Why 3 is Enough for Me!

I get asked all the time if we will have any more kids. As long as it is up to me, three is good! I love my little Care Bear but she has humbled me from day one! We always said we would have 4 kids but I have decided Care Bear is baby 3 and 4 in one busy little body!

In a matter of 11 days my blue eyed little lady self medicated herself with cold medicine, attempted to light the house on fire, and broke her leg!

Medicine

Care bear had a bad cough and it got especially bad at night so for several nights in a row, I gave her a dose of children's cold medicine to help her sleep without coughing all night. On July 19th, she asked for medicine and I told her no because she seemed better and I didn't think she needed it. I continued helping the girls tidy their room before bed when Care Bear disappeared. She came back upstairs and with pride announced that she had given herself the cold medicine! I ran downstairs and sure enough, the bottle was open with a measuring spoon next to it. The only thing that kept me from calling poison control was the fact that the bottle was almost empty and she maybe got 1/2 tsp too much, at the most. We talked for a long time about how dangerous it is to do that so hopefully she will listen to me next time!

Fire

We do not use matches at our house. All we use are lighters with child safety latches and I keep them up high. But, the other day (July 23rd), as I was cleaning and sorting papers in my room, I found a souvenir box of matches Justin had brought home from a golf course. Not thinking, I set them on my dresser. Care Bear found them and asked what the "candles" were for. I told her they were not candles but matches and they are dangerous so don't touch them. Once again, not thinking, I turned back around and continued sorting papers. A few minutes later a terrified Care Bear came running back to my room and told me "that stick is on fire!" I asked her if it was still burning and she said yes it was! I ran to her room and discovered small flames on the blanket on her bed! Without even thinking, I smothered the flames with the blanket. I was shocked to say the least! How on earth did she manage to light the match? I truly think she did it accidentally and then got scared and threw the burning match on her bed. She was so frightened and would not come talk to me. I had to coax her out of hiding and I repeatedly told her she did the right thing by telling me what happened. We talked about what would have happened if she didn't tell anyone and I tried my best to paint a very scary picture in her head in hopes of keeping her from ever touching a match again! She wanted to throw the blanket away even though only a very small section was burned but I told her no because it is her favorite blankie and I knew she would be devastated the next day. Then she wanted me to cut the burned part off but again I told her no. I told her I want her to have a daily reminder of what fire can do so she will never play with matches/fire again! I pray I do not have a firebug on my hands!

Broken Leg

Our good friends the Bruners inherited a trampoline from some friends that were moving away. On Wednesday the 28th Justin helped Travis set it up and we all ate pizza while the kids had a ball jumping and performing tricks on the "new" trampoline. Thursday the 29th, Care Bear was across the street jumping as soon as she could. That evening I had book club so Justin and the kids barbecued dinner with the Bruners while the trampoline was thoroughly enjoyed by Care Bear, Camdyn, Raegan, and Peyton. (La-La was at another friends and Jaco was being "electronic" like usual). Right as I got to book club around 6:30, Justin called and said Care Bear had hurt herself on the trampoline. He said Camdyn had "popped" her up and she hyper extended her knee. She talked to me and broke my heart because she was so sad but I chose to stay with my friends and received updates via text from Justin. He said she was really hurting and he wondered if he should take her in. Danielle said she knew it was bad because of the way Care Bear acted when it happened. She said it was like Care Bear was frantic to get away from the pain. I couldn't really leave because we had carpooled to a home 40 minutes away. I know if it had been really serious, the other ladies would have brought me right home but I figured Justin could play care giver and I would be there soon. When I did finally get home, she was still so sad and really hurting. She would not move her leg and there was no way she would even think about standing on it. We decided to see how the night went and take her in the next morning if needed. I let her sleep with me and the poor girl cried and whimpered all night. I knew we would be going to the Dr when I noticed she did not move her leg even an inch all night long. I started feeling so guilty for not taking her in the night before!

So first thing Friday morning, La-La and I took Care Bear to an urgent care center. The Dr did a great job of distracting her while he did the exam and the only time she grimaced or cried was when he straightened her leg all the way. Because of this, he was positive it was just a bad sprain and that we would just need to give Advil, carry her around for a few days, and keep it wrapped with an ace wrap. But just to be safe, he ordered x-rays. We were waiting to get the results when a pair of nurses walked in with a cast kit. I was surprised and asked them if it was broken. They didn't realize the Dr had not talked to me yet and they told me they could not say. The Dr finally came in and confirmed that yes it was broken. He showed me the x-ray and even with my untrained eye, the fracture was very obvious.

Transverse Right Tibial Fracture

My heart sunk as all kinds of thoughts raced through my head. Surgery? Cast? How long? How much? etc... He told me she already had an appointment with an orthopedic Dr. They put her in a soft cast, gave her a prescription for Tylenol with codeine and sent us home.

About an hour later, we went to the orthopedic Dr. They said it was a bad break but thankfully clean, meaning that it was not displaced. The biggest concern is the fracture involves the growth plate.

They put her in a full leg hard cast right away and warned us not to allow any weight to be put on her leg. If it twists at all, it could be bad! We will go back in on the 9th to get a new x-ray and new cast and hopefully it will still be lined up just right! As of right now, she will be in the full cast for 6 weeks and non weight bearing for most of, if not the whole time!

Cast signing!

Little known side effect of a broken leg is massive bed head! It could be quite difficult to get rid of this rat's nest!

La-La has been so sweet and caring to Care Bear. She helps in the bathroom, getting ice, playing games, and is being a great sister!

I feel so bad for Care Bear. Summer is still in full swing but no swimming, biking, running or playing outside for her. Plus, her birthday is in a few weeks and her main gift which I have already purchased is roller blades. We borrowed a jogging stroller for a "wheelchair" so that helps but taking her potty and carrying her around is a little tricky. I am sure we will have it all perfected soon and it will seem no big deal...at least I hope!

I know this was a long post but I wanted to get all the details in for "journaling" purposes to show Miss Care Bear someday. Now can you see why three is enough for me?