Thursday, April 24, 2008

The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

Actually, it was just a quick moment, that I wish I could undo, that made the rest of the day terrible…This is a post I would rather not write. I feel really, really, really, REALLY awful and guilty and like the worst mother ever. I wish I could just hide all the evidence and make it all better. But I can’t, so I’ll just face up to it and explain why, when you meet my son anytime during the next 8 or so years, he looks like a hillbilly. It’s because he has an inattentive mother.
He fell down our four wooden stairs. We live in a multi-level house and these four stairs are right in the middle. You can’t block them off with a gate because there aren’t walls—just banisters that are not parallel. So I blocked them off with a barstool then got distracted. It's a horrible feeling hearing your kid cry out and knowing immediately what happened and that you should have prevented it.
He must have hit his mouth right on the edge of a stair because there were no bumps anywhere else. He was gushing blood. I dropped the girls off at a neighbor’s and took Fred to the pediatric dentist. They took an x-ray that revealed that he had lost 3 teeth. Chloe had found two on the floor but I didn’t know about the top tooth (he may have swallowed it). He just cut a fourth tooth last week and that one is fine. There is nothing they can do. When he is older we can get a retainer for cosmetic purposes if we feel the need. Dan’s dad is a dentist and called me. He tried to make me feel better by telling me that it doesn’t take much force to knock out baby teeth because there are no roots. It didn’t work because I can see his fat lip and the dark, bloody, jagged holes where his cute little teeth used to be. And in case you are wondering, he will still be able to say ‘Sister Susie sitting on a thistle’. Since he hasn’t learned to speak with teeth he will be able to learn to speak correctly without. I’m just hoping he’ll continue to nurse.

I’m including a video so you can see that he is still alive and well. He continues to put everything in his mouth and to pull himself up on things. I'm so worried that he'll bump his mouth.


p.s. I’m not fishing for ‘good mother’ compliments or ‘it could have happened to anyone.’
p.p.s. Don’t call me. Call Dan’s cell if you have questions. I really don’t feel like talking about it. I already dread the millions of times I’m going to have to explain it in the next 8 years.

Sorry Fred!

10 comments:

jordan said...

that sucks.

Chanell said...

About 30 minutes after Dan left here to drive home, Kate ate it on our stairs and bit through her tongue. Welcome to the inattentive mother's club. We are all there. Luckily my stairs are carpeted. I'm so sorry about Fred that is so sad.

Heath said...

I almost started to cry reading this sad story. That is one of my worst fears. I have nightmares that my teeth fall out and I try to put them back in.(I used to be a dental assistant) I am so so so sorry. Poor baby. Poor poor Fred. And you are a GREAT MOM!! Lachlan has had two emergency trips, five bloody noses/mouths, has passed out, fallen off our bed at 6 mos., fallen down our stairs too many times for me to count, pulled two different barstools on top of him, and I'd like to think I'm a pretty good mom:D IT COULD BE SO MUCH WORSE.

Anonymous said...

yikes. that's going to be one tough little bugger.

Unknown said...

Okay! You win the bad mom award. I tried to take it with Tanners allergy but I'll let you have it.
Since there's no making you feel better I'll just say I cried for a week when Ella hit her front teeth and they said they'd probably have to pull them. It's one ugly gray tooth and a half chipped off one. But ya know what, I don't mind it at all NOW. It kinda fits her personality.
Anyway, I'm so sorry.

Kristin said...

I think I got ya beat. When Brett was 13 months old I was scrapbooking on the floor and left my stuff out. He got into my stuff and found the xacto knife. When I say what he had in his hands I chased after him to which his response was to run away. He inevetibly fell and stabbed himself in the forhead causing a very large gash in it. Luckily it wasn't his eye! So I think I win for the unattentive mother award.

Heath said...

Can I briefly tell my "bad mom" story? Left the curling iron on and Talmage yanked the cord and pulled the gold plated sizzling hot iron onto his arm. He had second and third degree burns and still has a terrible burn scar. So what I'm saying is at least when Fred's 20 his won't be visible anymore...Talmage's will!

k8theriver said...

thanks for all the bad mom stories. [heath, i remember talmage's burn. i had a burn when i was little and it kept moving up my arm and now i don't know where it is. so, talmage might be ok. eventually.]
i still feel bad and couldn't sleep last night. i kept thinking of his gnarly gums. kids fall down stairs all the time and it doesn't seem like a big deal when they just end up with a bump on the head. it could have been worse. but i still wish it didn't have an 8 year consequence.

Winnie said...

Let's see, Caleb smacked his face on the toilet and chipped his two front teeth; he fell down the stairs while trying to ride his toy motorcycle; and Rachel wiped poo all over her cousin and her bedroom when I was trying to potty train her. I think you have a lot of company!

On the bright side, now he can be a hillbilly for Halloween for the next few years!

Carrie said...

OH OUCH! I can relate to the post tramatic not sleeping. After Eliza sliced her leg open last summer and we rushed her to the ER I couldn't sleep. Every time I shut my eyes I saw the inch deep gash and pool of blood. And when Ian broke his arm last month and it was bending where it shouldn't bend. Who's watching my kids?! Oh yeah, that's supposed to be me. :/