Hi my name is Julie....

and I am the mother of a head butter. You may be laughing but this is serious. It all started when Sweet P was a mere 1.5 months old. After a little crying fit, he threw his head back and butted me right on my bottom lip. My lip bled for a minute or two and I did not think anything of it....until, it did heal correctly. This thing on my lip started to grow due to the trauma to the tissue from the head butt incident. It got bigger and bigger until others were noticing it and it was very bothersome to me. So what did I have to do...have it excised (cut out) by a surgeon. I don't know how people have their lips injected, they must really be worried about a couple of lines around their lips, because having a needle stuck into your lip while you are awake is not fun!!! I will say that Dr. Rice did a very nice job and you cannot even tell that I had something cut off of my lip.

Now, let's head down the road to when Sweet P is about 6 months old. He and I are at my parents house for a weekend visit. He is getting grumpy (diaper change, or tired, or hungry or all 3, I cannot remember) and he is throwing his head back. First shot goes to my chest. No problem...I have a little extra padding there. But, the second shot is to my mouth again. Although, this time it does not bust my lip...it knocks out one of my front teeth (which is a bridge). I was devastated. I just knew that this one was not going to be an easy fix. I mean this is a front tooth missing (sounds redneckish I know). How was I going to go to work with a missing tooth? And would I be able to get a dental appointment on such short notice? Well, I called my boss Sunday evening to tell her I would not be at work, and first thing Monday morning I was able to get a dental appointment. Luckily, the bridge was not damaged and they were able to just re cement it in. Easy and not a costly repair.

Now today's incident. Preston has never stopped head butting me. He throws his head back daily into my chest, abdomen, knee, whatever body part it lands on. Thankfully, he has a padded MaMa. But, my chest aches daily after his little head has landed on my chest unexpectedly. This evening we were watching Kung Fu Panda. He was actually watching the movie while sitting in my lap. We had just got through naming body parts, when all the sudden his throws his head back and it lands on my right cheek bone. OUCH!!!!! My very sweet husband, immediately got up to get me an ice pack and 3 ibuprofen. Needless to say, I don't think the cheekbone is broke, just bruised and swollen. And man, oh man do I have a severe headache. It didn't seem to even bother Preston's head. Bless his heart...he knew I was hurting and he brought his blankie to me and put it in my lap. I was a little apprehensive when he crawled into my lap again, shortly afterwards.

How do you stop a head butter? Any suggestions. I am getting to the desperate point. I do not want him to hurt himself if he decides to throw his head back onto something that is not so squishy as me or the pillows. And I don't want him to think it is ok to do this to his friends or other people. HELP!!!


On a light note:
*Thankful for the most beautiful day
*Thankful to not have to go into work today...although they did call and tell that I need to be there for a 7:30am case tomorrow
*Thankful that I think all the lines are marked (water, gas, telephone) and the plumber can hopefully begin the digging of the pipes process Monday (keeping my fingers crossed that the work stays on our side of the street and does not have to cross the street)
*Thankful for a nice play day outside
*Thankful that my mom's new fridge was delivered today
*Thankful that I am about to go to bed...hopeful it is a quieter night than last night
*Thankful that Thomas and I upgraded to a king size bed almost 2 years ago...it sure gets crowded with 2 adults, 2 dogs and a little boy!!!!