Sunday, January 31, 2010
Saturday, January 30, 2010
First visit to the E.R.
You knew it was coming one of these days, right? What with Lauren's love of climbing, and lack of fear of dangerous and sharp objects? Well, on Wednesday, when she was supposed to be picking out her outfit for school, she climbed up and got her ceramic piggy bank, accidentally broke its ear off, and cut herself on it. She came and said excitedly, "hey Mommy, look what I have!" and showed me her bloody arm, with a deep gash a few inches below her wrist.
I put a Band-Aid on it, stopped the bleeding, and called her doctor. They could see her in an hour, so we went in. Dr. Ho said it was borderline for needing stitches, but since it had stopped bleeding and wasn't in a place where a scar would matter, she could glue adhesive strips to it instead of stitches. I was to call her if they came apart or if it bled through the tape. In that case, I'd need to take her to the E.R. since the pediatricians didn't do stitches in the office.
Wednesdays are my in-office day, and Lauren stays at school all day, so I took her to the classroom right as the children were finishing lunch, and gave her teachers instructions to call me if it started bleeding or the strips came off. Then I left her for naptime (she doesn't ever fall asleep but "lies quietly") and took off for the office. I'd gone about 1/4 mile down the road when the phone rang. I needed to come back to the school because she'd already pulled the strips off and it was bleeding. They'd given her a new Band-Aid and it stopped, but I knew I had to take her in to get sewn up.
So, we went off to UCLA Ronald Reagon Hospital in Westwood. We parked with my ride-share card, in my regular parking lot and walked over. They "fast-tracked" us in when I put on the form that Dr. Ho had sent us. They took all of Lauren's info and let us into a room, where they told us the plan was to numb her arm with topical cream, then an injection, then stitches. So they put the numbing cream on, then left the room to wait for it to take effect. And proceeded to leave us for two hours!
During the two hours, we had several very nice nurses and volunteers come by to entertain us. They gave Lauren her very first Polly Pockets doll which she was thrilled about. (It is the Mattel Children's Hospital, after all.) They also gave her some eye wash cups to stack into pyramids, and two empty, needles-removed syringes to play with. She ended up taking the doll and syringe in to share day at her school, to tell her class about the experience. When they finally came in to do the stitches, a medical student did it, under supervision. (No, it was not one of the med students I work with.) They did a really good job keeping Lauren calm and entertained. She never freaked out even for a moment, and no tears. (Lauren OR the med student!)
During the stitches, we kept talking about what we were going to eat at Rubios afterwards, and so immediately after paying, we went to Ackerman to fulfull the promise. Lauren actually had a fun day and lots of giggles and treats. The next day at school she had a little conversation piece, and ran up to each of her friends and said "look! Look at my Band-Aid, I have 3 stitches under there! I had to go to the HOSPITAL and they gave me a Polly Pockets doll and THIS!" after which, she whipped out the needle-less syringe and I had to explain to the parents that no, we were not heroin addicts or anything, it was just a little souvenir from the hospital.
I put a Band-Aid on it, stopped the bleeding, and called her doctor. They could see her in an hour, so we went in. Dr. Ho said it was borderline for needing stitches, but since it had stopped bleeding and wasn't in a place where a scar would matter, she could glue adhesive strips to it instead of stitches. I was to call her if they came apart or if it bled through the tape. In that case, I'd need to take her to the E.R. since the pediatricians didn't do stitches in the office.
Wednesdays are my in-office day, and Lauren stays at school all day, so I took her to the classroom right as the children were finishing lunch, and gave her teachers instructions to call me if it started bleeding or the strips came off. Then I left her for naptime (she doesn't ever fall asleep but "lies quietly") and took off for the office. I'd gone about 1/4 mile down the road when the phone rang. I needed to come back to the school because she'd already pulled the strips off and it was bleeding. They'd given her a new Band-Aid and it stopped, but I knew I had to take her in to get sewn up.
So, we went off to UCLA Ronald Reagon Hospital in Westwood. We parked with my ride-share card, in my regular parking lot and walked over. They "fast-tracked" us in when I put on the form that Dr. Ho had sent us. They took all of Lauren's info and let us into a room, where they told us the plan was to numb her arm with topical cream, then an injection, then stitches. So they put the numbing cream on, then left the room to wait for it to take effect. And proceeded to leave us for two hours!
During the two hours, we had several very nice nurses and volunteers come by to entertain us. They gave Lauren her very first Polly Pockets doll which she was thrilled about. (It is the Mattel Children's Hospital, after all.) They also gave her some eye wash cups to stack into pyramids, and two empty, needles-removed syringes to play with. She ended up taking the doll and syringe in to share day at her school, to tell her class about the experience. When they finally came in to do the stitches, a medical student did it, under supervision. (No, it was not one of the med students I work with.) They did a really good job keeping Lauren calm and entertained. She never freaked out even for a moment, and no tears. (Lauren OR the med student!)
During the stitches, we kept talking about what we were going to eat at Rubios afterwards, and so immediately after paying, we went to Ackerman to fulfull the promise. Lauren actually had a fun day and lots of giggles and treats. The next day at school she had a little conversation piece, and ran up to each of her friends and said "look! Look at my Band-Aid, I have 3 stitches under there! I had to go to the HOSPITAL and they gave me a Polly Pockets doll and THIS!" after which, she whipped out the needle-less syringe and I had to explain to the parents that no, we were not heroin addicts or anything, it was just a little souvenir from the hospital.
Monday, January 11, 2010
Blessings, a Lauren quote
Quote from Lauren, talking to herself last night while she played, "It's about counting your blessing and being happy with what you have because I want a twin sister, but just wanting one doesn't mean you get to have one when you're born."
Monday, November 30, 2009
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Halloween and such
For Halloween this year, Lauren was Snow White at her school, then a ladybug on Halloween morning, when we went to a kids' concert at Santa Monica Pier, and then a unicorn in the evening. She really really wanted a PARTY, but there was a competing party on Halloween at the house of some kids from her school. So we had our "party" of just Alexa and Ryder and their families. The kids bobbed for apples and decorated gingersnap cookies and ran around playing with toys. Perfect, because I couldn't have fit her entire class in our condo. I dressed up as a ladybug for some of the time, and when we stopped by her classmates' party, I dressed as Lauren. I had a curly wig and I wore red and pink together. Just in case anyone didn't get it, I also had a pacifier.
And speaking of pacifiers, Lauren has decided that she is done with them. Officially "they're for babies" and she wants to give all of hers to Laurel. Laurel is our friends Jill & Alex's daughter, who now lives half a block down the street. She's also become Lauren's new favorite person because Lauren's doll Anna was missing for a few weeks and last week Laurel came over to play and in the first minute she was here, found Anna (stuffed in the play kitchen's oven). So Laurel's the hero these days. I need to make an arrangement with Jill to accept anything Lauren is giving Laurel, and later discretely throw away or donate to charity anything (most things?) that Laurel won't actually use. Considering Laurel doesn't take a pacifier in the first place, she's not going to be tempted by a collection of Lauren's used ones! But they'll get out of the house.
We've been trying to work on Lauren's table manners and when she burps or drops something, to say "excuse me" or "pardon me". She likes to say "part of me!" when she burps. If I'm trying to herd her from one place to another and she doesn't want to go, I make it into a race and she likes to declare, "I winned!" .
And speaking of pacifiers, Lauren has decided that she is done with them. Officially "they're for babies" and she wants to give all of hers to Laurel. Laurel is our friends Jill & Alex's daughter, who now lives half a block down the street. She's also become Lauren's new favorite person because Lauren's doll Anna was missing for a few weeks and last week Laurel came over to play and in the first minute she was here, found Anna (stuffed in the play kitchen's oven). So Laurel's the hero these days. I need to make an arrangement with Jill to accept anything Lauren is giving Laurel, and later discretely throw away or donate to charity anything (most things?) that Laurel won't actually use. Considering Laurel doesn't take a pacifier in the first place, she's not going to be tempted by a collection of Lauren's used ones! But they'll get out of the house.
We've been trying to work on Lauren's table manners and when she burps or drops something, to say "excuse me" or "pardon me". She likes to say "part of me!" when she burps. If I'm trying to herd her from one place to another and she doesn't want to go, I make it into a race and she likes to declare, "I winned!" .
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