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Monday, June 25, 2012

Concussion

On Saturday afternoon we were leaving to meet my Mom for lunch. As usual, Audrey followed us out into the garage while I started to put Abby in the car. Sometimes Audrey waits at the top of the stairs for me. Sometimes she comes down by herself and waits by her door. As soon as I had Abby buckled in, I heard a tumbling sound (and the sound of Audrey's dress swishing.) I knew what happened before I heard her cry :(

I sat with her and tried to calm her down. She pointed to the back of her head and said it hurt. I felt around and felt a slight bump. When she calmed down enough, I put her in the car but I was starting to worry...I had no idea how she fell or how hard she hit. Then she said she was tired and wanted to sleep. That's when I remembered that you're not supposed to let kids sleep after a head injury. BUT, this was her usual nap time. It would be totally normal for her to want to doze off in the car.

It was a good 20 minutes before we could get to a Next Care. I called the pediatrician and was directed to the nurse's line. I ended up leaving a message. I was going back and forth between taking her in or waiting it out. I kept shouting at her to wake up, I asked her questions, I tried so hard to distract her. But her eyes were SO droopy and unfocused- she would start crying when I startled her...I was certain I was going to take her in because she was acting so lethargic.

We were about 5 minutes from the Next Care when she started getting panicky. She said, "I need a bowl!" I handed her a clean travel cup I had and she got sick :( I drove past the Next Care (making sure it was open) to my in-laws (2 minutes down the street.) My sister in law ran out and grabbed Abby. I knew it would be too hard to focus on Audrey if Abby was there. I took Audrey into the office and told the receptionist that she had fallen and hit her head. She immediately told me that I had to take her to the ER. I must've looked really upset because then she said, "Hold on, I'll get the doctor to look her over." I was relieved. Audrey just clung to me, looking so tired. The doctor came out and I explained what happened. She tried to get Audrey to look at her, but Audrey just could not focus. Her eyelids were super heavy. The doctor said that we shouldn't take a chance and offered to call the paramedics. She didn't think that me driving Audrey was a good idea. I almost rolled my eyes- I thought she was being a little over dramatic. She said that I wouldn't be able to watch Audrey as I drove. I agreed and took Audrey to the bathroom.

Even on the toilet Audrey wanted to lean against me. She could not sit herself up straight. I was so sad for her but I was very calm, even as the paramedics arrived and put her on the stretcher. They had to put a collar on her (which she HATED- I hated it, too!) They strapped her down (again, she was NOT happy.) It was so hard to see her like that but I was amazingly calm. I just kept talking to her. She'd go back and forth from being quiet and still (looking like she was about to fall asleep) to crying and saying things like, "Take it off, I want to leave!" That was hard to hear. It took forever for the ambulance to leave the parking lot. One was asking me basic questions (age weight, address.) The other 2 were hooking her up to monitors. They were all very nice and that helped me feel much better.

It seemed like it took a long time to get to the ER (no lights or sirens, again that made me feel better!) Towards the end of the ride Audrey did fall asleep and the paramedics said it was ok for her to do so. It was very eerie walking alongside her stretcher and right then and there I was thankful that we were only there for a bump on the head. I just couldn't imagine being there for something serious like a car accident. She woke up when they moved her onto her bed. She started crying and complaining about the neck collar again. The nurse came in and got information from the paramedics (since I was busy soothing Audrey.) They left and the PA came in to fully examine her. We talked about what happened and Audrey was very good as she was rolled onto her side. The PA removed the collar and put a rolled towel around her neck instead. Audrey still complained about it, but I could tell she was much less freaked out! The PA said she probably didn't need any meds right now and we would be getting a CT scan.

Audrey fell asleep soon after. My mom arrived and we sat in the dark with her. She woke up a couple of times and kept saying, "Momma, momma..." so eventually I laid with her. Chris arrived and we continued to wait as Audrey was in and out of it. It was hours before the nurse arrived to take us to the scan. Audrey didn't like the "tunnel" either! I laid on top of her to help keep her still. Chris stayed at her head and held her that way. It lasted about 5 minutes. She was a little freaked out but they said she did well. She kept saying that she wanted to go home and that her check up was over, lol.

We got back to the room and a few minutes later she threw up again. I called for the nurse, but before the nurse could get there, Audrey started talking normally and laughing. It was like a switch was flipped! We found out the scans were clear and that she in fact had suffered a concussion. We were told to keep an eye on her for the next 24 hours. The nurse gave her some Zofran for the nausea. She had some fruit snacks and a popsicle and watched some TV. Chris left to get my car and we were discharged within the hour.

Audrey was completely fine the rest of the night. She was smiling and laughing and wanted to play. She took a bath when we got home and spent the rest of the night in our bed.

It was an interesting experience. I was scared but calm at the same time. The hospital staff took great care of her (but the waiting around was awful.) This is not how I planned starting off our summer!

Saturday, June 9, 2012

It's been awhile!

I can't believe it's been over a month since my last post :( May was crazy busy and it's carrying over into June (and getting even more crazy busy!) I don't even know where to begin with updates.

Abigail is 13 months old. She's walking around like she owns the place, like she's been doing it for years. It's still very weird for me to see her wander around the house like she's on a mission. God love her! She's loud and wants to climb everything. Her hair is super curly in the back and very long in the front. She has a mouth full of teeth. She really doesn't sit still for very long (and not at all interested in TV!) I have to resist the urge to bite off her adorable cheeks...she's just so yummy! Her eyes are breathtakingly blue- when the light hits them just right they are an insane royal blue color. I couldn't be more in love with that sweet little cupcake!



Miss Audrey Cate is nearly 3 1/2. I have to say that three is not nearly as challenging as I thought it would be. Audrey definitely test the limits (as expected) but she's also very good when it comes to learning boundaries. Sometimes I just have to give her my "mom look" and she knows what's up, lol. She is much more vocal about things she doesn't like or want to do. I am always very sympathetic and I explain that I understand how she feels. Then I reason with her (sometimes a distraction s required- I keep extra fruit roll ups in my bag!) and then all is right with the world- usually no tears are shed. I feel like we're heading on the right path with getting her to verbalize her frustrations as much as possible (although sometimes I feel so corny with all the "feelings" talks- but whatevs, it's working!)

Big deal alert! We brought her in to preschool for about an hour on Monday so she could check it out. We left her in there but walked by and peeked in the window every 10 minutes. She looked so at ease and happy- building with legos, dancing, sitting during story time. It was kind of surreal- just a short time ago I was pregnant with her and teaching in the room next door. I'll probably never get used to seeing her grow up so fast. I'm waiting on official word that she'll be accepted, but I'm all but certain I'll have a little Gator next year :)

My good friend Stacy Hart took Abigail's 1 year pictures- they are simply amazing! She met us super early at Chatam Manor...the colors are just so vibrant- I love all the pictures so much...I just need more than 10 minutes to chose which ones to order...decisions, decisions! These are the ones she posted for our sneak peek: FAVORITE!!!!! If you get a chance, "like" her on Facebook- she's trying to get 1,000 likes by July. And I guarantee you'll love looking at her fabulous work! http://www.stacyhartphotography.com/

Let's see- a ton of other things have happened this past month...we took the girls to their first baseball game, they had HFM Disease over Memorial Day weekend, Grandma opened her pool, my school babies took their SOL tests, our good friends have moved back to VA (YAAY!), and I've rediscovered my love for reading (which gets me up early in the morning and keeps me up late at night- and is probably the biggest reason for my month long hiatus!) Thankfully the last day of school is Friday! I'm so ready for Summer!!