So, the hobbits’ pretend play is ever expanding. When Ainsley pretends to be a baby she says, “Be careful. Don’t touch my nose, I have a heeding hube (feeding tube). And, don’t touch my belly. I have a big boo-boo.” And, many times, when I ask her name (as the pretend baby) she says Ryan.
Recently, a hospital volunteer brought two fabric dolls sans faces and a doctor kit to Ryan’s room for the girls to play with. They loved the idea of drawing faces on the dolls and got right to work. They drew eyes, nose and a mouth then proceeded to open up the dolls’ gowns and draw a heart with a circle underneath. Lovely. Further, they begged… okay, simply asked… the nurse for some tape to secure their doll’s feeding tube. I caught sight of Ainsley putting medicine down her doll’s tube – just like she’s seen me do with Ryan when he is home. Seriously? These girls are perceptive.
I’m guessing when your kids play doctor, they take each other’s blood pressure and give shots. Do they also run a CBC? Okay, I’m just kidding. My kids don’t take a CBC or rattle off blood gas numbers, but they do make hospital beds and pretend to be doctors doing rounds as opposed to pretending to visit the doctor. We’ve progressed from wearing gloves to a full mask and hat. They ask for syringes and give medicine through the feeding tube or in an IV in addition to giving shots. Today, I heard Ainsley tell Natalie it was time to weigh their babies. These kids… next thing you know they’ll be talking about dressing changes and examining surgical incisions!
Last Thursday, Natalie was pretending to throw her ‘used needle’ into the real sharpies container (just what it sounds like – a place for sharp things). We decided she needed her own sharpie container so she wasn’t playing with something so dangerous. We tracked down a (brand new) disposable urinal complete with lid. She loves it!
Today, Ainsley decided she wanted to move her baby to a different room. She sees kids being moved in the hall on their rolling beds and Ryan has changed rooms more than I can count. I allowed her to move her baby as long as she stayed behind the vent. I was too afraid she would knock something lose if she try passing it with the ‘bed’. Pictures are below.
Ainsley…
Side view
Natalie… “Mommy, you can’t see my smile.”
Moving her baby (she’s pulling the recliner around the room)
Coloring stickers for her patient (pictured on right)
(c) 2016 Leighann Marquiss
Comments (6)
Little doctors in the making! Your girls are so precious and thank God for them being so perceptive so they can keep themselves entertained during trips to the hospital!
We’re continuing to pray for you all as Ryan makes his recovery! Hugs from Houston!
So precious! Will they still be able to visit Ryan when flu season comes full swing? I know ideally he’ll be home sooner than that but I also know he’s medically fragile and likely to do the in and out thing for years to come.
So super cute….who knows what great things God is preparing those girls for?!? Glad to hear Ryan is doing better – having been praying for all of you!
adorable!!! love this kids… I should be doing homework right now…. but I’m obviously not. Isn’t this what I always say?
that is so cute. Eli is the same. He talks about his time in the hospital. When he saw Ryan’s picture with all the tubes and wires. He said “mommy that was like me, those wires don’t hurt that much, but it is much better without them, when will he have them gone? They make lots of beeping noises.” He also goes around with Jasper and asks to check his throat and say ahhhh and tells him that it will hurt. Then he checks his reflexes because they did that to him a lot in the hospital and because his eye was paralyzed for a while, he had to go get eye tests, and he does those on Jasper. It is sad that they know so much about it at such a young age, but also simply adorable…
I can totally relate to that! My son Ryan has Down Syndrome, and his 2 big sisters very quickly added “therapy visits” to their baby dolls world! “Time to go to Easter Seals!” It is amazing how quickly they adjust to their “normal”! It is a wonderful gift that the girls receive from their little brothers! So glad to hear Ryan is doing well, you all are in our prayers!