I have one very tired boy and I am one tired Momma today. Last night, while Andy was getting the grill ready, John was hanging out in the yard. As best we can tell, a spark hit him from the chimney charcoal starter. His index finger and his middle finger on his left hand received second-degree burns.
Andy did not realize that John was actually hurt when he first started crying as he didn’t say he was hurt. John came back into the house to me and I thought he had gotten in trouble. It was probably three minutes of screaming and crying when he finally said he was burned. Insert very long and tiring night here. John cried for nearly an hour after it happened. He only felt relief when he had a cold washcloth with ice in it on his hand. So, he sat with the cold washcloth on his hand for about the next five hours. After bathtime (he kept the washcloth on his hand the entire bath), he laid down on the family room sofa with a pile of towels and the “ice pack” sitting on top of the towels to catch any melting water. I called the 24-hour nurse line and was relieved to know that at least I was doing exactly what I should be doing to care for his two burned fingers. John watched Phinneas and Ferb and laid awake until somewhere between 10 and 10:30 pm. I read for a while to make sure that he was doing okay. At about 11:30 pm, I removed the rest of the ice from the ice pack and then sat his hand back on the cold washcloth. I finally went to bed. John woke up about 3:30 am and I expected screaming, but he seemed to be good. He didn’t need the cold washcloth anymore and spent the rest of the night sleeping on our bedroom floor. My alarm went off all too early at 5:15 am. John woke up at about 6:15 am and was very crabby from being overly tired. I could sympathize because I felt EXACTLY the same way. I got the kids ready for daycare and school and carefully bandaged John’s hands. He said his fingers didn’t hurt, but he still cried because he was just too tired. Upon arrival at daycare, he crawled onto Cheryl’s couch and laid down to watch some television. He had a rough morning at daycare and I had a hard time staying awake at work, but we both made it through. After a good nap at daycare, John had a great afternoon and, this evening, he’s completely normal. It will be bed on time for him, so he can catch up on sleep. Check another adventure off the parenting list.