bee sting

At Elise’s 4th birthday party today, Marie was stung on the arm by a yellowjacket[1]. She screamed pretty badly, a sound we have (luckily) heard very few times in her 3+ years — the scream of actual physical pain. (We hear other screams — such as the scream of fit-throwing, the scream of disobedience, and the scream of being abandoned with a babysitter — with some frequency.)

We gave her a lot of attention, and she calmed down within a few minutes, although she said that it really hurt. We put ice on it at first, then the magic sting solution (mix equal parts water & baking soda into a paste, apply liberally). Within 10-15 minutes the pain went away and she was back to her normal self. Now, less than 3 hours later, it is just a small red mark on her arm.

She knows how proud we are of her about how she handled it. Other kids I know would still be crying. I just want to make sure this doesn’t cause an irrational fear of flying insects for the rest of her childhood…

fn1. Yes, I know a yellowjacket is a hornet, but it looks like a bee, and as far as Marie is concerned, that is what “bit” her.