Being a girl with a scar, I know that tough girls have scars!!!! And Caitlin is joining the ranks!
This story begins on a boring Saturday morning. We had no big plans, and all day to to them, so we decided to look for bunk beds. This has been an on-going search and we decided it was our final day of looking!!! We headed out to Arlington Heights were there were a bunch of stores in a row.
We had hit 2 stores with no luck. The next stop was a quick stop into Burling.ton for a bathroom break for the preggo! While there, Daddy distracted Caitlin by looking at "right-up shoes" (light up shoes). She's been obsessed with getting them...and stomps when she wears her Lelli Kelli's (they have sparkles on them) because she thinks they light up. So daddy and her picked out what mommy considered HIDEOUS light-up shoes. They were so excited but mommy rained on their parade and said we'd keep looking. (Mommy also knows that Abigail said she was going to take money out of her piggy bank and buy Caitlin the shoes for her birthday....and she didn't want to ruin that surprise).
We went to our next store where we were quietly walking in, discussing lunch after this store...with the 2 girls walking right behind us. Next thing we know, we hear a "splat" and bloody-murder screaming (we still aren't sure what happened, if she just tripped or if she slipped on something...but her chin just hit the ground). I pulled the old "Caitlin, you're okay" because usually that stops crying instantly, but the second we picked her up, we knew she wasn't okay. Let's just say she had split her chin open.
Even Rob, who always thinks I am dramatic, instantly went to get the car because we both knew she needed stitches. The store managers came to help and after we got some paper towels to help with the bleeding (sort of pointless, but okay)...we jumped into the car. We weren't near our home hospital which we love, but luckily there was a Children's Memorial extension hospital only a few miles away, so we headed there. I sat in the backseat with Caitlin because I was holding her chin together for her. All she remembers is that she didn't have to wear her seat belt! :)
Caitlin was scared (she told us that later) but did a great job. However, when we got to the hospital, she was very scared at first. She screamed if anyone tried to look at her. In fact, to get her weight, she had to be weighed while I held her, then my weight subtracted! ;) yikes. Luckily they had a Nemo display in the pediatric emergency room, so her obsession with Nemo kept her occupied. This is also were she started crying "Can I have "right-up shoes?"...I mean, come one, it was heartbreaking.... and of course we promised her new shoes, milkshakes, and a happy meal! This is also the point of the story where we start to go broke! :)
When they looked at the cut, they said yes, she'd need stitches. However, because of the location (under her chin where there is a lot of loose skin) they said they have a lot of success with glue instead of the "sewing" stitches. They said if she was a boy, they would automatically do the stitches because it requires calm play for like a week...but with girls, they let the parents decide. Well, we knew we probably should do the stitches because Caitlin plays "like a boy", but of course we didn't want to tramatize her anymore so we opted for the glue. They put steri-stiches (Stina, you are probably dying right now at my spelling and naming of items) on top of the glue to hold it close. They also said the scar would be the same, so we felt okay with our choice.
After 30 minutes of waiting for it to numb (with topical numb thank god), they needed to clean and glue it closed. This is where they recomended "Mom" waits outside because some moms pass out (great, thanks) so I took Abigail outside to wait. I waited to hear screaming, but 5 minutes later they came out with popsicle for Abigail and Caitlin and said we were done. They said Caitlin as a perfect patient and they wish all the kids were like her! :) I'm pretty sure she was just in shock at this point!
This story ends with Rob hitting McDonalds and spending $25 bucks on his princess! ;)
I'm happy to report that almost 24 hours later, she has not reopened her chin, so we are happy we opted with the glue! :)
Here are a few pics from the unexpected adventures:
Daddy and his princess waiting in the room!
This is where I said "Who wants milkshakes?" :)
Watching some tv waiting for the numbing cream to work.
Abigail did so great. By the time, we left it was almost 2:00 and they hadn't eaten, but she just sat quietly in a chair and waited. The nurse rewarded her great behavior!
The final product!
Our sweet girl! She did great. We always joked we'd never make it to her 2nd birthday without stitches..and while we made it to #2, we didn't make it to #3!
I have so much to catch up on...Nana's bday, our weekend at the cabin, Rob's Nascar day, and my dad's marathon!!!! We are off of school the next 2 days (Thanks Chris Columbus) so hopefully I'll do lots of updates!
