Before you start reading just know upfront this happened last week and everyone is OKAY!
Lillian picks EVERYTHING up off the floor and puts it in her mouth. And by everything I mean everything from the two day old puff under the table, the receipt from yesterdays grocery run, the most minute piece of dirt, to the curled up dead bug that made its way through the crack in my door. It seems I just cannot keep my floors clean enough or rather I can and it's thanks to Lillian? Yikes!
When you are a high schooler taking life-guard training and you get to CPR, you never really think you're gonna have to do the Heimlich and especially on a baby.
Carrie had arrived to pick up Kate and Wyatt and as she and I chatted it up, the girls were playing on the floor. (Kate had told me earlier a "sequin" had come off her shoe. A few rhinestones have come off the front part of her shoe before and she just threw it away. So I told her I was so sorry and didn't think anything more about it.) All of a sudden Lillian was coughing and tears, the kind that come from not breathing, were streaming from her eyes. She seemed to be starting to turn blue. I hesitated knowing I needed to swipe my finger through her mouth. Have you ever tried to swipe your finger through the mouth of a baby. They don't really cooperate and you end up hurting them more than helping them (that is when you are just trying to get them to give you whatever they are currently chewing on); so for two seconds I was thinking "I don't want to hurt her" but then I saw she was actually not breathing and realized hurting her or brain damage from lack of oxygen were two totally different things. Carrie was closest to Lillian and had grabbed her and was holding Lillian in her lap. I tried to swipe and did not feel anything. I told Carrie to try and she didn't didn't feel anything either. (This is where I'm sure our two versions and perspectives of what happened look very different). It was at this point time seemed to stand still for me. I grabbed my baby and began the baby Heimlich. I kept thinking "what if this doesn't work" and "I have to actually 'hit' her hard if I'm going to get it, whatever 'it' is, out". Thankfully after what I would guesstimate was about four "hits"she threw up. There was a bit of blood and she was now crying. While running my finger in the throw up feeling for something, anything, we asked Kate what Lillian had been chewing on. She said it was the sequin from her shoe. Carrie was a little confused and I was assuming it was the rhinestone, so I showed Carrie what I thought Kate was talking about. It was then that Kate turned her shoe to the side and showed us the actual sequins. Lillian was now just red-faced and crying but otherwise seemed to be fine and was waiving to the dogs as the tears rolled down her cheeks. I was still rattled because I had not felt anything and obviously something had caused her to choke. After a quick call to Dr. Vineyard we decided to be safe and take her to the ER to have a chest x-Ray and make sure she had not aspirated anything. She had not and so we assume she swallowed "it." I'm not one to check my daughters poop and I didn't notice any extra sparkle, but I assume it was there the next day.
I write this for several reasons. One to tell you that our kids are kids and accidents are going to happen, but most importantly to ask you, "Do you know CPR and the Heimlich?" If you don't and you are a member of society, which I assume you are ;) , but especially if you have children PLEASE take a class or even if you don't get officially certified get someone who is certified to teach you. I have been officially certified and in the first few moments found myself questioning what to do, so I cannot imagine what I would have done if I actual had NO clue how to react.
No comments:
Post a Comment