Toddler Boy Battle Wounds

The accidents to Braylen's face in the past three weeks have produced more blood than I care to see over a three week span.  Every time he cries now, I brace myself for more blood as I assess the situation.  It hasn't been pretty, but thankfully only one accident caused significant (it's minor in the grand scheme of things, but major to me) damage to his face.

When Evie falls, she usually bites her tongue or bottom lip.  That makes sense to me.  Braylen, on the other hand, bleeds from under his top lip, which makes it appear at first that he knocked out his front teeth.  It is so bizarre to me that he smacks his chin in a way that causes this to happen.  Luckily the first time it happened Jason was home and we got the situation under control quickly.  We are MUCH calmer with Braylen than with Evie's first few mouth cuts.  It's scary to see blood dripping from your baby's mouth!

On second thought, I take back my comment about being much calmer.  On Tuesday, the kids were reading all their new books from the library in the living room before we had lunch.  I pushed Braylen through his morning nap, so he was running on fumes.  He tripped and fell into the carpeted step into the dining room.  I didn't think he hit anything on his face until I picked him up and all the saliva he was producing from crying so hard was red.

Okay, get ice.  Wet paper towel.  Try to avoid getting blood on my shirt.  I got this.  Oh wait, remember that part I added about running on fumes?  Yep, he was screaming bloody murder, mouth in this case.  Like hyperventilated, back arching, "you will not get anything near my mouth Mommy", "I am so tired and hungry" SCREAMING.  My medical assistant, Evie, tried showing him his favorite book and sweetly telling him "it's okay".  I strapped him into his seat in hopes of getting something near his mouth to clean up the blood.  Evie, bless her concerned heart, cooperatively went into her seat and stayed out of my way as I put on my fighting gloves to battle Braylen swatting at me.

After about 10 intense minutes (probably 30 seconds), I called Jason at work concerned that I couldn't get Braylen to stop flipping out or the blood to stop.  Stress took over and I joined in on the hysterics.  Nothing like getting a phone call at work with your son screaming and your wife sobbing that she can't get the blood to stop.  Jason must have thought someone was dying at this point because he said he would race home from work to help me.  Enter wave of guilt for not being able to deal with this situation on my own that I need my husband to come home from work.

I hung up and frantically rang Lisa.  She wasn't home.  The bleeding was not stopping. I needed backup ASAP.  Then could I find my cell phone to call another neighbor?  No.  As I fly out the door to get my cell from my car, leaving my two children buckled in, I see my neighbor's car and have an epiphany that she is a pediatric nurse at Hopkins.  After multiple knocks, she answers and comes to the rescue.

Braylen FINALLY calmed down after I could cradle him and have someone else look in his mouth.  Shannon said it was clotting up and would stop bleeding soon.  She stayed long enough to make sure I was ok and the blood let up.

Jason raced in about 10 minutes later expecting to see a crime scene and instead saw everyone sitting nicely about ready to eat lunch.  Sigh.

Shannon stopped back a few hours later to check on Braylen and give me her number with a note that said "call anytime".  Nothing brings neighbors together like an emergency :)

Wow, that was a lot of details on that accident.  I'll keep the next one brief.

We went to the zoo on Saturday as a family.  Braylen is no longer the steady, slow walker of a few months ago.  He walked too fast.  He face planted on the gravel.  He cried.  He bleed.  He looks like this.

The day after

And I left Jason in charge of cleaning up and wrestling Braylen this time.