Thursday, April 16, 2009

Caleb's First Sting (I know, what an awful thing to have to post about :)




Well, today was going well- the sun came out, Caleb was in a good mood, had a great nap, etc. We went for a short trip to Wal-Mart and then made a stop at the post office. All was good. When we got home I opened the door to the sun room, as Caleb loves to play in there on warm days. I saw something I fear......a wasp! Usually Zack kills them, but he wasn't home from work yet, so in order for Caleb to play in the sun room, I knew I had to kill the wasp. "You can do this" I kept telling myself (I am ridiculous, I know :). I bravely took "Green Eggs and Ham" (truth) and nailed the wasp a few times. He looked very dead. I even let Caleb hit it a few times :) Again, it seemed very dead. But, for whatever reason, I let it lay there. This turned out to be a very bad decision. Well, Caleb came back into the kitchen with me and began chasing Pooh (our dog) around the house with "Green Eggs and Ham" threatening to do the same thing to Pooh as he did to the wasp (maybe letting him help kill the wasp was the first mistake?). I began fixing dinner and glanced Caleb going back into the sun room. Only a few minutes later, screaming ensued. I knew instantly what had happened- he had picked up the wasp, all because I had not removed it from the sun room! What kind of mother was I????? I came running and picked Caleb up as he was screaming and crying. I tried to see where the wasp had stung him (I assumed it was on the hand, as the wasp had been moved from its original location), and soon realized that Caleb was touching his mouth! It was his lip, evident by the swelling! Poor guy! I stayed pretty calm, immediately thinking that I needed to find the Children's Benadryl. But, instead I called my mom (always seems to be the default decision). I could barely hear over Caleb's screaming, but she said she would call Punky (my mother-in-law, also a former pediatric nurse) and suggested I call the pediatrician, which I did...but no answer! So I went for the Benadryl, which thankfully Punky confirmed as the right decision. I also gave Caleb a frozen plastic thing (good description, I know :) and he knew what to do with it! All in all, it went pretty well, and after about 15 minutes, the crying ceased and Caleb seemed to be okay, even smiling, just with a very fat lip.


I know I wrote this in a comical manner, but seriously, we are very thankful that he did not have a more serious reaction and that he appears at this time to not be allergic to wasp stings. I know it could have been so much worse! I am so thankful that God was watching over us and allowed us all to stay calm and make good choices. Hopefully next time, I will make better choices to begin with!

8 comments:

alisa said...

Awwwwwwww -- you're a good mommy!! Taking it all in stride!!!

Susan said...

OW! Poor guy! I wonder if he was trying to eat the wasp?

Isn't parenting fun?

Take care! Susan

Kari said...

Ohhhhhh the pics make me sad:(((
Poor Mr. Happy is soooo brave!!
I just can't believe this is the same sweet boy I held in ET!!
He's adorable even with a bee sting on his lip.
xoxo

Amber said...

Ouch! That looks painful...poor little guy! He is such a cutie...even with a fat lip :)

beBOLDjen said...

Oh. My. Goodness. That looks painful!!! I'm so sorry that happened!!!

K.P. said...

I bet he was trying to eat it. Levi eats the dead ladybug (beatle things that STINK) and is MAD when I have to dig them out of his mouth. I then chastize myself for not keeping the window sill clean. But, we aren't perfect. Don't beat yourself up. You are a wonderful Mommy. I'm sure you were the first person Caleb was looking for when in pain and that means you are a good Mama! :)

tisha said...

Awww, poor little guy. I hate bee stings.

It sounds like you really did handle it well though. :)
Tisha

Apryl said...

Poor baby! I remember each of my kid's first bee stings, just about as bad for mommy as it is for the poor baby! Hope it's all better now :)

Btw, enjoyed watching your video. I'm especially nostalgic this week (coming up on one year) and seems like everyone is posting videos to make it even worse!!
apryl