Wasps cause stress

Two days ago, Logan was bitten by a wasp in the gym of the elementary school. This cranky little insect apparently traveled in style on the lining of Logan's teeny little sneaker next to his ankle, and became upset when the sun disappeared and my child started running around on the shiny wooden floor. This obviously was cause for retaliation on the part of the wasp, and Logan got a lovely bite just under his ankle bone on the outside of his right foot.

But, I should start at the beginning. At the time, #1, #3 and #4 were with the twinnie monsterlettes, walking with them while they took the town by storm on their tricycles. I was home,trying to hurry and get caught up on the dishes ( We live across the street and three doors down from the school). You can imagine my shock, followed by extreme amounts of adrenaline coursing through my veins and heart palpitations when #1 ran in the door with a screaming Logan. "He's bit! He's bit!" she screamed, while running to the kitchen  and setting Logan on the counter for my viewing pleasure.  At this point, I have no idea what bit him; so I'm looking for blood and puncture wounds. And then, the words I have dreaded hearing for Logan's entire life: "It was a bee! A bee got him! We saw a black and yellow thing fly out of his shoe after he started screaming! I ran right home with him, I promise!"

Now. We have to pause here and remember that #1 is 17. She's got a flare for the drama in times of crisis, and I have to tell you that in this case, it wasn't helping matters. She was standing right in front of Logan at this point, and gesturing to his foot. I admit to being a bad mother and shoving her over so I could look. It wasn't a bee. There was no puncture where a stinger would have been, and no one took a stinger out. However, there WAS an ugly little pinch mark rapidly welting up with redness and swelling radiating from it. I went into Mommy Overdrive.

I'm snapping orders like a soap opera surgeon. "Get me the Hershey's nuggets. NOW!" "Grab a bag of frozen veggies out of the freezer! Move yer butt!"  "Bring me the Benadryl and children's Tylenol! No,wait! NOT Benadryl, the PediaCare allergy stuff!"

 That last order I screamed? Yeah. I had realized an epic mommy fail a couple of days prior. Benadryl has corn syrup in it. This is bad. Very very bad. Logan is allergic to corn (thank you, allergist that recommended benadryl daily, five seconds after telling me that he's allergic to corn and all corn by-products) and I glanced at the box one day last week and nearly had heart failure. That provoked a freaked out phone call wherein I made the Daddy go and talk to the pharmacist at our local Super Wally Mart and beg for something comparable. Turns out? Benadryl has corn syrup. BUT Pedia Care Children's Allergy is the exact same medication... made wth sugar instead. Who knew? Because seriously... I never thought of checking the ingredients in benadryl. But, I digress.

Fast forward an hour. Logan's ankle is swollen to the point of bruising, looking like he sprained his ankle. But now he's calm, elevating his foot, and covered in chocolate. Covered in chocolate?! Yes. Covered in chocolate. He hates extreme cold. We had to bribe him to let us put frozen veggies on his foot. He got the Momma's stash of Hershey's nuggets for being tolerant and letting us pack his miniature ankle in bagged frozen produce. I mean, for crying out loud. The child had been drugged with PediaCare Allergy. Chocolate wasn't going to be an issue.

Three hours later, the swelling is minimal, the welt is gone, and Logan is playing around like nothing happened. However. The Momma, Mighty M, the monsters, and the Daddy all feel like we've run marathons. The moral of the story? Wasps cause stress. And three year olds handle it better than all the adults in the Monster House.

Wasp, Benadryl, and PediaCare images by Google images