Stitches. Again.

Well for those of you who don't know. This is our third time to hold down one of our boys while they get stitched up.
#1 The first time Landon was running through the kitchen, slipped on a tupperware lid and the first thing to hit the tile was his chin. Kevin was out of town of course, that's when things always happen to our family, and I took him to a Minor Emergency Clinic where we had a HORRIBLE experience. The doctor was not good with kids, they did not numb him right, they kept messing with it to see how deep it was before he was numbed, and they made me solely responsible for holding him down. Now he was cocooned, (this is just putting their arms down and wrapping them in a sheet very tightly) but I could still barely hold him down. It was like he had rabies, I had never seen him fight like that. I had never seen a child so scared before. Thankfully my mom took Liam during the procedure and afterwards she sat in the car with them so that I could go and sob with out Landon seeing mommy loose her composure.
#2 So then we are on vacation at my Grandma's house in Colorado and Landon is playing chase in the living room. Well he turns to look behind him, trips, and his chin hits the edge of a chair. Kevin picks him, shoots me a look that I immediately understood, and I lost it. I started sobbing and left the room. Then I pulled it back together and helped everyone get loaded into the car for a 30 minute trip to the hospital. We decided no more clinics for stitches from now on. My mom got pulled over for speeding on the way, but the officer let us go of course! So by the time we get there, Landon has calmed down, and we get a room with in 10 minutes of our arrival. They did things much differently this time. The very first thing they did was put a very strong numbing gel on his chin. We chose not to tell Landon until right before hand that he was getting stitches again. When he asked what was going to happen, we just said the doctor is going to take care of you. So when they cocooned him he started getting scared and mad, but there was four of us this time and this doctor was faster and there was no shot needed and they didn't scrub it clean until after it was numb, so it went much smoother. Landon got three new trains, pizza, and a movie out of the deal. He loved showing everyone his stitches! Oh and by the way, it was not in the same place as the last time, it is slightly higher and to the left.
#3 I think this one was the worst for me, because I could have prevented it. Kevin keeps telling me to stop blaming myself, but it is so hard. This time it was Liam. Last night I was making dinner and holding Liam on my hip. I typical routine around here. I had just opened a can of olives and set it back down, then I moved over and started to stir my noodles when Liam started pulling away. I look down right as he is going for the can and I jerk him away. Well in the split second he grabbed the lid, actually picked up the can by the lid, and then when I jerked the lid cut him. He screamed bloody murder and was shaking. Oh my gosh what have I done. My poor baby. Then the scariest part started. Blood started squirting out like I have never seen before. I am running through the house with blood spilling everywhere looking for the phone. I hysterically yell at April my neighbor that I NEED HER NOW! She runs over and when she sees me and Liam covered in blood, she thinks there has been a stabbing. I tell her to grab a sock, tie it around his arm and drive us to the ER. So I didn't want to put Liam in his car seat, but I knew it was the right thing to do, so I sat next to him and held his arm up with him screaming the whole way. (Landon is in his underwear in his car seat and April's husband is meeting us there to take Landon) I jump out and go running in the ER dripping with blood and a screaming baby. The lady at the front desk, doesn't bat an eye, she asks his name and I can barely speak I'm crying so hard, and she says, "Oh it will be fine honey." Thanks lady for the comforting words, but I've never seen this much blood other than giving birth. So they take us back, clean us up and find that all that blood was coming from only a one inch cut down his thumb. Thank you God I said, the whole time I had thought that it was in between his thumb and first finger. I had been thinking about nerves, ligaments, and therapy. All that blood from his thumb. It had all happened so quickly and the blood came so fast in and such abundance, that I truly had no idea where the cut was. Crazy I know. Anyway, they wrapped it all up with gauze and it stopped bleeding for a while. They made us go back out to the waiting room and wait for 30 minutes to get a room. Kevin arrived from work very scared because he was envisioning the same location that I was. He was thankful to be greeted with it's his thumb and we only need a couple stitches. So my poor baby had to get cocooned, and he didn't get to have the numbing gel because of the location of his cut, but it went as well as it could have. He screamed during the whole thing, but we had my whole family and the Jackson's for moral support. For all of you who know that Liam is a thumb sucker, you will be excited to know that it is his right thumb that has the stitches. He still has good ole lefty to sooth himself with. So say a prayer for getting the stitches out and keeping it clean. I'm off to start another day that I hope will be less dramatic. And I will never let my kids come close to an open can again.