Putting myself into a time-out
Will has been opening all the kitchen cabinets lately, so I moved two Costco-size containers of Cascade up onto the counter until I could buy some cabinet locks. It was just a matter of time until he found them and poisoned himself, I thought.
Then I turned to help the kids put away their Play-Doh. Out of the side of my eye, I saw Will put something into his mouth, and I was certain it was another Cheerio. After all, every single time I pull what I think is some horrible, poisonous choking hazard from his mouth, it ends up being a Cheerio.
This time it was not a Cheerio. I could not tell what it was at first. Then I reognized the yellow, plastic cap. It was a Cascade top, half-full of the dishwasher detergent. And I smelled his breath, which was lemony fresh and void of the usual milky smell.
After rinsing his mouth with so much water that his shirt became soaked, I ran to the fridge to find my emergency list, but it was missing. So I called 911. Except I accidentally dialed 411. Then I hung up and called 911, and they forwarded me to poison control. And in the background the kids were asking me to get them stuff. I turned on Backup Babysitter and heard Curious George.
As I waited to talk to a live person, I read the ingredient list. Sodium Silicate. Complex Sodium Phosphates. And Chlorine Bleach. Bleach - as in the corrosive stuff that burns holes in things.
I started cup-feeding him water, which he drank.
A woman came on the line and told me he was probably OK, but to look for signs of a burning mouth -- like excessive salivation, vomiting, and crying, which would happen within the hour. She said to get 6 ounces of liquid into him and to call back if he started having these symptoms.
So after his 3 measely sips of water from a cup, he was done. I took him into a quiet room to breastfeed him, but he wasn't interested. I then tried water from a new cup. Two sips. I tried milk in a more interesting cup. No sips. Finally, I tried water from a straw (where I let go of the straw and water flows into his mouth). He took maybe 8 strawfulls, then started using it as a teething device, shooting the water out the other side.
He then started to let out huge burps. I waited for him to vomit. It never came, but I started to feel extremely naeseous myself.
It was a long hour, but he appears to be fine. No vomiting, no foaming at the mouth. He finally breastfed a lot, about an hour after eating his bleach breakfast, and then fell asleep.
Meanwhile, I can't stop thinking about that bleach working its way through his tender little system and cleansing areas that should be left alone.
Will has been opening all the kitchen cabinets lately, so I moved two Costco-size containers of Cascade up onto the counter until I could buy some cabinet locks. It was just a matter of time until he found them and poisoned himself, I thought.
Then I turned to help the kids put away their Play-Doh. Out of the side of my eye, I saw Will put something into his mouth, and I was certain it was another Cheerio. After all, every single time I pull what I think is some horrible, poisonous choking hazard from his mouth, it ends up being a Cheerio.
This time it was not a Cheerio. I could not tell what it was at first. Then I reognized the yellow, plastic cap. It was a Cascade top, half-full of the dishwasher detergent. And I smelled his breath, which was lemony fresh and void of the usual milky smell.
After rinsing his mouth with so much water that his shirt became soaked, I ran to the fridge to find my emergency list, but it was missing. So I called 911. Except I accidentally dialed 411. Then I hung up and called 911, and they forwarded me to poison control. And in the background the kids were asking me to get them stuff. I turned on Backup Babysitter and heard Curious George.
As I waited to talk to a live person, I read the ingredient list. Sodium Silicate. Complex Sodium Phosphates. And Chlorine Bleach. Bleach - as in the corrosive stuff that burns holes in things.
I started cup-feeding him water, which he drank.
A woman came on the line and told me he was probably OK, but to look for signs of a burning mouth -- like excessive salivation, vomiting, and crying, which would happen within the hour. She said to get 6 ounces of liquid into him and to call back if he started having these symptoms.
So after his 3 measely sips of water from a cup, he was done. I took him into a quiet room to breastfeed him, but he wasn't interested. I then tried water from a new cup. Two sips. I tried milk in a more interesting cup. No sips. Finally, I tried water from a straw (where I let go of the straw and water flows into his mouth). He took maybe 8 strawfulls, then started using it as a teething device, shooting the water out the other side.
He then started to let out huge burps. I waited for him to vomit. It never came, but I started to feel extremely naeseous myself.
It was a long hour, but he appears to be fine. No vomiting, no foaming at the mouth. He finally breastfed a lot, about an hour after eating his bleach breakfast, and then fell asleep.
Meanwhile, I can't stop thinking about that bleach working its way through his tender little system and cleansing areas that should be left alone.
posted by Andrea at 9:12 AM
8 Comments:
Oh Jeez, I would have passed out. Good call on the 911 call. I'm impressed by your sensibilities on that one.
Glad he's okay...Ugh, I totally would have fainted.
What a horror story! I'm not sure which would be worse: Knowing for sure that your little one ingested detergent...or not being quite sure. Hope everything turns out fine.
My BubTar ate a Sudafed when he was roughly Will's age. I don't know where he found it, or how we popped it out of the bubble pack, but he crawled by me with red dripping from his mouth and I panicked: BLOOD! But then I saw the discarded bubble pack and called good ol' poison control. They said give him lots to drink and enjoy the nice long nap he was going to take. *lol* I was so panicked and kept checking his breathing all day. Of course, bleach is scarier than medicine.
Janet/Wonder Mom - Impressed by my sensitiblities? Really? Thanks. I was just feeling horrible for: (a) letting him crawl on kitchen floor without my constant attention (b) not having my emergency list on the fridge (c) calling 411 instead of 911 (d) not having cabinet locks on there in the first place!
But I guess this kind of thing happens a lot. It is hard/impossible to be 100% child proofed all the time.
What a scary experience! I think it happens to every parent sooner or later -- there is just no way to be vigilant 100 percent of the time.
Been there! You did great! It's such an awful feeling...how many leaves did he eat? How much did he swallow? Does he seem to be acting differently?
(OF COURSE he's acting differently! I'm shining a flashlight down his throat and crying because I have to turn in my "Mommy license" now!)
God bless! I'm so glad it turned out ok. And he has fresh breath now! :D
How scary! I'm glad everything is ok!
That would have been so scary. I'm glad it turned out OK. As we were saying on the phone last night, accidents are always gonna happen like this. I'm just glad it turned out OK.
p.s. I recommend getting Poison Control's number and posting it in your kitchen somewhere if you don't already have it.
p.p.s. after your story about having to run around to find a cordless phone, I'm going to place a non-cordless phone in our kitchen just in case something like that happens to me. I totally wouldn't have thought about the danger of cordless phones if you hadn't mentioned that, so thanks!
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