "Water Fight". I wondered what they meant, until they pulled the sterile bottle out & Carter lost it! He hates water on his face. I do to, so no surprise there. He let them stick the needle in his body to numb it up no problem. They said they almost always have to try multiple times because the child pulls back when they put the needle in. Not Carter.

I explained to them that he is very cooperative, and brave. I am always careful to explain everything that is going to happen so he knows what to expect. The doctor asked me to take Beckett out of the room. He didn't want Carter's crying to upset him and cause him to cry as well. Silly me, I left. While I was gone, they got a blanket and wrapped Carter up. He HATES being restrained. He will go along with just about anything as long as you don't hold him down. After a few minutes, I gave up waiting and went back into the room - where they had 2 nurses holding Carter down - Dan and Garrett. He was screaming at them. I was so frustrated. Despite the fact that the doctor was sewing Carter up, the only thing he was complaining about was the fact that the nurse was hurting his arm. The nurse was doing a very good job, and not hurting his arm, but he didn't like it just the same. Carter was very polite. "NO THANK YOU! PLEASE STOP IT! YOU'RE HURTING MY ARM! OW OW OW. NO THANK YOU!!! CAN YOU PLEASE STOP??!!??" Eliciting giggles from the nurses. They kept verifying with me that he really was only 3. They said he was talking very well through his screaming for being 3. Finally, Dan looked under the little napkin thing they put over his face and made eye contact with him. Dan talked calmly to him, and Carter quieted right down. I wish he had done that from the beginning. 

5 stitches later, Carter is still pretty worked up.

Then, some random nurse walked in our room. She looked very surprised to see us there, like she thought the room was going to be empty. She saw Carter still visibly shaken and asked him if he wanted a popsicle. OF COURSE!

On the way home he kept saying "This is a great day!"

I guess I was more shaken up than he was! The doctor did say that we as parents did very well. Even the nurses commented on how well we did. I am not sure what that is supposed to mean, I know that if I freak out, so will my child. You have to put on a brave front, for them.

He fell asleep in the car on the way home, but it didn't last long. He woke up in the driveway, and has been non-stop ever since. 

The doctor told him he is on restriction. No running, jumping, heavy lifting, ect... GOOD LUCK!

David and I are just surprised it took 3 1/2 years for our first visit to Urgent Care. Carter is usually the kind of kid that if you tell him the stove is hot, he will back away and not come back until you tell him it is safe. I can't imagine we'll have too many dare-devil injuries.

P.S. Beckett never cried.

Slacking

David has been working A LOT. Last week, he worked 75 to 80 hours. This week, they sent him to a competition that lasted 2 days. It was only in Renton, but he couldn't come home. They didn't even have a pool.

With David being gone, I have kept myself pretty busy. Last week I had a class on planning meals for kids who have food issues, a music directing seminar (I lead the music at church), a workshop for kids and sleep, a food storage activity where we were putting together 72 hour kits, High School Drags, and a fundraiser for the Boy Scouts. Those were just my evening activities, we were quite busy during the day as well. Carter has gone back to napping, which is kind of nice.

In this time of business Beckett has grown out of his colic! He started sleeping 6 hour stretches! Just in time to grow a tooth. He has gone back to waking up 1 or 2 times a night. It finally broke through on Thursday and he has stopped crying. Poor kid.

When I get more time, I'll post more....