TGIFS.  It's been a long week.  The good news is that it's over and we survived 3 days at Children's.  The last 2 were for attempts 1 and 2 at Lilah's MRI.  The first day we enter via the ER after Garrett slammed his face into a tree in the front yard.

It was a week day and the kids and I were 'play-dating' with some friends.  The babies and adults were in the back yard and the big kids were running back and forth.  Somewhere in one of the 'forths', we heard a blood-curdling scream.  "Please let that NOT be my child" all 3 of the mothers were thinking on the dead sprint around the house.  My stomach sank--I drew the short straw.  Garrett's face was covered in blood and even though I wanted to simultaneously cry and throw up, I scooped him and took him inside to ascertain the damage.to.my.sweet.baby's.face.

No amount of wiping, applying pressure, or begging him to calm down helped me to get a clear picture of what was going on beneath the blood.  But, I could spot a giant gash in his lip that I was pretty sure would need stitches.  Just for the record, the pediatrician does not stitch lips in the office--so we headed off to the ER.

A head CT, many applications of numbing cream, some Lortab, a showing of Gnomeo & Juliet, and a 'de-breeding' session later....we were home.  He did not need stitches, but he did make quite the impression on the staff.  Let's just say my boy is not afraid to make a scene.

Much happier....sedatives are good.

You'll be glad to know he is recovering nicely....basking in the glow of sympathy gifts and, if it were possible, even more attention. I learned several things through the ordeal:

1.  If I am ever alone with all 3 and need to head to the ER, I will call 911.  It would be impossible for me to load up all three in a timely manner, restrain the victim in the car, and deal with the crowd in the waiting room.  

2.  Never drop your guard of preparedness.  Must have things somewhat organized at all times should someone else have to take command of my children (i.e., frozen milk, labeled instructions, meds drawn up, etc).  

3.  It's good to have interesting stuff in your purse at all times.....the power of unwrapping 30 bandaids and sticking them all over momma's face is incredibly distracting.

4.  I prefer emergencies that do not involve blood.