As a mother, choking has always been my greatest fear. There's no time to call 911, let alone get help before it's too late. Babies are notorious for putting everything within reach in their mouths, and it doesn't all fit! I took general CPR and First Aide courses in high school, and I've always read up on the basics over the years. My boys have all had choking scares at some point in their lives. Most of them revolve around food, and could easily be fixed by sweeping out the back of their throats with my finger. But today was different, and I'm so glad I was prepared.
My two older boys were counting out their money so we could go to the dollar store. Charlie, the 11 month old, was sitting literally 6 inches away from me, and still managed to get a penny in his mouth when I wasn't looking. He gagged and coughed a little, which is good- air is still getting in and out. I let him struggle just a second, and tried to get my finger in his mouth to get whatever was in there out. I was a little worried to find that I couldn't feel a thing in there. He coughed a little more and tried to gag, but didn't get anywhere. I picked him up and held him upside down and hit him on the back a few times. That was when he stopped making noise at all and started turning a funny color. I cried out, "Oh, God, help me!" Henry was right there watching the whole thing. I tried squeezing his belly while his head was down (a kind of baby heimlich maneuver) and then turned him back over and struck his back again. I've never hit any of my kids that hard! I just cupped my hands and struck between his shoulder blades about 10 times. Finally, he started to cry, and I stopped. I wasn't sure if it was out, but there was air getting through again. Sure enough, I looked down, and there was slimy penny lying on the floor. What a relief! I started to cry until I saw Henry's face. He was really concerned. I pulled it together and Charlie settled right down. I had that shaky, post-adrenaline rush feeling for quite some time afterwards, though.
It's hard to see, but there's discoloration all around his eyes from broken blood vessels
So today's post is something I'm pinning and sharing to those who may not already be trained or informed. If you have kids, or are in charge of other people's kids, you need to read this!!!
GOOD JOB!!!! you did exactly what you needed to do! it is pretty crazy how hard you have to hit them on the back for this. i still get nervous when trey puts things in his mouth and he's four!
ReplyDeleteI don't ever want to have to do that again! He was over it WAY before I was :)
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