Bloody Saturday

So my precious 2.5 year old had his first bloody nose this Saturday at high noon. He had been naughty at the park (wouldn't come home), and so he went down for an early nap (considering he got up at 6:15 am this morning, it probably wasn't too early of a nap). So when I went to take Mercy down for her nap at about 11:45, we accidently woke up Ezra, who was mad about having to keep taking a nap. So I close the door and go into my room, and listen to Ezra cry. But then his cries change and he is screaming about his hands being dirty. Curious, I went back to his room, where I find him sitting up, blood streaming from both nostrils, blood smeared all over his face, hands, legs...you get the idea.

He had NO idea what was going on, and why liquid (bright red liquid, he hasn't a clue what blood is) kept pouring out of his nose. He was panicked by the "mess" all over him--he kept insisting that I clean up his hands, while all I wanted right then was to stop the bleeding. So he kept fighting me, batting me away, screaming (bloody) murder...and I was at a real loss what to do. He wouldn't let me put a plug in his nose--he kept pulling it out and flinging it away--he would only let me pinch the bridge of his nose for about three seconds at a time, he wouldn't let me put a tissue to his nose to stem the flow...wow, that was an intense fifteen minutes.

After about two minutes trying to deal with it on his bed, I picked him up and put him in the bathtub--I figured it would be easier to clean up. The poor boy was so scared and bewildered and mad--I said a quick prayer aloud, but it wasn't until I started singing "I am a Child of God" that he started to calm down (of course, I had to sing to three times through before that happened. Yes, all three verses three times through). As he calmed down, the bleeding slowed down, although it was another couple of minutes before it stopped. We sang a round of "Itsy-Bitsy Spider" and then started to clean up. Once he was clean-ish, he requested my lap, so we sat and watched "Backyardagins" for about fifteen minutes. Then he consented to allow me to leave him watching the movie while I finished cleaning up.

So now I have two very awake babies--Mercy was an interested observer through most of this from her crib; a clean bathtub; a load of laundry soaking; and a new experience to blog about. And a prayer in my heart that his nose doesn't start to bleed again.