Fun with frenulum


Quick. Where is your frenulum???

I am now an expert in frenulum. Because this cute kid over here tore his. Tore it clean off.

Run your tongue over your top gums. Feel that flappy thing connected to your upper lip? That’s a frenulum.

Count Waffle’s frenulum is no longer attached. He thought it would be fun to stand on a Leap Frog drum and then fall/jump into an end table. Mouth agape, apparently.
The blood. Dear Ozzy the blood.
The panic. Dear Donna Reed the panic.
Then came the questions. Where is the blood coming from? Is that thing really no longer attached? Is that a big deal? Do I call the doctor? No, the dentist? Do I just go to the ER?
I opted to call my pediatrician who wanted to see him, pronto. They even stayed open during lunch to let us in. Apparently we haven’t met our take-kids-to-pediatrician-at-least-5times-a-month quota.
As it turns out, you don’t need your frenulum. And most of us did the same thing the Count did as children and it didn’t affect us at all.
No stitches.
No acidic or salty food for awhile.
Tylenol.
Popsicles.
And whatever else he wants because he scared the shit out of me and I don’t ever want to see blood pouring out of him again. Ever.

…so how many times will we do this again? Do these boys just jump off crap all the time? Girls are better, right? Should I just bring a fruit basket over to my local ER doctors now?

…this is only the beginning…isn’t it???

Comments

  1. ugh, my tongue was caressing that doo-hickey as i read this post….in sympathy.

    Ouch.

    Yes, i think it’s a boy thing. Martin tells me stories of him and his little brother doing things like accidentally setting the barn on fire….on fighting each other at about 8 or 9 years old, USING KNIVES….etc.

    No, they didn’t turn out serial murderers. I just think boys are crazy like that when they are young. Some sort of lack of commen sense gene…or something. This is why i’m only having one boy!!

  2. Ouch 🙁 poor thing!

    Oh, and get used to the trips to the ER. My mom said she spent so much time with us 4 kids at the ER they knew her by name 🙂 4 split chins, 1 broken wrist, 2 scalp injuries, 1 almost detached tonsel (yes, that was me), 1 baby who swallowed the little pics from a viewfinder and scratched up throat, 1 nail through a big toe, 1 cuncussion… and that is just what I can remember… Oh the things kids do!

  3. I also kept checking mine as I read it with sympathy for the poor soul.

    It much have hurt him a lot.

    Hope he gets well soon!

  4. My son lost his years ago. And he seems to have survived so far! 🙂

  5. LMAO! LOL!!!!! I have been through this three times now in three years. The major blood oozing and pouring from his body. You saw his tree wound!! LOL! His flesh wounds go beyond anything I’ve ever seen. LOL… when he was first crawling he bumped his face on the leg of my parents dining room table and the blood from his tongue filled THREEE dish towels. Right when I was going to take him somewhere it stopped. Boys are nuts. I really go back and forth on what I want this one to be… but I’m sticking with quiet LOLOl!

  6. Dear god, I was woozy just reading that. Hope the poor guy is okay…but if he’s not , spare me the details! 🙂

  7. To quote my husband, “Every grown man is a miracle.”

    I’m sure he’ll be back to his antics in no time!

  8. It’s horrible when something like this happens. Hope the litte fellow is feeling better. I went through a similar panic not so long ago when Dustbunny split her head open falling on the fireplace. All I saw was blood flowing all over her face and she had rubbed it all over. That sense of total panic is awful.

  9. I don’t know if it’s just boys.. the staff at the local ER knew me by name when I was growing up.

    Hope he feels better soon, poor little frenulumless baby! Bring on the popsicles, mom!

  10. Poor guy! That’s gotta hurt!

    It’s funny, I just posted something about kids getting hurt on my blog. I really think they just have this desire to seek out doom. The more dangerous, the better.

  11. We’ve had a catscan, eeg, ekg and sleep study, all on one crazy boy, and that was before he 4. Buckle up.

  12. I’m afraid this is just the beginning!!

    I no longer have a frenulum, for the EXACT same reason that the Count lost his. Jumping on a couch, hit mouth on corner of coffee table. It’s hard to see blood coming out of your kid, but you’ll have to get used to it, especially with a boy. They do stupendously stupid things to themselves all the time. 🙂

    Good luck and get well soon to the Count!

  13. Little boys seem to have been born without common sense about physical danger. Most of them are pretty fearless when it comes to risks. Little girls, while they have that sense, just end up getting hurt anyway. Make good friends with your pediatrition, and ER doctors.

  14. It has taken me many sitting to read this one post. I have such a visual mind that I literally feel things I read physically. I have stopped hyperventilating and massaging my upper lip and can now write. I am so not kidding!

    My son is 2, 3 in March, is a sweetheart and absolutely whacked in the head. These are the fears I have with regards to him. Today he fell down with a fork he had grabbed from god knows where in his mouth… no blood thank god…

    Ooof! I cannot imagine what you must have gone through! And him, poor thing! Give him the whole pack of popsicles…

  15. It has taken me many sitting to read this one post. I have such a visual mind that I literally feel things I read physically. I have stopped hyperventilating and massaging my upper lip and can now write. I am so not kidding!

    My son is 2, 3 in March, is a sweetheart and absolutely whacked in the head. These are the fears I have with regards to him. Today he fell down with a fork he had grabbed from god knows where in his mouth… no blood thank god…

    Ooof! I cannot imagine what you must have gone through! And him, poor thing! Give him the whole pack of popsicles…

  16. I actually knew what that was–something about a friend’s son having one messed up too–guess it is a boy thing. EEEK!

  17. Boys are really pretty stupid. I think they peak out around 30 and start realizing that they aren’t invincible. Then again, maybe they don’t ever peak out…

  18. I haven’t heard of that one… it will probably come soon.

    As far as boys, it depends on the kid. Justin had stitches at 18 mo., but it was the 3rd time in the ER (once they gave us the choice if we wanted stitches or not). Eric has not been at all – knock on wood!

  19. Thanks. Thanks a lot. Now I have one more fu*king thing to worry about my baby boy doing to himself. Nice. just super… =)

    Give the count an extra hug for me…ran my tongue over frenulum as instructed and all I can say is…holy crappola. That’s gotta hurt.

  20. Poor guy!

    My son was ten before he needed stitches and fourteen before he ever broke anything (knock on wood).

    On a separate but, thanks to you, related note – I love Donna Reed.

  21. Sweet Cheeses… I hope the little guy feels better soon! Lots of internet love to him.

  22. Hi Mama, hope the little one is doing ok. Lots of love to you all!

  23. Oh the flashbacks…

    The Boy wonder was 5.

    The ginourmical wooden playset was being erected.

    Said playset included a tarp that was bowed over the top of a tower with pvc piping that made it look like the top of a covered wagon.

    Boy Wonder is running around the yard with one of the pvc pipe pieces in his mouth—hooting into it.

    What fun!

    Until he ran into the fence and tore up the sister piece to what CWaffles did–the flappy bit under the tongue.

    That was 11 years ago and we came from the ER with that exact same protical list.

    What did parents use before popsicles??

  24. Well I’m glad he’s ok. I can also assure you he’ll be fine! I no longer have mine either. My story is rather sad and pathetic, but I’ll tell ya anyway! LOL I said something my step-father didn’t like and while trying to fight me to wash my mouth out with a bar of soap, he tore the living crap out of my mouth, including the frenulum. I have to say it was a memorable experience! CW will continue to do things that scare you so be prepared!

  25. Oh man that sounds so painful. I was running my tongue over mine while reading the entire time.

    I have yet to have a real emergency with my oldest. Aside from having to take him to the ER for sticking a rock up his nose.

    My youngest son cracked his head on the door frame once and it caused him to pass out. Now that was scary. Our whole neighborhood came over when they saw the ambulance there.

  26. Hey there, my boy Angus just used his face as a landing pad! he has detached his frenulum and i instantly googled it! it brought me straight here! thanks very much for this i figured it would be the case as i am a nurse in the uk but parental solidarity and reassurance does more than any doctor can do!

    Cheers!

    Mike

  27. Dude that same thing happened to me tonite while I alone was watching him and Mom was at the doc…..Dear God the blood is right…..but its exactly like you say no bid deal………..SCARY AS HELL though

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