It was supposed to be just another ordinary Thursday night. The kids were getting ready for bed, and by getting ready, I mean N was jumping around, Didi was laughing as he watched N, and I was carrying Meimei to the room to nurse her. I turned around to get Meimei to say goodnight to everyone, and to my absolute horror, I saw Didi FLYING, flying okay, in the air, and landing flat on his face. I don’t even remember putting Meimei down, but the image of Didi holding his face, rubbing his hands furiously up and down, and wailing, appears repeatedly in my mind, like an never-ending nightmare.
I remember carrying him and hugging him close to me, rubbing him back as I tried to comfort him by saying useless things like, “It’s okay, baby.” when it clearly WASN’T okay. C told me there was a big bump on Didi’s forehead, and I pried Didi away from my shoulder so that I could take a look at his face. You know those huge bumps on kids’ foreheads that you’ve seen in photos, and wished your kid will never get one? Well, Didi had one, and I didn’t know what to do.
The bump
Our helper rushed to get an ice-pack, and tried her best to hold it against his forehead. He kept screaming and pushing her hands away, so I had to pin his arms down by hugging him tightly. I applied copious amounts of Valor (an essential oil blend) on the bump, while Meimei looked on anxiously. Poor Didi was crying non-stop, and we resorted to showing him videos on C’s phone to calm him down.
I took a quick photo of the bump, and emailed it to our PD in Singapore. I also sent it via WhatsApp to a GP that we sometimes see here in Jakarta, and they both told me to give him paracetamol for the pain if necessary. I had to apply ice on the swelling, and monitor him for vomiting and signs of disorientation, as those were signs of a concussion, but that was about all I could do for him. Dr Khor also told us to dip a cotton ball in water, drip some Lavender essential oil on it, and roll it across the bump, but Didi would wake up and cry the second the cotton ball touched his bump, so I gave up after a few attempts. She offered to pass us some pure Lavender EO if we could find someone travelling from Singapore back to Jakarta, and thank God that one of our neighbours happened to be coming back from Singapore on Sunday night. It was a couple of days away, but better than nothing.
Didi slept pretty well through the night, and only woke up once. He just whined for me to sleep on the mattress with him, and went back to sleep after rolling around for a while, with me next to him. The next morning, his bump had subsided a little, but the bruising around his eye was more obvious. He was whinier and clingier than usual, but that was to be expected, I guess. I had to carry him a lot more, and he kept telling me, “Ba” (which means “bump”) while pointing at his head.
The morning after
I thought he would be afraid of climbing after that horrendous fall, but nope. He and his partner-in-crime behaved as though they needed more practice in climbing things, and kept pulling themselves up onto the sofa, coffee table, side table, dining chairs, and even the dining table. I pulled them down and carried them off the chairs/tables, but they were undeterred, and just kept going right back up. When I scolded them, they LAUGHED. We are definitely going to have a really tough time disciplining these two, I tell you.
The cheeky duo racing around before bed
On Saturday morning, the bruising became even more obvious, and C said Didi looked like he got into a fight and lost badly.
Saturday morning
On Sunday, he looked like he had applied eyeshadow badly on himself. His eye was a bit less swollen, and the bump was less pronounced, so I think he’s on the road to recovery.
Sunday
I don’t know if it’s a good or bad thing that he seems to be totally unafraid about falling again, but my heart drops each time I see him up on the sofa/chair/table/bed. I suspect he thinks it’s a game, because he laughs when I scold him and carry him down. The two of them take turns climbing up and getting carried down, and if I refuse to carry them, they just lean forward and “fall”, so I end up having to catch them. It’s like I’m playing a game of “Chicken” with them, and testing my reflexes, both of which are not fun for me at all.
Anyway, yeah… that’s the story of how Didi tried to be Superman. We’re pretty sure he was imitating N, and have warned N not to jump around like that anymore, but the KorKor insists that it wasn’t his fault, “it was Didi’s fault because he jumped”. *rolls eyes* At least he made Didi a card the next morning!
PS. For those of you who are into essential oils, Lavender, Helichrysum, and Arnica are supposed to be good for bumps and bruises, but I hope you’ll never have to find out for yourselves how effective the oils are!