Yellow Jacket Attack

Over the weekend Nathan had a run in with some bees...well, after some research we determined they were yellow jackets.  I had left to run some errands and had only been gone an hour when I called home to see if I should make another stop.  I was feeling great just getting out on my own.  I can't believe how fast I can move when it's just me!  So I felt awful when I learned that Nathan had been attacked by yellow jackets while I was gone :(   I RUSHED home.  I couldn't get there fast enough and was so irritated by hitting red lights on the way.

When I got home Nathan and Matt greeted me.  Nathan's shirt was off and he had red welts all over him.  it made me so sad!  Matt of course did a great job of getting him inside, putting some spray on the stings and giving him some benadryl & ibuprofen.  Thankfully, he did not have an allergic reaction to the stings.  I guess you don't know until it happens!  Matt said that he had been asking for me but once I got home he was clinging pretty much to Matt.   Every once in a while he would point to the sting on his leg and say, "hurt".   We did some research and learned that yellow jackets are attracted to dark colors.  Most of the stings were on his his chest and back where he was wearing a navy blue shirt, but he had one on his neck and one on his leg as well.

We think the yellow jackets must have felt as though he was threatening their home.  They seem to have one in the corner of our yard between the bricks.  We discovered them when my parents were out and Dad and Matt sprayed where they thought they were but Matt and I failed to go back and completely exterminate them, so that was not really smart on our part.  Apparently, they get especially aggressive and irritated at this time of the year when it is hard to find food.  They love sweet things and their home is under our peach tree.

This is a picture of the area from early June...before we knew there were yellow jackets at all.  It is a place he loves to play.  Where the yellow jackets enter is right where his little legs and feet are!


Matt reading to Nathan before bed the night of the attack.  Usually my job, but tonight...Daddy's!


He seems pretty relaxed.


After we gave him a bath and got him down to bed I asked Matt more questions about the whole ordeal...even though I wasn't sure I wanted to know.  Matt said that he was mowing with the reel mower a few feet away (our yard really isn't that big!) when he heard Nathan crying loudly.  He turned to look and Nathan was coming toward him (from between the bush on the left the peach tree in the corner)

with his hands up for Matt to pick him up.  Matt said there were at least 15-20 yellow jackets ON him, and a whole lot more swarming around his little body.  I hate to even think about it.  Matt grabbed him, started brushing them off of Nathan with his hand and running towards the garage access door.

You can see the door to the far left in this picture).


Matt said all of that happened in about 10-20 seconds.  He said he couldn't believe how tightly they were clinging to Nathan.  It was harder than he expected to knock them off.  Right before he went into the garage, Matt got stung on the finger by one yellow jacket.  I can't believe he only got stung once.  He handled the whole ordeal much better and more bravely than I ever would have.  I'm glad he was there with him.  He said he cried for awhile inside as well but he gradually got calmer with intermittent crying and saying, "hurt".   Matt mentioned that night how his finger was still throbbing and couldn't imagine what it felt like to have 11 stings all over your body.  But Nathan seems to be a tough cookie! (At least tougher than his mama anyway, that's for sure.)

I know it was a traumatic event for Matt as well but I'm proud of how he handled it.  I couldn't even make it home without crying.  The thought of your child hurting is just not enjoyable at all. 

Nathan did wake up in the middle of the night and of course we took pity on him and let him get away with coming to bed with us.  But we came to find out he was coming down with a cold and that was more of the reason for his restlessness and discomfort because he wasn't referencing the stings at all.  But he was sneezing all over the place.  I'm now sick as well and it's making a rough week for all of us but I'm so thankful it isn't the aftermath of the actual wasp (apparently yellow jackets are wasps) attack.

We have a trap hanging on the other tree in our backyard that has caught many yellow jackets already but we are working on killing off the nest by spraying it at night.  We've seen several dead wasps by the entrance of the bricks already but we are definitely not comfortable with it yet.  I still saw a live one fly in between the bricks.  If you care to know more about yellow jackets, here's a link.  There's tons more info out there too and it's overwhelming!

I took a few pictures of Nathan while Matt gave him a bath last night.  The stings look SO much better now and they seem to just have a little bruise around the small scabbed red mark at this stage of the healing.

You can see two near his right armpit.  One under his right nipple.  And two more closer to his left nipple for a total of five on the front.

He looks pretty happy so you won't feel as bad for him now!




He was splashing like crazy...that's why he is all smiles.


And on his back.

You can see one on his spine.  One about an inch higher and to the right of the first one.  Two on the back of his arm (second one is close to his elbow), and then one up on the back of his neck for a total of another five.  He also has one on the back of his left calf that I didn't post a picture of.  They really do look SO much better already!

Playing with daddy after getting out of the tub.


I ordered him a potty a little bit ago.  I'm not attempting to potty train him right now at all but thought I would at least get him used to the idea if he cared.  Usually, he sits on it with his clothes on while mommy goes to the bathroom!  But since he was already undressed and said either "poop-poop" or "pee-pee" (I can't remember which) I told him to sit on his poitty.  And he insisted that I sit on my potty as well!


We'll stick to pictures of just him on the potty though :)

He's so funny.

And a random one to make you smile.  Last week when I put Nathan down for a nap he insisted that 1) his monkey blanket be on his "back" and 2) that I put his hat on him.  What???  ha ha.  Well, this is about an hour to an hour and a half into his nap so the blanket has moved a little because he rolled from his side to his back but his hat is still in it's place.

I do hope you enjoyed that picture because I sacrificed MY nap by taking it!  He woke up shortly after I took it...I think I disturbed him!