cut on baby's lip -- paranoid
Hi ladies,
I haven't been on here too much since the boys' arrival. I wanted to ask your opinion on something nanny related.
We have a nightime nanny that comes in 5 nights a week, from a very reputable agency. Both my husband and I like her, and she seems really wonderful with the kids and very knowledgable. She gives me a thorough run down on the boys each morning when I relieve her.
When I got up at 6:00am to relieve her, I noticed that after she left, Danny has a cut on his center, lower lip that is scabbed over. Kind of like a split lip. The nanny didn't say anything to me about it. Danny didn't have this at the end of the evening last night, when she started her coverage.
I called her this morning and she said that she didn't notice anything on Danny and nothing happened to her knowledge. However, it seems to me that a cut like that would have bled and Danny would have cried. I'm angry and paranoid that something has happened and nobody knows' 'where' it came from. I'm contemplating firing her, but my husband says I'm just being too paranoid and that it isn't that bad, and he isn't concerned.
I'm wracking my brain trying to figure out what could have happened. I don't think his lips are 'dry' and would have cracked on their own. Something must have hit his mouth.
Thoughts? DH says I should give her the benefit of the doubt. However, I'm not inclined to. My instinct is to let her go immediately. Do you think I'm being paranoid?
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Re: cut on baby's lip -- paranoid
Its hard to say without seeing how bad it is. Both of my girls would often get scratches on their face from scratching themselves and each other with their finger and toe nails. Is LO's nails long? At that age, their nails are incredibly sharp and dagger like. When my girls have gotten scratched, they never cry and have never bled. It just appears. One DD had such a deep scratch it took months for the "scar" to fade.
Can you hear the babies from where you are in the house? If so, I would imagine you would have heard your DS's screams if we he had been hit or something bad had happened. Trust your instincts, but if you think you may be overreacting, then trust your DH's instincts and try to listen closely for the next few nights to bring you peace.
Thank you for the response. I hadn't thought about the possibility of him scratching his lip. That could be a possibility. His nails are a little long and he has scratched his face previously. And, when doesn't get fed immediately when he wakes up, he sometimes pulls at his mouth with his hand.
I second pp, DS and DD sometimes have new little scratches on them on all time. Maybe ask your night nurse to put mittens or socks on their hands so they don't scratch themselves or something.
I agree with this. Things happen, and that doesn't always mean abuse or neglect. I always know I'm behind on the fingernail trimmings when I see face scratches. I knew I had to cut DD's toenails when she scratched up the other foot in attempt to get her sock off.