Fear of choking. I have a slight case of anginophobia, although it's not geared towards me. I am terrified of my kids choking. I've survived starting table food with three kids so far, but the fact that I break out in a cold sweat when someone else's kid coughs at a restaurant is a sure sign that I'm not "over" this fear.
In all fairness to me, you'd be freaked out, too, if you had to perform the Heimlich maneuver on your first-born - MORE THAN ONCE!! It started when he was 10 months old and I was cleaning out my purse. I accidentally dropped a wadded up gum wrapper and didn't notice it had fallen. He picked it up and tried to eat it (naturally) and it got stuck. I could hear him breathing but it was definitely stuck in his windpipe. Mr. MOTH had to knock it out. Shortly after that (I'm talking less than 48 hours) my SIL Chris (a nurse) showed us how to properly do the Heimlich (which we had done wrong but at least it still worked). And then I made my other SILs show me again. And again.
When he was approximately 14 months old, he choked on squash. Not baby food squash, but the frozen pureed kind. Some of that stringy substance got caught and he wasn't breathing. By the time I got it out (just as Mr. MOTH was walking in the door from work) we were both sobbing and completely covered in the orange goop.
The worst was the banana. He was probably 16 months old? He was just learning to take bites and I had given him banana for breakfast. It was a weekend and Mr. MOTH was sleeping in (some things never change) and he started to choke. I called for my husband once and I swear that his feet never touched the stairs, he was at my side that quickly. The Heimlich on an infant involves 3 thrusts on the back, turn over and do 3 more on the front, and then 3 again on the back (and then freak the frick out). I was just about to do the 3 on the back for the second time when it came out. It is an extremely vivid memory. Extremely. Vivid.
So when I break Little One's Cheerios in half, shut up. You don't know.
It didn't help that the headlines today involve this story. I think I'll go buy stock in Gerber now...
5 comments:
Not to give you something more to freak out about, but I know a lady whose 2 yo son died choking on popcorn- apparently it's so bad doctors say kids shouldn't have it until they are 3, and only under close supervision. It's so light it's easy to inhale, hard to force out, and the way it absorbs moisture and mucous just makes it that much harder to dislodge. So my kids complain about no popcorn when the littles are around, but I stick to my guns fiercely.
Seriously, I know the list of top choking hazards: Hot dogs, popcorn, and any gummy treats are really bad. Baby Girl only has popcorn (or "top porn" as she calls it) if it's broken up into miniscule pieces. Trust me, you didn't give me anything else to freak out about...I already knew!
I too am scared of the thought of one of my kiddos choking on something! Around here we have a strict "No Food Unless Seated" policy for that exact reason!
holy cats, I'd be breaking Cheerios, too. No judgment from me.
I'm the exact same way!! Both my kids were chokers, but luckily we never had to do the Heimlich, as they'd somehow launch a vomit reflex and it would be thrust out from the back side. I'm still a FREAK about it.
Let's also not forget the objects in the nose. THOSE, too, freak me out.
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