Parenting Badges

In parenting their are rights of passage that everyone most go through. The early ones begin during pregnancy and, at least for the mothers, aren't terribly pleasant. Once your sweet bundle of joy arrives each day is full of new firsts, rights of passage, welcoming you into parenthood. I like to think of each of these as a parenting badge. It starts with sleepless nights and especially for us boy moms getting peed on multiple times a day. Then their is the oh so special vomit down the front of your shirt or into your bra if you're a really lucky Mamma.

I've so loved watching, and being a part of, Able and Kari's first adventures into parenting. They are killing the parenting game, doing an amazing job, and collecting all the usual parenting badges that come in the first two months. I've gotten a few sweet reminders of newborn badges as of late myself. Alice loves her Aunt Audra so much she threw up down my shirt within the first month of meeting me. That's a feeling you block out once you're out of the baby phase, but I quickly remembered that helpless feeling as warm vomit runs down your chest, sweet baby love! Last week they collected the not as common, but often needed, change the baby's diaper in the trunk of the car badge. That one sometimes takes first time parents awhile to collect, but those two aren't messing around, they knocked it out in the second month, well played.

In my years as a parent I've collected all sorts of parenting badges, some more fun than others, but each hold a special place in my heart. First set of stitches, check! Marked that one off early in little Rowan's life. Zach was the lucky recipient of having your child throw up everywhere on you/all over the airport when Zane was twoish. I acted like I didn't know who they were so I can't claim that one. First time your kid pees at the park, your child survives a near drowning (Uncle Able to the rescue), first facial bleeding, first game of is it poop or dirt, and the fun goes on and on. I do think that as a boy mom a lot of my badges will involve injuries of some sort. For example I feel sure our first broken bone could happen any day. I have no idea how Rowan hasn't broken a bone yet, with his tiny little arms/legs.

Yesterday we collected a pretty common badge. We took our first, probably not last, child to Urgent Care after he swallowed a coin. Classic scenario, and one of my fears as a parent. Lucky for us the coin was plastic and Rowan actually told us he swallowed it. Two things that made the situation some what easier. I had only worked eight hours yesterday so I could come home and rest. However, about thirty minutes after getting home Rowan said his belly hurt. I initially ignored him because four year olds always have a complaint of an ache or pain, it's what four year old are notorious for, also they lie. But then he said it hurt because he had swallowed a coin! There went my restful evening eating grilled steak and a baked potato as we had planned. Traded in instead for an evening at the doctor.

I immediately went into the panic of a penny stuck in my child's airway eroding his trachea/esophagus, surgery, and all the worst case scenarios, which as an hospital RN is all I ever see in regards to foreign bodies. Rowan claimed it was a toy coin and that it was an accident, then denied everything when we told him he'd have to go to the doctor. A full blown meltdown, puppy dog tears, denial, "it was a joke, I'm joking, I didn't swallow anything." Sorry kiddo it's too late, and off to our friendly neighborhood children's after hours Urgent Care. We really should have a punch card for that place, after four visits the fifth is free, type of deal. This was where Rowan got his stitches and where my kids always end up when they have strep.

Luckily no one else was there and we quickly saw the doctor, got an x-ray, and confirmed that yes indeed there was a coin about have way down his esophagus. The x-ray was pretty impressive and they were nice enough to give me a disc of the image, for posterity. They told us he should be fine, but that he couldn't eat until the morning and we should take him to the actual ER if he had trouble breathing or complained of terrible pain. Otherwise we just wait for it to "pass." So the rest of our evening was spent watching and waiting for what might come next. Zach and I went ahead and packed hospital bags for whatever type of hospital visits might come our way in the next few days. There was definitely a point last night where I thought Rowan and I both might end up in the hospital, which would truly be the story of my life.

So here it is, parenting badge #1034, kids swallows coin!

Next week we will start over with another child, back to the beginning, back to the first badges, getting peed on, getting thrown up, not sleeping. Then there are also my very favorite badges, rocking babies to sleep, singing lullabies, smelling their sweet little heads for the first time, baby baths, tiny toes, and watching brother's fall in love! Oh how sweet it is, I can't wait!