Last Friday we went to my parents’ house to swim in their pool. It was the perfect way to spend the last day of summer. Most of the time, Annie naps after she swims, but occasionally she gets a freakish burst of toddler energy and runs around like a crazy chicken. Friday was a crazy chicken day.
Once we were dry and back in normal clothes, my parents and I tried to convince Annie that it would be super cool fun times to snuggle up on the couch. She wasn’t having it, and turned to run away from us…smacking right into the corner of a wall, face-first. We all jumped up as she bounced off the wall – literally – but she surprised us by letting out a little giggle. I realized later she was stunned. I picked her up and cuddled her like a baby, and that’s when I saw the blood in her mouth. She tasted it right when I saw it, and that’s when the screaming and crying started.
While she cried for her daddy, (which, A. he wasn’t there and B. what am I, chopped liver?), I was able to inspect inside her mouth and saw a small gash on her gum, right above her right front tooth. Nothing else was bleeding. I have no idea how she managed to cut her gum without injuring anything else. Her tooth isn’t loose. Her lip was completely fine, not even a little bit swollen. I am still baffled. Kids are so weird.
The taste of the blood was making Annie gag (and there was a lot of it), so my parents and I tried to slow the bleeding with some towels and ice. She didn’t like how either of those things felt, and just screamed more. Eventually she wiggled away from me and ran to my parents’ front door, cry-screaming, “I….WAAANNNNNNNT….MYYYYY………DAAAAAAADAAAAAA,” which, I’m not gonna lie, I’m still annoyed by but anyway. My parents thought maybe ice cream would make her feel better, but I didn’t want to give her any because she’d had some before we swam (which could explain the hyper activity….). Then I had a brainstorm.
“Annie, do you want a Popsicle? It will make your mouth feel better!”
“I…..WAAANNNNNNT……MYYYYYYY…..tockstickle? OKAY!”
I’m pretty lucky that my parents actually had Popsicles in their freezer.
She stopped crying and happily sat on my mom’s lap to enjoy her medicinal Popsicle. After she finished it, she saw her reflection and said, “Hey look! My mouth is red from the Popsicle!” And I was like, “And also from all the blood!” but then my mom shot me a look so I added, “But mostly the Popsicle, which I’m sure was made with completely natural red dyes, yay!”
Five days later, her mouth is completely healed but she will still say, “My mouth hurts, can I have a tockstickle?” And because he is a sucker for that girl, her daddy gives her one (which could explain why she cries for him when she’s hurt…).
Sue says:
Wait ’til she’s a teenager, and calls home with that first hint of being in trouble,,,tell her,,”just a minute; I’ll get your dad for ya'”!!!! LOL
Cathy says:
Somebody told me this a looooong time ago when my son busted his lip and it’s one of my favorite tips. If you’re bleeding in your mouth, put some sugar on it. The sugar reacts with saliva and stops the bleeding. Of course, a popsicle never never hurts either.
Megan says:
I think you’re right, it’s completely about the spoiling! One day, she’ll say to you, “You know what, Mom, that tough love and not letting me have popsicles and ice cream all the time is what gave me the discipline to prepare a healthy, home-cooked meal every night while getting straight A’s through medical school!”
I would milk this, “I want my dad” for all it’s worth, though. Nasty diaper? Honey, she wants you!
cindy w says:
The thing about her being a daddy’s girl now is that these things tend to be cyclical. So she might be all about Mike now, but that pendulum will swing back to you eventually. (Except in my case with Lucy, she ONLY wants my dad. Like, we had dinner at their house last night, and she threw an epic tantrum because I picked her up out of her high chair instead of him. WTF, kid? I’m trying to free you from the containment chair, show some gratitude!)
Glad that the popsicle helped and that her lip is ok. And I’m sure those red dyes were totally organic and healthy.
Diannepo says:
Popsicles are great for many things – mouth injuries and on “hurling” days. My kids’ pediatrician encourages me to give them popsicles when they are sick as a way to get fluids into them in small tummy-friendly doses. I have always wanted to get motivated to make my own popsicles for them (less dyes, etc) but always seem to go back to the ones from the store.
Lamb says:
Glad her mouth was okay!
S says:
My daughter always wants the parent who is not around. That’s the only part of her being upset that is consistent. And she’d sucker as many popsicles out of us as possible if that happened to her.
Josey says:
Heather! You’ve made the list!!!
http://www.babble.com/mom/work-family/best-media-social-good-blog-parents/heather-spohr/#anchor
dysfunctional mom says:
This –
“I…..WAAANNNNNNT……MYYYYYYY…..tockstickle? OKAY!”
cracked me up!
Every time I read here I am struck by what great parents you both are. Annie is a lucky girl!
Annalisa says:
Having gone through introducing popsicles just recently, I’d have to say that popsicles are magic. It’s the only word my daughter learned perfectly from just seeing one. “Poppppsiccccl” she will still tell me every time I’m by the ice box, even though we were “all out” days ago (I swear she thinks they grow in there).
As for calling for dad: well duh! She’s at that age where she’s figured out that daddy will probably offer her a pony to make her stop crying.*
*There have actually been offers of buying ponies made by the husband to the daughter. Thankfully the daughter is still working on doggy vs. kitty, so pony doesn’t even register yet. Phew!
Jeanie says:
Awwww, because Annie hurt herself and because she was crying for Mike instead of you. I would have been sooooo jealous. And hurt.
Mommy says:
When my sister and I were little, we wanted Daddy when we were hurt. And my brothers? Total mama’s boys! Every kid is different- and also, like you said, kids are weird! Don’t take it personally and know that on a few years she will ONLY go to you with her drama, tears, etc.
Also, when you bring home a little brother or sister for her, don’t be surprised if all of a sudden she totally becomes possessive of HER mommy.
You are such an amazing mom, and she is lucky to have you!!
Lesley says:
I feel your pain. I remember when my daughter was that age she only wanted her daddy and I use to cry in the wee hours of the morning wondering why my baby didn’t want her mother. It was through these trials I decided that I wanted a little boy who would thing I walked on water. I was blessed with the son and it is the same way with him wanting me. Be patient, the tables will turn as she gets oldeer. That same little girl just started middle school, and while her father is still very special to her, it’s her mom that she wants to talk to about her “problems”.
Kirsten says:
We keep popsicles (we call them ice-lollies) at work in case the kids hurt their mouths. Works wonders to stop bleeding and bring down swelling.
A spoon of sugar will help stop bleeding as well and the sweetness distracts them too.
Deanna says:
This has nothing to do with anything, but man can you see a lot of Maddie in her in that picture. Beautiful — both your girls.
Glenda says:
Daddy’s girl… love it!
TracyKM says:
Wow, she’s so lucky! When my youngest was 2years, 4 months, she bounced off the corner of a wall, and knocked out a front tooth. It was so gruesome! I was so sad for DAYS. It took forever to get used to her new look. Then, when she was 5 1/2, she knocked out the other front tooth! Lucky, by then, she was very big for her age, so people just assumed she was at the losing front teeth stage, but she was quite sad about it, especially during corn on the cob season. Luckily, but the next summer, she had one front tooth again to chow down on corn, LOL, and the second one started coming shortly after. She looks SO different now with TWO front teeth!
Michelle says:
Poor little thing. They do injure themselves in weird ways. I have 4 kids and boy, is it fun trying to explain some of the things to Urgent Care doctors on occasion!
My daughter will not play with me if I begged. She is an amazing independent player when it’s her and I . But when my husband gets home she’s all over him. Excpet when she gets hurt, she runs to me. He’s a giant toy playing man-child to her. I’m ice and band aids. Go figure.