Head Trauma

Baby Boy gave me the first real heart-in-my-throat moment when he was about 9 months old and he took a header into the corner of our dining room wall.  He screamed bloody murder and when he turned his head there was a giant goose egg on the left side of his forehead.  It was ginormous and livid red and it throbbed when he cried; making it look alive, like some kind of angry mini alien squatting on my son's head.  It.Was.Awful.

But it looked way more awful than it ended up being and other than that first mental picture and heart in my throat feeling, all I really remember was thinking how ridiculous it was that my toddler would give himself a head injury right before bed.  Sure kid.  Anything to avoid sleep, right?

Well, he has done it again.  This time by bouncing on his big boy bed with his older brother laughing encouragement.  It was so exciting that he forgot to move his feet fast enough and his head kissed the wood hard enough to immediately bring back the pulsing mini alien, this time to the right side.  Symmetry, maybe?  I suppose, as a parent of a very adventurous toddler boy, that I should make friends with this alien.  Give it a cookie...ask politely about his family...see if he likes long walks in the park...and quick trips to the ER.

Fortunately we have a medical professional on speed dial, so we sent off a picture of the alien to Baby Boy's godmom who is an alien specialist. 

"Drown him!" she cried.

Oh wait, wrong story.  Different alien.

Instead she told us to stay awake for an hour or so...no problem since Baby Boy thinks bedtime is the devil spawn baby of green vegetables and cleanliness.  And then...then she said to wake him up...all night long. 

Convinced this was an evil joke my parents put her up to as payback for my teenage years, I asked for clarification.

"How awake are we talking?  Open his eyes awake so I know he is sleeping and not unconscious?  Or full out awake, exposed to bright light and talking?"

She replied that he actually needed to be really awake so I could check for signs of concussion.  Well, shit.

So I waited an hour, made Baby Boy go to sleep, and two hours later I woke him up to assess him.  Here is what I was looking for...

Does he seem disoriented or fuzzy?  Ummm...of course.  I just woke his ass up at one in the morning and I forgot to leave a night light on.

Can he walk steady? Ummm....of course not.  I actually am unable to get him to even sit up or hold his head up.  After initially waking up he now just keeps nodding back off into an adorable pile of boneless baby goo that melts off my lap into the pillow.

Is he cranky, irritable, or off schedule? What the hell web md?  Of course he is!  I just woke him up!  Off his schedule!  He is an annoyed pile of baby goo feebly swatting at me every time I attempt to make him get up.

This is freaking ridiculous.  He isn't throwing up, he does not have a fever, and he isn't breathing weird.  Mommy wisdom tells me he is fine.  Annoyed at my relentless prodding perhaps...but fine.

New plan.  Mommy wakes up every two hours to do a sheet check for baby vomit and/or fever sweat, listens for even breathing...and rolls over and goes back to bed.  Perfect.