The weekend highlight was certainly Lily's big dance recital.
Congratulations to Mrs. Jackie and Ms. Erica on a very successful first end of year recital and art show.
Wish that was the only weekend news. No such luck. What would follow the mountain top experience of watching your precious 6 year old dance her first recital? Taking the same 6 year old to the ER during an asthma attack, of course. So on that note, while still fresh in my mind, here is my suggested ER survival list. Please feel free to bookmark this page to quickly refer back to in the moments before heading out the door to the ER. (Or a better idea may be to print it out and store with your emergency phone numbers, CPR poster, etc.)
1.) Long sleeves are advised. Not only for warmth in the meat locker known as an ER waiting room but also because long sleeves feel like a germ barrier and offer a false sense of security.
2.) Get loose...as in loose change. Rob your hubby's dresser stash, kids' piggy bank, car console...whatever means necessary. Without change you will watch others enjoy candy bars, Cheetos and Sprite at all hours of the night and though you normally wouldn't ingest such junk at 2 a.m., these snacks will look extremely inviting. Especially to a six year old who has vomited up everything in her small body leaving her "starving to death" and begging for a snack. Snacking will also help pass the time and with a PBS telethon on the TV, any help passing the time would be greatly valued.
3.) When taking a young, impressionable child into the ER, consider using the drive there to educate her about the variety of people, situations, foul language and conflicts that one may witness in an ER. This may later prevent the child from asking questions within earshot of questionable characters.
4.) Beware of 3 a.m. Not sure what it is about 3 a.m. but 3 a.m. is tough. Makes a mommy cry for no real reason, other than being in the ER with a little one at 3 a.m. 1 and 2 a.m. just feel like a late night, still a chance of getting a few hours sleep. 4 and 5 a.m. are recognizable as very early morning, you know you'll have to clear the day ahead to catch up on sleep, but the dawn is near. But 3 a.m., it's just tough. Some normal people are still up at 1 and 2, having a good time. Some normal people are up at 4 and 5, starting the work day. But nobody should be up at 3 a.m. It is a long, dark, lonely hour. Just be advised.
5.) The buddy system: if at all possible have an ER buddy. A buddy with loose change would be best. Your buddy can either go with you or stay with your other child(ren) so your spouse can go. Sleep deprived 6 year olds are not great for conversation, and the ER crowd can be pretty unfriendly. No one in the ER wants to be your friend. Everyone in the ER wants only one thing: to be next. There is a sense of unspoken tension, competition. You won't make friends in the ER, so you better take one. I did not call upon an ER buddy. I regretted that decision come 3 a.m. So in the wise words of Woody the cowboy on the subject of moving buddies (and the same concept would apply), If you don't have one, get one!
6.) Laughter is the best medicine. 5 hours + ER = no fun. Especially when most symptoms subside around hour number 3 and you know the Dr isn't going to take you seriously however you've already invested too much time to leave. No fun. But funny? Sure. You can find some funny. And the funny helps you get through it, so look for the funny. Lily watching Good Times. Funny. She didn't know what to think of JJ. And they say sleep deprivation is similar to intoxication, and poor Lily had never been without sleep so long in her short little life, so basically, I had a drunk 6 year old...hyper and silly one minute, sluggish and rambling the next. She finally feel asleep hard at 4:45 and had to be awakened at 5:20 for a dose of medicine as we were discharged. Apparently it tasted bad and on the drive home she decided it would be okay to spit into the leather seat beside her. Just leaned over from her booster and spit. Several times. Something she would NEVER do if coherent. But apparently lack of sleep was taking it's toll on me too because my response was to roll down my window and turn on the radio. Neither of which cleaned the spit or stopped her from continuing, my sleepy brain apparently couldn't decide how to handle the situation.
So those are a few things I can think of that may help you survive your next trip to the ER. But my best advice about the ER: Avoid the ER.
Congratulations to Mrs. Jackie and Ms. Erica on a very successful first end of year recital and art show.
Wish that was the only weekend news. No such luck. What would follow the mountain top experience of watching your precious 6 year old dance her first recital? Taking the same 6 year old to the ER during an asthma attack, of course. So on that note, while still fresh in my mind, here is my suggested ER survival list. Please feel free to bookmark this page to quickly refer back to in the moments before heading out the door to the ER. (Or a better idea may be to print it out and store with your emergency phone numbers, CPR poster, etc.)
1.) Long sleeves are advised. Not only for warmth in the meat locker known as an ER waiting room but also because long sleeves feel like a germ barrier and offer a false sense of security.
2.) Get loose...as in loose change. Rob your hubby's dresser stash, kids' piggy bank, car console...whatever means necessary. Without change you will watch others enjoy candy bars, Cheetos and Sprite at all hours of the night and though you normally wouldn't ingest such junk at 2 a.m., these snacks will look extremely inviting. Especially to a six year old who has vomited up everything in her small body leaving her "starving to death" and begging for a snack. Snacking will also help pass the time and with a PBS telethon on the TV, any help passing the time would be greatly valued.
3.) When taking a young, impressionable child into the ER, consider using the drive there to educate her about the variety of people, situations, foul language and conflicts that one may witness in an ER. This may later prevent the child from asking questions within earshot of questionable characters.
4.) Beware of 3 a.m. Not sure what it is about 3 a.m. but 3 a.m. is tough. Makes a mommy cry for no real reason, other than being in the ER with a little one at 3 a.m. 1 and 2 a.m. just feel like a late night, still a chance of getting a few hours sleep. 4 and 5 a.m. are recognizable as very early morning, you know you'll have to clear the day ahead to catch up on sleep, but the dawn is near. But 3 a.m., it's just tough. Some normal people are still up at 1 and 2, having a good time. Some normal people are up at 4 and 5, starting the work day. But nobody should be up at 3 a.m. It is a long, dark, lonely hour. Just be advised.
5.) The buddy system: if at all possible have an ER buddy. A buddy with loose change would be best. Your buddy can either go with you or stay with your other child(ren) so your spouse can go. Sleep deprived 6 year olds are not great for conversation, and the ER crowd can be pretty unfriendly. No one in the ER wants to be your friend. Everyone in the ER wants only one thing: to be next. There is a sense of unspoken tension, competition. You won't make friends in the ER, so you better take one. I did not call upon an ER buddy. I regretted that decision come 3 a.m. So in the wise words of Woody the cowboy on the subject of moving buddies (and the same concept would apply), If you don't have one, get one!
6.) Laughter is the best medicine. 5 hours + ER = no fun. Especially when most symptoms subside around hour number 3 and you know the Dr isn't going to take you seriously however you've already invested too much time to leave. No fun. But funny? Sure. You can find some funny. And the funny helps you get through it, so look for the funny. Lily watching Good Times. Funny. She didn't know what to think of JJ. And they say sleep deprivation is similar to intoxication, and poor Lily had never been without sleep so long in her short little life, so basically, I had a drunk 6 year old...hyper and silly one minute, sluggish and rambling the next. She finally feel asleep hard at 4:45 and had to be awakened at 5:20 for a dose of medicine as we were discharged. Apparently it tasted bad and on the drive home she decided it would be okay to spit into the leather seat beside her. Just leaned over from her booster and spit. Several times. Something she would NEVER do if coherent. But apparently lack of sleep was taking it's toll on me too because my response was to roll down my window and turn on the radio. Neither of which cleaned the spit or stopped her from continuing, my sleepy brain apparently couldn't decide how to handle the situation.
So those are a few things I can think of that may help you survive your next trip to the ER. But my best advice about the ER: Avoid the ER.
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June 2, 2008 at 4:52 PM
oh, erin. a mommy night, for sure.
love
jess
June 6, 2008 at 8:12 PM
So nobody told me about this whole ER thing. After I read your blog I asked Josh if David said anything about it on Sunday and he was like, "Oh yeah, I forgot. They were at the hospital with their little girl." Thanks, Josh!