It was a series of events that I'd rather forget. Precious' head had started itching a couple of weeks ago. Subsequent checks didn't show any little things. On Sunday, I spotted an adult louse where her hair was parted. Then, at lunch, I found a younger one.
Okay. There was definitely a problem.
I won't go through all of the various treatments that we endured Sunday afternoon, but when we were finished with her, I still found one, lone juvenile crawling on her brush.
In the middle of all of this craziness at my parents' house, Tater had found a glass jar within reach in the kitchen, dropped it on the tile, and was picking up the sharp pieces when New Daddy raced into the kitchen to find Tater's hands covered in blood. I heard the commotion and came running from the laundry room. (I was busy working with the unbalanced washing machine that was supposed to be washing the blanket that Precious had been using in the car.)
The fingers that had been cut were his left thumb and his right index finger. This is the thumb that he has been sucking since he was a few weeks old. It's hard to imagine the trauma that a toddler must be going through- to be in such pain with his fingers, and unable to use his primary source of comfort: that very, injured finger.
But I'm seeing a small benefit in all of this. Due to another unfortunate event, we had taken Precious' pacifier when she was thirteen months old. Tater is the same age. She cried for about a week for naps before she was resigned to not being able to use the pacifier for comfort. Tater is getting better, and he's starting to sleep well again, after only three days. So I think we'll stick with the bandages and odd-smelling stuff that discourages him from his thumb.
His fingers are healing. The index finger had an especially wide, but not too deep cut, so I applied cayenne pepper paste to the bandage. It had stopped bleeding by Monday, so we decided not to go in for stitches. My hair was covered with coconut oil, balled up inside a shower cap; so I was overjoyed that I didn't have to take him in to the doctor for stitches.
I'm also happy to report that Precious is all clear. We combed everyone out with our great nit comb, treated everyone, and we'll continue to comb her over the next few weeks to make sure she stays clear. I'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel of laundry and tedious, late-night hair sessions.
So that's what happened. And that's how Tater is going to lose the thumb-sucking habit at the tender age of thirteen months.
Okay. There was definitely a problem.
I won't go through all of the various treatments that we endured Sunday afternoon, but when we were finished with her, I still found one, lone juvenile crawling on her brush.
In the middle of all of this craziness at my parents' house, Tater had found a glass jar within reach in the kitchen, dropped it on the tile, and was picking up the sharp pieces when New Daddy raced into the kitchen to find Tater's hands covered in blood. I heard the commotion and came running from the laundry room. (I was busy working with the unbalanced washing machine that was supposed to be washing the blanket that Precious had been using in the car.)
The fingers that had been cut were his left thumb and his right index finger. This is the thumb that he has been sucking since he was a few weeks old. It's hard to imagine the trauma that a toddler must be going through- to be in such pain with his fingers, and unable to use his primary source of comfort: that very, injured finger.
But I'm seeing a small benefit in all of this. Due to another unfortunate event, we had taken Precious' pacifier when she was thirteen months old. Tater is the same age. She cried for about a week for naps before she was resigned to not being able to use the pacifier for comfort. Tater is getting better, and he's starting to sleep well again, after only three days. So I think we'll stick with the bandages and odd-smelling stuff that discourages him from his thumb.
His fingers are healing. The index finger had an especially wide, but not too deep cut, so I applied cayenne pepper paste to the bandage. It had stopped bleeding by Monday, so we decided not to go in for stitches. My hair was covered with coconut oil, balled up inside a shower cap; so I was overjoyed that I didn't have to take him in to the doctor for stitches.I'm also happy to report that Precious is all clear. We combed everyone out with our great nit comb, treated everyone, and we'll continue to comb her over the next few weeks to make sure she stays clear. I'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel of laundry and tedious, late-night hair sessions.
So that's what happened. And that's how Tater is going to lose the thumb-sucking habit at the tender age of thirteen months.
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