We had to take Eamon to the ER this afternoon. He pulled up on the coffee table downstairs (like he does a hundred times a day) and fell down and somehow (we have no idea how) cut his lip and gum. I assumed he'd just hit his head, in fact, I heard it hit, and I picked him up to comfort him, and then blood literally just started spilling from his mouth. More and more and more. Horrifying. It was hard to tell what was going on, and we weren't sure what to do; it didn't seem like the kind of injury you could apply pressure to. E was screaming hysterically and I was trying unsuccessfully to press on his lip with a cold, wet cloth. TJ went online and read somewhere that you don't want to mess around with lip lacerations, so we decided to go to the ER, even though he'd stopped bleeding by the time we were halfway there, and he seemed to be doing okay. It's Sunday, though, so the ER seemed like our one and only option. Long story short, they didn't do anything, and it just has to heal. The lip isn't the worst part; it's the cut in the gum above one of his top teeth that looks awful and had us concerned. But that should heal in a couple of days, apparently. The doctor said that if E was a year older they would've had him rinse his mouth with antiseptic, but he obviously can't do that yet. Luckily, our mouths don't usually get infected because they're already full of bacteria, or so we were taught today. We also learned that the lips and gums heal incredibly quickly. Oh, and that E's cutting a fifth tooth, a cuspid. We hadn't realized until the doctor showed us, although we'd wondered if there was another one on its way from how he's seemed the past couple of days.
We were so proud of our guy today. He just kind of persevered through it all--he didn't cry when the doctor examined his mouth, even though we were holding him down on a table with his arms over his head, and he ate a normal dinner (how, I don't know) and even nursed tonight. He is the sweetest thing I've ever seen. We spent two hours at the hospital, which isn't bad by normal standards, but with a (squirmy, injured, fussy) baby, it felt twice as long.
In any case, we're just glad he didn't need stitches or anything. Whew.
I'm going to go relax now.
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2 comments:
Mouth injuries in toddlers bleed in the most scarey way. One way to apply pressure is to breastfeed! Or if they are past that, give them a popsicle. Cold and numbing.
That's great to know, thanks. I was relieved that he nursed without any trouble; should've known that breastfeeding would help. It seems to be the answer to just about everything. And popsicles! If only we'd had some on hand. I'll feel so much more prepared next time . . . Thanks again.
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