Me, nag?

Last night my husband said “Hey, did you hear about that wife who was killed?” I looked suspiciously at him and said “Nooo.” And he said “Yeah, I guess she nagged one too many times and her husband just killed her.” He said it as if I should take it as a warning.

I quickly retorted “Did you hear about the husband that was killed?” Before he could respond, I said “yes, he apparently would not put his dirty laundry in the laundry basket. Sad, huh?”

Despite the teasing, we are really looking forward to our date night this weekend. Just us. Ella will be with grandma. And we’re going to a good friend’s 30 birthday party. Should be lots of fun. There might even be some shopping in the day too. I just hope I don’t accidentally do any nagging.

Broken teeth update

As soon as Ella chipped her teeth I remembered putting together a page at work on this pediatric dentist in my area. She and her office sounded really great and I tried to save that information in my mind for when Ella would need a dentist one day. And much to my surprise, I remembered! So that night Steve left a message for them and the next day they said they’d be happy to get us in.

The office was adorable and while I filled out SIX pages of information Ella and Daddy played with the many toys, sat at the children’s table, looked at the aquarium … Once we got in, the very nice dentist asked us some questions about Ella then took a look.

The good news: She said it was just a fracture in enamel, not bone. She said that Ella should not have any sensitivity – there’s no nerve damage. The only reason she may have not liked the hard sippy cup I gave her was just because the pressure on the new injury bothered her. Then, the doctor filed her sharp tooth down a little so there would be no further injury. She said that if we wanted to do something more cosmetic in a few years we could. But it really is not that bad. Maybe I’ll post photos later.

Not great news: The doctor did warn us that due to the trauma it is possible that the nerve in the tooth could eventually die and her tooth would turn grey and maybe need extracted. But she really sounded like it’s just a small possibility and she wanted to just put it out there in case we’re the crazy couple who sues their dentist because she says everything was fine, then their daughter’s tooth turned grey.

So there you have it, Ella’s first big injury. I’m thinking Steve’s idea about putting a helmet on her wasn’t so bad.

My poor baby

We made it through the doctor’s appointment just fine and I was thinking about what a good day it had turned out to be, then there was an accident. Steve and I were playing with Ella in the living room. Ella was on all fours crawling – I think pretending to be a kitty – when she crawled out onto our kitchen tile floor. She had just gotten out there, when Steve said “Ella come back in here.” He said he was worried she’d get hurt on that tile. And a second later, somehow, her hands came out from under her and her face went straight down on the tile.

We raced over. Steve picked her up first and took a look. “Her tooth is broken!” Oh no. “And it’s bleeding.” I took a look and sure enough, a big piece was missing from one front tooth and a small piece from the other. We could see little bits in her mouth. I held her with her blankie and told Steve to get ice while I turned on a cartoon to distract her.

She didn’t cry too long, so apparently the pain must not be too terrible, we assumed. But her teeth! We left a message with a pediatric dentist, who was no longer open that day, and hopefully they can get her in today. I don’t know if they’ll fix them though. I mean if there needs to be anesthesia or gas, I’m not sure it’s really worth the risk. But she does put her finger in there and acts like she knows something’s not right. When I gave her a sippy cup with a hard spout she cried a little and grabbed her teeth – so it does hurt a little in that case.

Anyway, obviously there are way worse things — I had spent the morning in a pediatric oncology/hematology unit, remember? — but we felt sick about her getting hurt. It was really her first big injury. And now her front teeth, all ragged. For every picture she’ll have these broken teeth? Oh well, she’s still pretty endearing, even with her little snaggleteeth.

The dreaded appointment

I’ve been dreading this Monday’s six-month appointment for her spherocytosis (a type of hereditary anemia she has) checkup. They have to do blood work. It’ terrible watching someone hold down your little baby and stick with a needle. So, I threw in a lot of treats in to my bag and tried to warn my innocent girl that we were going to see the doctor. She seemed so happy all morning too. I felt awful about what was to come.

The hospital is HUGE and overwhelming too. Last time we were there we had to ask around about where the Pediatric Oncology/Hematology (luckily we just need the hematology part) department was and several people didn’t know. People who worked there. Apparently they’ve undergone major renovations though, so it was all very new. But this time, I had no trouble at all.

Anyway, the people there couldn’t have been nicer. And they just acted like Ella’s the cutest, sweetest little girl they’ve ever seen. I mean, she IS (you read about her award, right?) but they see kids all the time, so it’s nice that they still have that excitement for mine.

The waiting room is also filled with books, puzzles, a train table and little rideable animals. I appreciate that so much. Instead of a long wait of me keeping her restrained and making sure she’s not getting into anything she shouldn’t, she is having fun. That is huge.

Before we knew it we got called in. They let Ella drag a rideable lion she spotted in ANOTHER playroom into our room. And right away the nurse asked if we wanted drinks. She brought us apple juice and water. This is practically fun!

Ella sat really still as she had her breathing checked, her blood pressure done, her height and weight checked. Then while we waited for the doctor I pulled Ella through the halls in a wagon (yes, they have several wagons in the hall.) The doctor then spoke with us for awhile. Pretty routine. And the good news is that after she’s three she’ll only have to go once a year. Awesome. She will have to have a couple extra vaccines in the next few years though.

Finally came the dreaded blood draw. At first Ella sat still as they poked her. They had put numbing lotion on when we first got there. But the nurse wasn’t getting any blood, so she readjusted the needle, Ella jumped and some blood squirted out. Then she bawled. I quickly grabbed her a sucker and that mostly calmed her down. But then the nurse had to do it AGAIN. She cried some more. But it was over pretty quickly.

All in all, not too bad at all. The nurse let us play in the playroom while she “checked us out” so we didn’t have to wait up at any counter either. Are they good or what?

So it went about as well as it could. I don’t think I’ll be quite as anxious about it next time.