How Hobart joined our family

Here's a story from back in January that I forgot to share . . .

The kids' well visits to the doctor have always been some of my favorite days . . . especially Claire's. Kyle and I always go together and normally have a babysitter for the boys. It's the closest thing to a date we get these days. Their doctor's office is 45 minutes away in Chelsea so we get at least 1 1/2 hours to just talk and sometimes we even stop for breakfast. It's glorious.

At Claire's 2-week check up, we made her 1 month appointment and I was counting down the days until January 26. On the night before I was giddy with excitement. I know it sounds crazy, but I was 4-weeks postpartum and had been stuck in the house with 3 kids, one of whom was a newborn, for the entire time.

That night was rough with Claire, so that morning, I let Kyle sleep and I was up with all three. I thought about waking him up when I sat down to nurse Claire, but figured that the boys were playing quietly, so I wouldn't bother him.

About an hour later, I was trying to get the boys dressed and Jack said, "I have something in my nose!" He'd been congested for a day or two, so I got some tissue and told him to just keep blowing until it all came out.

He blew his nose a few times and then started freaking. out. So I sent him to his room, thinking he was just being dramatic. After hearing him in there still crying five minutes later, I went in and said, "WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM?!" Not my finest parenting moment.

And he replied, "I TOLD YOU I HAVE SOMETHING IN MY NOSE."

Wait, what now?

I thought he was referring to snot. You know . . . something in his nose causing congestion. I was so, so wrong.

"I put a lego in my nose."

Awesome.

Let me back up and say that a week earlier, Ben had put a peanut in his nose. All the way up there. But with enough blowing and coaxing we finally got him to sneeze it out.

Side note: When I later asked Jack WHY he put a lego up his nose, he replied, "Because I was trying to smell it. It did not smell good."

I tried to look up Jack's nose, but at this point he was freaking out so much I had to call for Kyle. We had him blow and sneeze and did everything we could. We finally decided he needed to visit the ER.

This is about the time I started throwing my temper tantrum. The disappointment over missing our "date" was overwhelming. I just sat down and cried. Ridiculous, I know . . . but well, postpartum hormones don't always allow rational thought to prevail.

Kyle headed to the ER in Chelsea with Jack while I waited for the babysitter to come to stay with Ben. Then I left . . . alone . . . to take Claire to her check-up. Which was also in Chelsea. Two cars making the 45 minute drive separately. Not quite the "morning date" I had hoped for.

They tried to get the lego out, but the 5 people holding Jack down couldn't keep him still enough. So, they decided anesthesia was necessary. I'm so glad I wasn't there . . . I probably would have lost it at that point.

While they were waiting for the anesthesia, the nurse kept working with Jack, trying to get him to sneeze and blow it out. Jack had been crying so hard that his nose was running and she thought that might start to loosen things up.

She was right! Just before they were going to administer the anesthesia he blew his nose real hard and . . . viola! There it was. I received this photo while I was at Claire's check up with her:


Can you see the lego? No? That's because it's smaller than any toy labeled "Ages 3 and older" should be. Needless to say, we "lost" that lego set soon after this incident.

During all of the commotion, one of the nurses brought Jack a teddy bear, thinking it might bring him comfort. It did not. But it did provide a great show and tell item for the following week, during which Jack gave his speech on how to get a free teddy bear.

Aren't you glad your child isn't in his preschool class?