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I went to recontainerize the soup we had for dinner, and left Princess playing in the living room. When I looked up, she was gone. When I got to her, she was sitting on the bathroom floor-- and had the toothpaste open and in her mouth! She wasn't acting sick or anything, but of course I freaked out. (I also had a guilt attack because I usually keep it way out of her reach, but went to bed late last night and must have forgotten.) So I called Poison Control, and after 10 rings, a man with a very calm voice picked up, asked questions that got right to the point, and made me feel much better. (It would have taken much more than she got before it's something to worry about, and possible stomach side effects can be taken care of with milk or Tums-- Tums for her, since she's not so good on the milk, maybe a little lactose intolerant.)
That calm, reassuring, non-judgemental voice was exactly what I needed to hear after my baby ate something toxic while my husband is 1500 miles away! I am so glad that hotline is available, and so glad I had it memorized, and didn't even have to think-- just took away the toothpaste, ran for the phone, and dialed. It also helps that the number (1-800=222-1222) is super-easy to remember in a crisis.
(Princess is fine. She's crawling and climbing around like nothing happened. I'm still trying not to cry.)
So, sorry. Jeff's not here, and I can't call him, so I just needed to vent really bad. *relieved*
Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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I know it's hard when our partners are away and we have to be the only adults in the house. :/ Just having someone else around to freak out with us when something happens is comforting. Or calm us down. I guess having someone around to calm us down is better. Heh.
Anyway, hang in there. You did everything correctly! Yay!
Posts: 1545 | Registered: May 2002
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Boon
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posted
Daniel did the exact same thing once, many moons ago. I felt guilty, too.
Nobody's perfect, and it could have been much worse. Don't beat yourself up, just keep it put up from now on.
Also, don't be surprised if they call you back in a few hours to make sure she's still not having symptoms. It surprised me when they called, and they don't every time...
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My worst experience when Wes was gone was when Abigail was a baby, she was sitting in a little kid-sized chair eating an animal cracker, and she stood up in the chair - it tipped over of course, but because of bad positioning it tipped her over onto the brick fireplace hearth.
I ran to her and picked her up to find blood streaming from a cut on the forehead, but even worse, she wasn't breathing. She was choking on the animal cracker, and bleeding all over the place.
I slapped her back a couple times, up came the cracker, then I sat her down in the kitchen and began cleaning away blood. Wes walked in the door after I got a bandaid on her and was very confused when I handed her to him then collapsed on the floor sobbing in hysteria. Posts: 14428 | Registered: Aug 2001
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I can top that mack. When I was about 3 I devoured the entire contents of a mostly full bottle of baby aspirin. I knew that I wasn't supposed to eat the stuff, so I was very sneaky about it, and my parents didn't discover what I'd done for days. I was completely unharmed by it, which is kind of surprising, and makes me think that I may be misremembering how much was in the bottle.
Posts: 16059 | Registered: Aug 2000
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I'm glad the baby is ok, and I'm sure the mommy will be soon. *hug*
When my oldest was about two months old, I was walking through campus (UCLA), a few feet from a chain-link fence. They were in the middle of doing all kind of earthquake renovations -- those fences were everywhere. Well, they must have previously had the fence a couple feet over, and after they moved it, grass had filled in all the holes, so they blended it with the rest of the lawn (the regular path was blocked because of construction).
Foot in hole, twisted ankle, down goes Rivka -- baby and all! Other than a rather painful ankle (not too bad -- I was able to walk), I was fine. But the baby (who had been fast asleep) was screaming like I had never heard her yell before. Called the doctor's office in tears. They assured me she was certainly fine, told me what to look out for, but said that of course they would fit me in.
By the time I got her to the doctor's office (a 30-minute bus ride later) she was fast asleep again. (I kept waking her up to make sure that I could, which she did NOT appreciate.) They checked her out, and everything was fine.
Then the doctor insisted on checking that I had not broken any bones. He said that he has more than once had a parent come in with a child who has been injured while being held (falling down the stairs and such), and the child was fine -- but mom had a broken/sprained/etc. limb that she hadn't noticed in worry over her baby.
Posts: 32919 | Registered: Mar 2003
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A few of the guys I work with have been known to swallow shoelaces. That's some fibre I NEVER want to see coming out. Not poisonous, but darned unpleasant for the staff who has to deal with the, er, extrusion.
Posts: 2849 | Registered: Feb 2002
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quote:Eh, kids are tough. Toothpaste is hardly massively lethal.
See, and I know this, but I still don't want my baby getting anything harmful. I keep all other poisonous substances locked up, but it's hard to do that with toothpaste without aggrivating my husband's back. I suppose I should install a drawer latch and stick it in the drawer, but it looks like we'll most likely be moving soon, so I'll deal for another month.
Even though I knew, rationally, that she was fine, and hadn't swallowed enough to hurt her, I still called for reassurance and to know what to watch for, because that's what moms do. And I was glad they told me to give her Tums, because I don't want my baby to have to throw up, either. Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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((ketchupqueen)) You are a great mother. *more hugs*
When I was very young I aparently ate poison berries that grow on the bushes outside. Mom called poison contol and they gave me something that made me throw up pretty quickly.
Posts: 4953 | Registered: Jan 2004
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When I was little I used to eat a little bit of toothpaste after every tooth brushing. Pretty much just the same about I'd put on the tooth brush, I'd stick on my finger and eat when I was done. It tasted good and never harmed me. My parents probablly woulda told me to stop had they found out, but they never did Posts: 3295 | Registered: Jun 2004
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My poor sister at age 2 ate a bottle of aspirin and had to have her stomach pumped. Its one of the worst experiences my mom ever had in her life. She felt like a terrible parent and also was pretty sure that my sister hadn't actually swallowed the aspirin because she came running out of my grandma's bathroom with her tongue hanging out, spitting out aspirin. Scary stuff.
I'm glad to hear your little one is safe. Give her a hug from us and take a bow for handling the situation so well!
Posts: 1777 | Registered: Jan 2003
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We were sitting in the living room watching TV one night with some friends. My youngest, who was then about 3, kept climbing up to sit on my chest, and then on the back of the couch. He was between me and Teres, so we didn't think much of it. Without us really noticing -- inches away -- he creeped backwards until he was sitting on the window sill. Suddenly he leaned back, and without a sound flipped backwards out of the first floor window.
Teresa screamed. I was outside immediately, closely followed by my friend Dave. We searched the bushes under the window and didn't see him, getting more frantic by the minute because he hadn't had time to bounce, much less go anywhere. So where the heck was he? Teres had started to follow us but she looked back at the window and saw... knuckles.
She called to us, and we looked up. He had held on to the window sill when he flipped and was now hanging with his head and shoulder against the wall and his legs sticking straight out, about a foot over our heads. He seemed nonplussed. I scooped him off the window and brought him inside to Teresa, who refused to let go of him the rest of the night. We were relived and, frankly, pretty amused once the adrenaline wore off.
Posts: 7790 | Registered: Aug 2000
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When I was a camp counselor and in charge of twelve kids for two weeks straight (overnight camp) I realized something. This realization came just after a ten year old kid swimming in the boating around swam herself straight into a canoe (a canoe that was not moving at ALL, mind you) and gave herself a minor concussion.
Lemme repeat, the canoe wasn't moving at all. The kid was.
Then I realized: part of raising kids is keeping them from killing themselves before they reach adulthood. THAT is responsibility.
imogen:
quote:Anyone is welcome to use it if they so wish.
Hey maybe we should all try and compare. See where the stories all go from that first line.
That's a challenge. You're on.
Posts: 14745 | Registered: Dec 1999
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"Then I realized: part of raising kids is keeping them from killing themselves before they reach adulthood. THAT is responsibility."
Mack, another trick to parenting is not harming your child while attempting to keep them safe. Aside from kicking my daughter in the head, I have pushed her down the stairs. Again, I was saving her from the dog, who I thought was going to bump her. Poked eyes while checking for fevers, etc.
Posts: 10890 | Registered: May 2003
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I'm in, too, though i haven't written anyting in months.
Ken got a green tic-tack stuck up his nose on a long car ride, and had to wait until they could pull over so his mom could get it out. Meanwhile it's melting in his nose and running out, turning his upper lip green. He still doesn't like mint.
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I stuck a pink bead up my nose to see if it would fit. All I really remember is being in the car on the way to the doctor's to have it removed.
Posts: 1547 | Registered: Jan 2004
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I got a tooth stuck up my nose when I was 6 or so.
Luckily, my dad's an MD, and it wasn't that far up. He got a kelly clamp out and removed it, then gave me some ice cream before I went back to bed to take my mind off it. (Did I mention it was the middle of the night?)
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She wasn't acting sick or anything, but of course I freaked out. (I also had a guilt attack because I usually keep it way out of her reach, but went to bed late last night and must have forgotten.) So I called Poison Control, and after 10 rings, a man with a very calm voice picked up, asked questions that got right to the point, and made me feel much better. (It would have taken much more than she got before it's something to worry about, and possible stomach side effects can be taken care of with milk or Tums-- Tums for her, since she's not so good on the milk, maybe a little lactose intolerant.)
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