An Eventful Evening

Tonight was both frightening and then fun all in the space of about an hour. It started out with me feeding Claire some sweet potatoes, which she promptly choked on. I had her out of her chair, flipped over and was pounding on her back in about a millisecond. But that wasn't the end of it. I thought she had cleared the obstruction, but she kept making gaging faces every now and again. She was breathing, so we thought maybe she just had a little bit stuck in her throat (they were completely pureed so we knew we didn't have to worry about a solid chunk lodging in her airway) I nursed her, hoping that would wash it down. She ate for at least 5 minutes with no problems, and even fell asleep. But I woke her up because I wasn't about to put her down for the night and leave her alone in her room after that.  And it didn't get any better.  She kept trying to clear her throat. Soon she started to panic a little, holding her breath and making gasping cries. I held her close and she just laid motionless in my arms, awake and breathing but completely still (she is never still!) At this point I knew she was definitely not ok. Kevin was looking up directions to the nearest ER when my friend Gwen (who was over for dinner and is also a Dr.) suggested I keep pounding on her back (I had done this quite a few times so far and was actually worried I was going to bruise her.) So I continued, checking in on her every few second to make sure she was still breathing. It was strange--after the initial choking episode, she never acted like she couldn't breathe, it was just obvious that her airway was partially obstructed. The last onslaught of pounding seemed to do the trick. She started smiling and screeching right away. I watched her like a hawk for the next hour, but she was completely recovered. 

What I learned: 

1. We should really know where the nearest ER is and how to get there.

2. Thank goodness for CPR classes and years of nannying for kids--she wasn't the first kiddo I've ever seen choke, and I knew what to do.

3. Thank goodness for Gwen being there to tell me what to do after the initial scare was over and she was still in trouble.

And now on to how the evening got fun. We were all on high alert after Claire seemed to be better, so it was hilarious when 30 seconds after we thought we were going to have to take her to the hospital she was so happy and playful. That is when she said dada for the first time. She just started talking and once she got the hang of it, that's all she would say. (we've been trying to get her to say it ever since she got mama down last month.) She was just grinning at us all and saying dadadadadada.  Such a funny kid! Here I am still shaking from the adrenaline rush and she's learning new sounds--all in a days work for a 6 month old.