Yesterday afternoon I was talking with my parents on skype when Hunter, playing in the play area, started screaming. My mom casually said, “You better go check on him he’s probably bleeding.” Hallie runs to him and screams, “Mom he is bleeding.”

I pick him up, shielding the blood from the rug and carpet unsure where it was coming from. He was screaming. There was blood in his mouth, running down from his mouth and by his nose. After I cleaned him up I realized all the blood was coming from a cut just below his lip. I kept pressure on it and eventually stopped bleeding for the most part. He stopped crying. He snuggled up to me. He kept biting his lip which would make it bleed more, I realized how wide and deep the cut was. This was the first time as a mother the thought of stitches came to mind.

I called a friend of ours who is a resident at the hospital and asked his opinion. He said you can’t go wrong with stitches on the face. It’s always best to play it safe. As I was looking closer I noticed the large gash on the inside of his mouth as well. Clearly his tooth made contact with whatever he fell on the play room, I’m pretty sure it was the entertainment center.

So we decided to go to urgent care. However, my car wouldn’t start. Dead battery. Suprisingly enough I haven’t driven my car in two weeks!! So Steve came home from work to pick us up. We spend what seems like forever in the waiting room. Only to finally see the doctor who was not comfortable helping us because of the size and location of the cut; on a toddler.

We made our way to the children’s hospital, where we were able to meet with a doctor who too was concerned with his age and the size and location of the cut. She suggested a glue, dermabond, they use in place of stitches. So that’s what we did. With Steve holding down his legs and arms, with me holding his head and neck and one nurse holding the cut together, the doctor spread the glue and helped hold him as the glue had to dry.

Hunter was not a happy camper, in fact I would go as far as to say he was angry, really angry. By the time she was done with the glue and we picked him up, he was drenched in sweat.  So glad the glue worked. I can’t imagine how much worse it would’ve been to have to get stitches. I’m sure that was just the first of many cuts and scrapes in that little boy’s life.