Why Do I Have To Sit in the Chair? Another Valuable Lesson Learned

A few months ago we started allowing Caleb to sit in a BIG boy chair. Since, that decision we battle getting him to sit on his bottom and stay in the middle of the chair. Well, today that battle left a casualty and the Ruizs had a less than lovely Valentine's Day. It is amazing how quickly a disaster can strike. Within seconds he went from healthy bouncing boy, to a boy with a split open scalp. I had another freak out mom moment and could not look, so Cory had to assess the damage. It was about a 1 inch gash almost to the bone. It actually didn't bleed as bad as one would expect with a head wound, but we knew the ER was a necessary trip. On Par, with the ER's usually speedy service we sat and waited for a few hours. It pretty much was a mom's nightmare situation, an open wound, crazy toddler ( I think he had almost forgot about it by the time we reached the ER) and bacteria infested kids everywhere. Doing his normal can't sit still routine wanting to climb on the chairs. One would think he would learn, but I guess maybe toddlers long term memory has not fully developed by 33 months. We finally got back to the room, met with the Doc and figured out the game plan. 4 staples and no anesthesia, because the anesthesia would take longer and be just as painful, they said. Hmm, I watched the most terrified kid look into my eyes panicked as Cory and an assistant held him down. They scrubbed the wound with iodine and then proceeded to staple his little head. Oh, that was so hard to watch. My poor little buddy sobbed and shook for probably 20 minutes in my arms. It hurt my heart. He did manage to bring smiles to his Mommy's face when he received a popsicle for his torture and he emphatically declined and throw it across the room.



We went home and watched a movie and then played Play-doh. He actually sat pretty still in his chair during Play-doh time. Maybe, he learned a very valuable toddler lesson. It was a slight challenge to get him down for bed. Lying on his bo bo was not working very well. But after a few lullabies and lying on Mommy’s hand he fell fast asleep.