A couple weeks ago, Heidi got her first busted lip on the coffee table.

I knew this was going to happen. And I know it’s not the last time. But the first time? Traumatic. But also hilarious in hindsight only because I reacted as a typical first time mom.

Simply put, Heidi tripped on her blanket, fell face first into the coffee table, and now has a fat lip. She also  tore a little bit of the inside of her lip with her tooth. But all in all, besides playing with her fat lip a lot (which is funny), she is fine.

BUT. At the time, here is what I was thinking:

Ok, good. Looks like just a  big bruise…wait…is that blood?? THERE IS BLOOD ALL OVER HER BLANKET (read: a spot about the size of a quarter).Oh my gosh, it is pooling everywhere. She needs stitches. Cody’s at work. What do I do? I can’t put her in the car seat with her bleeding everywhere, can I? I’m calling mom…”Mom…MOM, Heidi smashed her face into the coffee table and there is blood everywhere. *crying* I am TRYING to calm down, but what do I do, should I take her to the ER? I can’t see where she tore it, she won’t let me touch her face.  It’s super swollen and there’s blood all over  *crying* and it just looks really bad. *crying*   HER LIPS ARE SWOLLEN SHUT. (read: the left side of her lips were just slightly swollen shut.  Barely.) What if she broke a tooth or did something I can’t see? Can you meet me at the ER? “

At this point, I’m scrambling, trying to get my shoes on and get Heidi ready to go. Within five minutes, she had stopped crying and the bleeding had stopped.  As we were driving to the hospital, I realized she was totally fine, and I started to feel a little sheepish. When we were walking into the hospital, my mom was waiting for us in the ER waiting room. Heidi, her little eyes swollen from crying, immediately reached for a hug from Grandma. Meanwhile, Cody walked in (I had texted him that we were going to the hospital). They both took a peek in her mouth, saying, “she definitely got herself good, but she is fine.”

*sigh*

Meanwhile, the people at the ER desk were probably rolling their eyes. Mom was giggling at me, giving me a hug and telling me it wouldn’t be the first time. Cody was telling me his own horror stories of getting his lips completely stuck to his braces when he was younger…multiple times. (Which only reminded me we have a lot to look forward to in terms of hospital visits, I imagine!)

I took Heidi home, shared a popsicle with her to help with the swelling, and put her to bed. I realize this is probably one of the least traumatic things that will happen to me as a parent. And I’m sure next time, I will (I hope!) assess the situation a bit more before freaking out. But I can’t help it. I turn to complete mush when it comes to Heidi. When she is sad or sick or in pain, like today, I do everything I can to make it better because seeing that little face so sad just kills me. I am a wuss, thanks to my kid.

But a very blessed and happy wuss.

“When you’re pregnant, you can think of nothing but having your own body to yourself again; yet after giving birth you realize that the biggest part of you is somehow now external, subject to all sorts of dangers, so you spend the rest of your life trying to figure out how to keep her close enough for comfort.” -Jodi Picoult, Vanishing Acts