Ade first (and LAST!!!) stitches

Friday evening didn't exactly unfold as planned. When the Guh's arrived for our weekend in OBX, we headed to daycare to pick up Ade. We noticed her in the office, which is unusual, and worried she was sick. Indeed, it was worse; she had just had an accident with a bike, where the bike won. She had a nice gash across her chin. Though smiling when she saw us, she quickly started crying explaining she was hurt. I called Ryan to let him know we were headed to the urgent care - luckily, right across the street. Grandma and Grandpa proved to be a great distraction.

Turned out my beautiful, perfect baby needed stitches in her chin. Mommy stayed in the room with her while she did exactly as asked and layed down on the bed, and let them wrap her up insane-person style in a straight jacket. We said she was snug as a bug in a rug, and she was all smiles. Until. The needles. As they gave her injections in her chin, she screamed bloody murder, and no one - no one - can understand what it is like for a mother to watch her baby scream in pain and fear. Even other mothers can only understand their own unique experience if they've been through it. I talked quietly to her and told her to listen to my voice and look at mommy's eyes. As she tried to calm down a little, she got upset as usual that "I can't calm down!" and she hated the light in her eyes. I held my hand over her eyes, and tried to talk about the fun we would have at the beach. Ade, in between sobs, asked me to scratch her itch. She indicated it was on her nose. I gently rubbed her nose and she heaved out between deep shuddering breaths, "with. your. finger.nail!" The nurse thought this was a riot, and said she never had heard a child getting stitches so clearly giving instructions to make herself more comfy.

The nurse asked me if Ade was an only child (again with that label!) and said she was so intelligent and mature. She also asked if I was a schoolteacher, since I was so good with her. I said, "No, I'm just her mother."

I asked Ade if she wanted to go get the Zhu Zhu pet tree house she wanted and she heavily said, "Not today" - as if it was all just too much to bear.

After it was all over, and the doctor was telling me about care for the wound (5 stitches!), I suddenly lost all of the adrenaline that had been keeping me upright. I broke out in a sweat, and must've looked like how I felt. They immediately made me sit down to prevent fainting. Ade was unbound and sat on my lap, while the nurse kindly gave her a strawberry popsicle from their private break room fridge.

Every day since Ade has told us her chin is getting much better, and she has strings in it. Amazingly, she hasn't itched or fussed with it at all. She is such a trooper. She did SO well the whole time, and tried very hard to keep herself under control. Ade constantly amazes me how much she is able to control her emotions, and how rational she is. Sort of like her mama, I'd say. That both pleases and worries me. Don't we always want our kids to be both exactly and nothing like us???