This morning we packed up the kids and headed to the Brookfield Zoo. Vunge was going to meet us there with her kids and Soren, and she gave us extra tickets that would expire on the 31st. When we got to the zoo, the kids seemed ok with being loaded into the double stroller and the umbrella stroller. We walked in and stopped to take a picture with a huge animatronic dinosaur, but for some reason Nikko was not happy to be stopping. We thought maybe he needed to run around, so we found a little area that was family friendly that required us to park our strollers. The boys seemed to like the outdoor area, which was meant for a petting zoo, but when Ronin started playing in the dirt excavating site we decided to explore the indoors. Nikko wasn't happy with the plan and tried repeatedly to pull me outside. He protested pretty much the entire excursion, didn't even like the lemurs that we watched being fed. Once he got into the stroller he was still very combative. We met up with Vunge and went to another kid-friendly area which was made up of farm animals, but Nikko didn't want to leave the stroller. He pretty much wanted the stroller to stay in motion, but even when we wheeled it around he was balking. I was so incredibly confused and felt bad that Nikko seemed to be so frustrated. I couldn't figure it out and was starting to have a bad time myself. Ronin was also acting up, and in the petting zoo he managed to fling himself to the ground and get geese poop on his leg. It smelled absolutely rank and I gagged later on when changing his diaper. Nikko seemed to calm down a bit later as we walked toward our lunch area. It's possible that he was crabby because he was hungry, but we all suffered for it. After lunch all the kids went to play in a kids' playground and Nikko was himself again. He didn't even protest when we had to leave. All the kids fell asleep on the way home.
But once we got home it was for a quick juice refill, a gift wrap, then off to the Creen's house for Riley's birthday party. Luckily they were running late as well! We got to eat at the same time, and Nikko seemed curious about his surroundings. He didn't cling to me as I had expected he would. But as the afternoon wore on, I dreaded the cake time. He, of course, wanted some cake and Denis gave him some, but he threw a big fit when one piece was finished. Denis ended up sharing another piece, but I told him to announce that it was the last piece, then no more cake, etc. Nikko listened, but was still whiny until the cake was put away. We came home and I was exhausted from a whirlwind two days of activities. I was beat up emotionally because handling Nikko's mood swings was so challenging, and then Ronin's whining and crying didn't help make things easier. I wonder if Nikko senses that preschool starts at the end of this week...
Monday, August 31, 2009
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Block Party
Our morning was usual but I had to rally the troops around the 11th hour to get us going to Mom's house for her Fatima prayer shindig. We got there by 1p and proceeded into the basement/daycare area. Ronin was off playing with trains but Nikko was very clingy to me. He didn't warm up for a while, for some reason. And while his mood is kinda dragging, he was virtually silent for the earlier part of the afternoon. Lunch was busy because there were so many people milling about. I had just changed all three diapers when Mom asked me if I wanted to take home leftovers. Nikko was practically glued to my side so when I went into the sun room and stated using the foil, I thought Nikko was either nearby or downstairs. It wasn't until I truly noticed that he hadn't been around me that I looked up and asked aloud where he was. Someone mentioned that he was outside getting wet by the pond. Uh oh. I went outside and sure enough he was playing with a car in the water, his pant leg and his sleeve soaked. Dad stood nearby plus another person who just remarked that Nikko was having fun, but I put on my Mom cap and hauled him away from the pond. He was kicking and screaming because he wanted to play with the water. I determined that it was truly time to go. Unfortunately it was a big scene with Nikko as I changed him to some dry clothes and tried to assemble our food + Denis and the kids. We made it packed into the car. Denis drove separately so I just took off once the kids were buckled in. I sobbed a bit while clenching the steering wheel, embarrassed by the scene of me hauling Nikko into the kitchen while he wailed so loudly with everyone leaving through the kitchen, and because I felt so bad that Nikko was crying just because he wanted to continue playing and I couldn't let him. I felt pretty powerless, but knew that I had to be firm about not letting Nikko play in the fish pond. It's not a bathtub.
Everyone fell asleep on the way home. I had to park 1/2 a block away because this afternoon was our annual Block Party. I put the kids in the double and hauled us to the house, pausing to say Hi to the Polish mom with twins that I met on the practice bus day. I told her we'd be out soon. Denis came home too, and then there was a big fire truck in the street just to present to us at our block party. The boys thought it was pretty cool. I took pictures like crazy. Afterwards, we took the boys into the air bouncer. That's where our neighborhood girls, Brianna and Alissa, took over Ronin and entertained him the whole time. Nikko hung around us, but was also excited to see other kids like the twins on their big wheel bikes. He did some running around, ate his cold pizza, and then just hung around near Denis a bit. I wish I could have engaged him more, but I had Audrey in tow and she was getting super cranky because she was tired. We took the kids in for baths and bed. Unfortunately, both boys were cranky to Denis, who was also tired, so bath time was very ugly. I was glad when the boys got to their beds, and was tired myself. I have to prepare for another busy day, starting with a zoo outing w/the Hannums, then Riley's birthday party in the afternoon.
Everyone fell asleep on the way home. I had to park 1/2 a block away because this afternoon was our annual Block Party. I put the kids in the double and hauled us to the house, pausing to say Hi to the Polish mom with twins that I met on the practice bus day. I told her we'd be out soon. Denis came home too, and then there was a big fire truck in the street just to present to us at our block party. The boys thought it was pretty cool. I took pictures like crazy. Afterwards, we took the boys into the air bouncer. That's where our neighborhood girls, Brianna and Alissa, took over Ronin and entertained him the whole time. Nikko hung around us, but was also excited to see other kids like the twins on their big wheel bikes. He did some running around, ate his cold pizza, and then just hung around near Denis a bit. I wish I could have engaged him more, but I had Audrey in tow and she was getting super cranky because she was tired. We took the kids in for baths and bed. Unfortunately, both boys were cranky to Denis, who was also tired, so bath time was very ugly. I was glad when the boys got to their beds, and was tired myself. I have to prepare for another busy day, starting with a zoo outing w/the Hannums, then Riley's birthday party in the afternoon.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
The bottom of the slump
This morning when I came into Nikko's room he flipped over and I saw he was awake, but he wasn't talking. This is highly unusual for him because I can hear him babbling by himself in the mornings when he is awake. I heard not a peep until I came in and greeted him. I looked him over and he was fine, and he managed to blurt out some garbly sounds that sounded normal. His demeanor was listless. He sat at the kitchen table with half-lidded eyes as if he woke up too early. He drank some chocolate milk, ate half the Eggo cinnamon toast w/syrup I fed to him, then sprawled under the table as if to sleep. I got him up and when Ronin was finished I herded the kids into the living room. Nikko lay on the couch and moved to the floor pillow and back. I came to check on him around 10:30a and saw that he had thrown up on the cushion near the armrest. Yuck! I cleaned it up, soaking the area with Carpet Resolve, then changed Nikko's clothes. He didn't have a fever at all, and I hoped he didn't have a stomach bug. Nikko crawled to the floor pillow and basically passed out for an hour. My poor little boy. The nap helped him. He came to the kitchen right before I was going to wake him up for lunch. He nibbled slightly on a chicken nugget, but started eating the slice of cheese pizza I put before him, then ate two more slices. Yea! In the afternoon he seemed to improve slightly. He played with some cars a little bit, lay on the couch and the floor a lot, and walked around. I tried to ease into some tickle games and that seemed to work better in the later afternoon. Denis came home from work and Nikko was acting a bit better, slightly grumpy this time. We went to the in-laws for dinner and Nikko was the most quiet we had ever seen. His appetite was back because he ate his nuggets and even ate some of the eggplant parmesan Lola made. I think it looked really appetizing, and the sauce and cheese tasted good. I am not a fan of eggplant but the taste was masked in the tomato sauce so it tasted like a regular lasagna to me with a hint of stringy-ness. Denis wouldn't touch it. I took home some leftovers since Nikko showed an interest in it. Nikko still clung close to me all evening and it wasn't until Maya and Rex were getting ready to leave that Nikko, Ronin and Maya started a chasing game in the living room that seemed to liven his spirits. No collisions so that's a good sign. I read in a book that I should make a learning opportunity out of every experience with Nikko so that he'll always be engaged, but on a day like today where he threw up and obviously wasn't feeling good, I didn't want to make sitting on the couch a school lesson. I tried to read him a book and his attention definitely wandered off. I'll have to keep practicing at it.
Friday, August 28, 2009
In a slump
Earlier today, Nikko was running around in the living room again and tripped. He fell and hit his mouth on the floor again, this time on the hardwood. I saw that he had a small cut behind his upper lip, but not nearly as deep as the previous cut. It bled a little bit, but I wonder if that soured his appetite for the rest of the day because he didn't eat much at lunch or dinner. He ate a small piece of pizza at lunch, but had no seconds. Dinner was a total bust where he nibbled on one ear of his Mickey Mouse nugget and abandoned the rest. I hope he'll be better at eating tomorrow. His demeanor today was also very off, wasn't interested in interacting and sought me out just to sit in my lap. Ronin had speech therapy and it went all right. Ronin's still very much into Cars and he didn't want to be without McQueen. Pete was still able to get some words out of him. Audrey kept trying to crawl right in the middle of everything, and Nikko kept to himself. After therapy, Audrey went down for a nap and Ronin wanted to watch Roary the Race Car. Lunchtime crept around and Ronin fell asleep in the high chair. When that happens, he doesn't need a 2pm nap. That also means I should take the opportunity to take the kids somewhere. But it was a rainy day so playing outside was out for me. Also, Audrey is at the crawling stage so going to the ball pit wouldn't be fun for her. I wracked my brains trying to think of a place I could manage them by myself but I had no place to go (Kohl Children's Museum would have been a madhouse during a rainy day, and I would totally lose both boys in there - Nikko to the water room, and Ronin would be everywhere while Audrey suffered in the Bjorn trying to go play. Not fair for everyone. Unless someone on the staff wanted to babysit my kids! LOL! Since we really didn't need to go to Costco, I decided to take the kids to Target with the primary objective of getting a Cars toy for Nikko or Ronin, and snacking the kids in their cafeteria. I took the long way so that 2 out of the 3 could take a nap, which they did. I went to the Target on Higgins. But their cafeteria was so small, connected to a Starbucks so it was like a cafe. I should have went to the one on Rand, which was bigger. OH WELL, at least Nikko and Audrey got to nap. I snacked them in the cafe. I gave Nikko a cookie, which he seemed eager to have at first. But he started looking around and then abandoned the cookie. He got up and wandered to a girl at the next table who was eating Doritos and a dip. He paused to look up at her, and I whisked him back. I went to the counter to get him some munchies and I got a bag of Cheetos instead since he's had that before. But when I opened it and put it before him, he inspected it, nibbled a minute piece, then decided he didn't like Cheetos OR the cookie. This boy snarfed an entire bag of Cheetos while en route to the Dolphin Place on our Jacksonville Beach trip. Who was this kid next to me? I packed us up and off to the toy section we went, in the double stroller and I made Ronin walk a bit. He managed to look cute to other shoppers, toddling along with his sippy cup and awkward steps. When he saw the toys, the trucks, and then the Cars section, he got crazed. Ronin wanted everything. He especially wanted the 4-pack of Cars I got for us, with another McQueen, The King, Chick Hicks and a random race car. He was crazed about getting Chick Hicks. I wouldn't let him open the box until we got home and Ronin was pissed beyond belief. Nikko, on the other hand, was so quiet from Target to home, through dinner and then afterward when we all went with Denis to get the Civic. Even in the basement before we left, Nikko didn't run around. He crawled through a hoop or two, but ended up in my lap. I really hope he feels better tomorrow. Maybe going to Lola's house will energize him when he sees his cousins.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Global Developmental Delays
Hmmm...Nikko was not in his greatest form today. We just got back from dropping off the Civic to get the interior cleaned, Nikko fell asleep for about 20 minutes in the carseat, and now he's mopey. I wonder if it will take him a long time to fall back to sleep tonight. He's also a tad crabby. Denis and I tried to do the parachute with him (using a big blanket) but he just lay on a pillow on the floor and wasn't interactive at all. He seemed tired and sleepy during bedtime stories, and we nixed the songs altogether. I hope he's ok tomorrow. It was a rainy, gloomy day today spent indoors and at home. Nikko spent most of his time playing at the table near the picture window, racing some cars back and forth across the tabletop (I don't believe it was totally stimming; he didn't have his eyes glued to the wheels or anything, kind of moved his whole body along the edge of the table so he wasn't sitting still) and also fiddling with cars and a car carrier attached to a big rig. At one point he brought the rig and carrier to me for help in getting a car into it, but the car was DJ, a blue car with "wings" that were wider than the carrier so it wouldn't fit. I gave him another car as a substitute. I also broke out a big container of Mr. Potato Head parts that I got from Costco. It came w/a Mr., a Mrs., and two spud juniors. Ronin and Audrey were interested, but Nikko showed only mild interest at first. Later I brought Mrs. Potato Head to him and he gave a high five upon request. I played the Your Baby Can Read DVD to the kids in the earlier part of the morning but they lost interest. And of course I played the Cars DVD. Nikko didn't pay much attention to the movie when we first watched it, but today he seemed to be interested in the whole thing. I may have to get another Lightning McQueen metal car because he keeps swiping Ronin's car. I generally don't like getting duplicate toys because that's just more toys to clutter up the living room, but McQueen is becoming the source of much stress on a daily basis.
Something else I've been ruminating over for just the past day... Gail recommended a book on amazon.com on brain functioning in autistic kids as well as ADHD and developmental delays. It got me thinking about the neurological aspects of autism. Just the other day I realized that while Nikko had a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder, it also said he had Global Developmental Delays. I started looking that up online and my heart sank when I read about that being developmental delays on an allover scope, including social, communicative, daily tasks, feeding, basically you name it. One site included some kind of intellectual deficiency in its definition and I started to wonder if that meant Nikko has some mental retardation. Another site said that Global Developmental Delays are static, meaning that they do not get worse. Um, that sounds like a good thing, but still sounds daunting and bad. Means they can get better, right? The sites I skimmed about developmental delays in general cited problems in the brain at or before birth. It made me wonder why Nikko has never had an MRI done to his brain and would that reveal anything? Would it show an area that is lacking or injured, right or left brain, and therefore give some direction as to the type of things he should be working on? This book that Gail referred to me is also brain-based, and possibly goes in this direction. What appealed to me is that there are brain-based things you can do AT HOME, without the diets and vitamins and shots, so that's why I took an interest in the book. The MRI is something I must remember to ask Dr. Keene when we meet her on 10/2. Indeed, if autism is a neurological disorder (also cited as a social disorder), then perhaps studying the brain will help me. Gail also asked me if I had ever heard of Brain Balance, which I think is some academy up in Deerfield that helps kids w/autism. I saw an ad in Chicago Parent once, but didn't pursue it further. I might have to revisit this.
Something else I've been ruminating over for just the past day... Gail recommended a book on amazon.com on brain functioning in autistic kids as well as ADHD and developmental delays. It got me thinking about the neurological aspects of autism. Just the other day I realized that while Nikko had a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder, it also said he had Global Developmental Delays. I started looking that up online and my heart sank when I read about that being developmental delays on an allover scope, including social, communicative, daily tasks, feeding, basically you name it. One site included some kind of intellectual deficiency in its definition and I started to wonder if that meant Nikko has some mental retardation. Another site said that Global Developmental Delays are static, meaning that they do not get worse. Um, that sounds like a good thing, but still sounds daunting and bad. Means they can get better, right? The sites I skimmed about developmental delays in general cited problems in the brain at or before birth. It made me wonder why Nikko has never had an MRI done to his brain and would that reveal anything? Would it show an area that is lacking or injured, right or left brain, and therefore give some direction as to the type of things he should be working on? This book that Gail referred to me is also brain-based, and possibly goes in this direction. What appealed to me is that there are brain-based things you can do AT HOME, without the diets and vitamins and shots, so that's why I took an interest in the book. The MRI is something I must remember to ask Dr. Keene when we meet her on 10/2. Indeed, if autism is a neurological disorder (also cited as a social disorder), then perhaps studying the brain will help me. Gail also asked me if I had ever heard of Brain Balance, which I think is some academy up in Deerfield that helps kids w/autism. I saw an ad in Chicago Parent once, but didn't pursue it further. I might have to revisit this.
Mom's house & swimming
The morning was short because I planned to take the kids to mom's house around lunchtime. Nikko was acting like normal so I knew that his lip was on the road to healing. It's filled with white stuff so that's gotta be a good thing (unless it's "weeping", according to Atz. Then it's pus and not a good thing. Eeeeeeew). I gave the kids a light snack around 11a, put Audrey down for a nap and then started packing things up to leave. Also packed stuff we'd need later for our last swimming adventure of the season, when Denis comes home early from work. It's a good thing I did this early because, just to jump ahead a little, the traffic coming home was challenging so when I got home I was able to just grab the swim stuff, towels, and refill juice bottles. Anyway, we got to mom's house and had lunch in the sunroom. Nikko found an interest in the water spray can that Dad was using on his indoor orchids. It looks like a large cylinder with a pump handle for the water pressure and a little hand-held hose for controlled spraying. I'm kind of glad Nikko didn't figure out how to spray the water because we'd all have been drenched if he knew. Mom looked at Nikko's lip and said he was going to be fine. Dad said the same thing, then he left for work. We didn't stay very long because I had to get us home for swimming and Mom hadn't slept yet from working the night before. I just wanted to go there for lunch to see Dad before he goes to work, to let Mom check out Nikko's lip, and for lola bonding time since I didn't come over the day before. When I was loading the kids into the Pilot, I was piling the bags into the front seat and putting Audrey into her carseat when I heard Mom saying, "Nikko, come give mom a hug!" She was standing in the middle of the front lawn with her arms wide open. He refused her a few times, running along the sidewalk and running up to me in case I disappeared somewhere. But when I turned after snapping Audrey's car seat into the base, I heard Mom calling for a hug again, saw Nikko running toward her and whining loudly, but still running straight into her hug. Mom and I both smiled and thought that was pretty cool, that he was protesting but still allowed Mom to let her hug him. AW. It reminds me of how Mom said to me that she was DETERMINED to make Ronin like her, back in the day when he was much younger and seemed to hate everybody. Mom worked really hard to win Ronin's approval and she did win. Mom is one of Ronin's favorite people, even though he gets moody at first. I wonder if Mom would have the same kind of patience with Nikko, to get him to acknowledge and appreciate her. It looked like it today! She doesn't give up, unlike me who might throw in the towel just a few seconds earlier if I'd lost hope. Perhaps the key is not to lose hope.
We went to the pool with Denis around 5:15p and the kids loved it. They are fishes in the water. Ronin saw another boy wearing Cars swim trunks, then started running toward the boy, pointing. We had to hold him back. He did this with a Cars beach towel as well. Meanwhile, Nikko was happily gliding along the floor of the zero depth pool, sometimes swimming next to us, and giving nice, normal laughs of joy that didn't look like he was laughing at an inside joke. After the pool, when changing the kids, I was relieved that Nikko didn't start rummaging through the bags looking for fruit snacks. He has a good memory and might have recalled that I hauled out the FS last time during the adult swim break to keep the boys out of the pool. I saw him eyeing the backpack, but he didn't make a move so I was safe. Dinner was ok, but Nikko is just eating chicken nuggets again. Not eating mac cheese or even the oven fries I baked. I wonder if I should really do what the books say, put out food in front of Nikko and if he eats it, great. If he doesn't eat it, then either leave it or put the food away after mealtime is done, and leave him hungry for the next meal. The problem with the hunger thing is that he will start to drag me to the cabinets for cookies or crackers. When he drags me, he is unrelenting and things get ugly when I don't comply. Am I supposed to ignore his attempts to communicate with me that he's hungry (and not eating what I put in front of him), no matter the cost to his temperament or my sanity? Um, yeah, I think that's the feeling I get. :( So when am I going to do this? I. Don't. Know.
We went to the pool with Denis around 5:15p and the kids loved it. They are fishes in the water. Ronin saw another boy wearing Cars swim trunks, then started running toward the boy, pointing. We had to hold him back. He did this with a Cars beach towel as well. Meanwhile, Nikko was happily gliding along the floor of the zero depth pool, sometimes swimming next to us, and giving nice, normal laughs of joy that didn't look like he was laughing at an inside joke. After the pool, when changing the kids, I was relieved that Nikko didn't start rummaging through the bags looking for fruit snacks. He has a good memory and might have recalled that I hauled out the FS last time during the adult swim break to keep the boys out of the pool. I saw him eyeing the backpack, but he didn't make a move so I was safe. Dinner was ok, but Nikko is just eating chicken nuggets again. Not eating mac cheese or even the oven fries I baked. I wonder if I should really do what the books say, put out food in front of Nikko and if he eats it, great. If he doesn't eat it, then either leave it or put the food away after mealtime is done, and leave him hungry for the next meal. The problem with the hunger thing is that he will start to drag me to the cabinets for cookies or crackers. When he drags me, he is unrelenting and things get ugly when I don't comply. Am I supposed to ignore his attempts to communicate with me that he's hungry (and not eating what I put in front of him), no matter the cost to his temperament or my sanity? Um, yeah, I think that's the feeling I get. :( So when am I going to do this? I. Don't. Know.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
2mm
Well, no words today and for good reason...
This morning I was vacuuming in the living room. The kids were playing around, their usual a.m. Nikko was lying tummy down on the couch near the armrest, watching TV. He can easily crawl/leap over the armrest, and has been crashing into the couch and walls for the past three days. I'm not sure how but he was scooting off the couch, lost his balance and his chin hit the striped ottoman at the base of the couch. The vacuum was off, and I heard a slight CRUNCH on impact. Then Nikko started to cry/scream. I worried that maybe he knocked one of his upper teeth out, so I tried to wobble them but they were stable. Then the blood started welling around his bottom teeth. I saw a dark mound on the inner lip and ran him into the kitchen for a paper towel. Audrey was underfoot and started crying to add to the mix. When I looked at the lip after soaking up some blood, I saw a small gash in the soft part of the inner lip and it was bleeding a lot. I tried to put an icepack on it but Nikko wouldn't have it. I started moaning that we might have to go to the ER, so I called Atz. She said she'd come over for the babies and that I should call the pediatrician for instructions. While I did, Nikko was crying really hard but I held him close. Audrey continued to follow us, wailing. I found a pacifier for her and tried to plug her up. When I got the ped office, they gave me to the nurse who could barely hear me because two kids were screaming. I had to release Nikko and grab Audrey, shoved the paci in her mouth and put her in the pack n' play in our bedroom. Time for her morning nap, slightly early. She protested, but in the end she caved in. Meanwhile Nikko had scampered to the Thomas chairs in front of the mirrored corner and had his burp cloth in his mouth. The bleeding had stopped. I couldn't really tell how long the gash was, and muttered that it looked like 2 cm. "Is it 2mm or 2cm? Because 2 cm equals an inch," the nurse asked calmly. I wasn't really feeling calm, and said I didn't have a ruler on me but could try to estimate it. I also got flustered because she threw some math at me right in the middle of things. (I was really pissed right then because while she was probably supposed to be calm in every situation, she sounded annoying and condescending to me, even though she most likely was not trying to be.) Luckily the little Black & Decker tool box I just gave to Nikko two days ago was sitting nearby and it had a ruler on the handle, so I could see that 2mm was more appropriate. Then I was shocked to hear that 2mm doesn't require a suture. I didn't mean to sound haughty, but I did ask the nurse, "Can you please tell me then what does apply for a suture?" "We're looking at an inch or even half an inch." Nikko's gash was not half an inch, which, when I looked at the ruler, had never seemed so big a length until today, lucky for us. The nurse rambled on about how Nikko should be ok soon, give him tylenol for the pain, don't let him drink citrusy liquids or anything that might irritate the wound, and don't put any neosporin on it. She sounded like she was reading from a book, so I said, "Yeah, sure, ok, thanks a lot. All right. Good bye." And I hung up, mad that I couldn't bring Nikko anywhere to see anybody, and that I was supposed to do nothing while he was laying on the floor in pain, crying, and in a little bit of shock. I comforted him as best I could, hugging him and letting him put that burb cloth to his lips. I tried ice again, I tried a wet, cold washcloth, but he wouldn't let me. He let me give him some chocolate milk, which might have helped soothe his lip. Then I sat down on the kitchen stool and heaved sobs because I felt so bad for Nikko, because Audrey had been crying too, and that I couldn't seem to make anything better. I tried not to let him see the tears in my eyes, so I straightened up and regained my composure. I put in the Cars DVD and that calmed Nikko while making Ronin extra happy.
For the rest of the day, Nikko kept touching his mouth, probably poking at the wound with his tongue, wrapping his lips inward around his teeth. Lucky for us, the tooth didn't go all the way through, but the area under his lip was turning purple, probably some trauma from what was hurting behind it. Nikko fell asleep later on when Denis came home, around 3:30, so I was able to run to Costco for some much needed stuff. When I came back, Nikko was awake so I gave him a bowl of ice cream since the nurse mentioned giving him popsicles to help soothe the lip. OK, I don't hate her. But I didn't even get a follow-up phone call regarding Nikko's status. Booo! After all the kids were awake and semi-snacked, Denis took the boys outside first to help wash the Civic. When Audrey and I made it outside, I saw that the boys abandoned their fence dirt-playing ways and were totally into the sudsy bucket. Nikko was in good spirits, and loved the sprinkler hose attachment. It was quite a cleanup for the boys, but then they didn't need a bath before bedtime. I am really surprised that with all the crashing Nikko has been doing for the past three days, which has been accompanied by his hysterical laughter, he hasn't hurt himself more than the gash today. I am thanking my lucky stars for that. And thanking the angel on his shoulder for making the gash smaller than a half inch.
This morning I was vacuuming in the living room. The kids were playing around, their usual a.m. Nikko was lying tummy down on the couch near the armrest, watching TV. He can easily crawl/leap over the armrest, and has been crashing into the couch and walls for the past three days. I'm not sure how but he was scooting off the couch, lost his balance and his chin hit the striped ottoman at the base of the couch. The vacuum was off, and I heard a slight CRUNCH on impact. Then Nikko started to cry/scream. I worried that maybe he knocked one of his upper teeth out, so I tried to wobble them but they were stable. Then the blood started welling around his bottom teeth. I saw a dark mound on the inner lip and ran him into the kitchen for a paper towel. Audrey was underfoot and started crying to add to the mix. When I looked at the lip after soaking up some blood, I saw a small gash in the soft part of the inner lip and it was bleeding a lot. I tried to put an icepack on it but Nikko wouldn't have it. I started moaning that we might have to go to the ER, so I called Atz. She said she'd come over for the babies and that I should call the pediatrician for instructions. While I did, Nikko was crying really hard but I held him close. Audrey continued to follow us, wailing. I found a pacifier for her and tried to plug her up. When I got the ped office, they gave me to the nurse who could barely hear me because two kids were screaming. I had to release Nikko and grab Audrey, shoved the paci in her mouth and put her in the pack n' play in our bedroom. Time for her morning nap, slightly early. She protested, but in the end she caved in. Meanwhile Nikko had scampered to the Thomas chairs in front of the mirrored corner and had his burp cloth in his mouth. The bleeding had stopped. I couldn't really tell how long the gash was, and muttered that it looked like 2 cm. "Is it 2mm or 2cm? Because 2 cm equals an inch," the nurse asked calmly. I wasn't really feeling calm, and said I didn't have a ruler on me but could try to estimate it. I also got flustered because she threw some math at me right in the middle of things. (I was really pissed right then because while she was probably supposed to be calm in every situation, she sounded annoying and condescending to me, even though she most likely was not trying to be.) Luckily the little Black & Decker tool box I just gave to Nikko two days ago was sitting nearby and it had a ruler on the handle, so I could see that 2mm was more appropriate. Then I was shocked to hear that 2mm doesn't require a suture. I didn't mean to sound haughty, but I did ask the nurse, "Can you please tell me then what does apply for a suture?" "We're looking at an inch or even half an inch." Nikko's gash was not half an inch, which, when I looked at the ruler, had never seemed so big a length until today, lucky for us. The nurse rambled on about how Nikko should be ok soon, give him tylenol for the pain, don't let him drink citrusy liquids or anything that might irritate the wound, and don't put any neosporin on it. She sounded like she was reading from a book, so I said, "Yeah, sure, ok, thanks a lot. All right. Good bye." And I hung up, mad that I couldn't bring Nikko anywhere to see anybody, and that I was supposed to do nothing while he was laying on the floor in pain, crying, and in a little bit of shock. I comforted him as best I could, hugging him and letting him put that burb cloth to his lips. I tried ice again, I tried a wet, cold washcloth, but he wouldn't let me. He let me give him some chocolate milk, which might have helped soothe his lip. Then I sat down on the kitchen stool and heaved sobs because I felt so bad for Nikko, because Audrey had been crying too, and that I couldn't seem to make anything better. I tried not to let him see the tears in my eyes, so I straightened up and regained my composure. I put in the Cars DVD and that calmed Nikko while making Ronin extra happy.
For the rest of the day, Nikko kept touching his mouth, probably poking at the wound with his tongue, wrapping his lips inward around his teeth. Lucky for us, the tooth didn't go all the way through, but the area under his lip was turning purple, probably some trauma from what was hurting behind it. Nikko fell asleep later on when Denis came home, around 3:30, so I was able to run to Costco for some much needed stuff. When I came back, Nikko was awake so I gave him a bowl of ice cream since the nurse mentioned giving him popsicles to help soothe the lip. OK, I don't hate her. But I didn't even get a follow-up phone call regarding Nikko's status. Booo! After all the kids were awake and semi-snacked, Denis took the boys outside first to help wash the Civic. When Audrey and I made it outside, I saw that the boys abandoned their fence dirt-playing ways and were totally into the sudsy bucket. Nikko was in good spirits, and loved the sprinkler hose attachment. It was quite a cleanup for the boys, but then they didn't need a bath before bedtime. I am really surprised that with all the crashing Nikko has been doing for the past three days, which has been accompanied by his hysterical laughter, he hasn't hurt himself more than the gash today. I am thanking my lucky stars for that. And thanking the angel on his shoulder for making the gash smaller than a half inch.
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