Choking Hazards

[ashokia]

Okay, so DS is really mobile now, crawling everywhere, walking with support and everything he comes across goes straight into the mouth! Last week we had a scare when DH fed him some bananas that he had chopped instead of mashed. He was fine while eating them, but about an hour later he spit up, and one of the chunks got stuck and I had to fish it out with my fingers.

Then the other day he started choking again and I found a hair elastic (that he must have pulled off my braid without me even noticing it) in his mouth. Today, again with the choking, and he's got a piece of tape and wrapping paper! We keep the place clean. We shampoo and vacuum once a week, but he's still managing to get his hands on these things and I'm at my wits end on what to do! He's much too big for the playpen now and we've set up a fence in the living room and we've got a baby gate, but even with all the precautions, he still finds things to chew on that he shouldn't.

When I catch him putting things in his mouth I say NO in a very loud and firm voice and he'll look at me for a minute and then try and do it again. And again. And again. And again! I've tried slapping his hand, saying BAD! Moving him away from the object in question (he just crawls right back to it with a single-minded determination that astounds me). When that didn't work I tried positive reinforcement, telling him he was a good boy when he put it down or stayed away from it, but he just keeps going back and back and back.

Is this normal? Is he just too young to be trying to teach right from wrong? I don't want to be a grouchy mommy all the time, but I've had so many scares now from him choking that I'm at my wits end!

[poppleton]

We also tapped their hands and said, "No", then moved them away. He's not too little - both of my boys crawled at six months and after about a month of consistency, they started to get it I think it takes a little while to get used to them being everywhere all the time, and it will become second nature to make sure all little things get picked up right away. Since there will, inevitably, always be things that they find on the floor, you can also encourage him to show you every time he picks something up. Then he has something specific to do with it, and hopefully it won't end up in his mouth

[nadiabreckon]

It's only a stage and he'll grow out of it...
At this point, the only reason he's playing with it is because it gets a rise out of you. We never put our "good" stuff away and DS never really played with it. We wouldn't make it obvious that it could be touched, and when it did, we simply took it away without saying a word and put it back in its place. As soon as he realized that we weren't going to get mad at him about touching, he would leave well enough alone.

Crawlers find EVERYTHING on the floor, no matter how clean you keep your house! It's murphy's law, every child goes through it (unless your kid lives in a bubble, and chances are they would probably find stuff on the floor in there too...lol)... I agree with the suggestion on asking him to show you if he finds something, seems like a great idea!

[ashokia]

Whew, that's so good to hear and that's a great idea to get him to show us what he picks up. I swear to god, the statement he's just doing it to get a rise out of you is so true, but I didn't know if baby's could be that devious. He is always knocking my mouse off of my desk and I swear as soon as he does it he looks up at me with this smarmy little look like he's daring me to do something about it. LOL.

[KrazE]

You know, I didn't miss those days at all after going through it with my 4 kids... and then Oreo came along and I have a toddler again who puts everything in his mouth, or has to taste everything, or who thinks boxes are the greatest toys, or whines for Mama all the time, or doesn't let me go to the bathroom on my own....


Yeah - this is Oreo LOL

[ashokia]

You know, I didn't miss those days at all after going through it with my 4 kids... and then Oreo came along and I have a toddler again who puts everything in his mouth, or has to taste everything, or who thinks boxes are the greatest toys, or whines for Mama all the time, or doesn't let me go to the bathroom on my own....


Yeah - this is Oreo LOL

Awwwwwwwww, so cute! (And now I want Oreo Ice Cream - where did I put that coupon?)

[marstec]

ashokia,
Not to alarm you, but there is a real risk when you reach in and try to retrieve stuff from the back of the throat - you might actually lodge it further and obstruct breathing. My husband worked with a person who's son ate one of those round decorative soap balls and you can guess what happened.

My youngest son was quite the handful. I think we had to do at least ten things each morning prior to his waking up, ie. we had to lock the bathroom doors, make sure blind cords were up high, cancel buttons were pressed on the dishwasher...you get the idea. We laugh about those times now, but it sure kept us hopping!

I guess, by now, you are looking at your living space with a toddler's point of view...what looks yummy today? Don't forget that babies use their mouths for sensory purposes, much more than older children and adults. I bought one of those metal-framed backpack carriers and my son used that quite bit, especially during the times I couldn't watch him like a hawk.

I wanted to add that you might want to research how to do the baby Heimlich manoeuvre - it will help dislodge obstructions with the least amount of harm.

[ashokia]

ashokia,
Not to alarm you, but there is a real risk when you reach in and try to retrieve stuff from the back of the throat - you might actually lodge it further and obstruct breathing. My husband worked with a person who's son ate one of those round decorative soap balls and you can guess what happened.

My youngest son was quite the handful. I think we had to do at least ten things each morning prior to his waking up, ie. we had to lock the bathroom doors, make sure blind cords were up high, cancel buttons were pressed on the dishwasher...you get the idea. We laugh about those times now, but it sure kept us hopping!

I guess, by now, you are looking at your living space with a toddler's point of view...what looks yummy today? Don't forget that babies use their mouths for sensory purposes, much more than older children and adults. I bought one of those metal-framed backpack carriers and my son used that quite bit, especially during the times I couldn't watch him like a hawk.

I wanted to add that you might want to research how to do the baby Heimlich manoeuvre - it will help dislodge obstructions with the least amount of harm.

That actually happened with the banana, I kept trying to get it out and it was just going in further, eventually I triggered his gag reflux and he threw it up. I kept yelling at DH to do the Heimlich maneuver, but he said he'd only learned how to do it on an adult during his course and was sure it was different for a baby so he didn't want to try it and do more harm than good. Was probably the scariest thing that has happened so far with DS.

I was going to ask my Dr. about the Heimlich maneuver at my next Dr. appointment, but it isn't until the 28th, so I'll have to try and find some info about that online.

[marstec]

As far as I remember, you hold the baby with his head away from you, with his tummy on your arm. With his head held lower than his bum, you give him gentle whacks on his back, directionally towards his head. Does that make sense? I've never had to do this, but my husband took all the necessary safety courses through work and he described it to me.

I read some crazy baby reference book from Australia that recommended swinging the baby by his feet - the centrifugal force was supposed to dislodge the obstruction! It might work, but omg, I couldn't imagine doing that!

[ashokia]

Found a good video that explains the baby Heimlich maneuver on Youtube for any other new mommies who want to learn. They actually don't recommend holding the baby upside-down by the feet anymore, it explains that in the video too!

[marstec]

Times change, ashokia...thank goodness for the internet!

[ashokia]

Times change, ashokia...thank goodness for the internet!

It's good for me they've changed, there's no way I could lift DS upside down with one hand while trying to whack him firmly with the other, he's too heavy for that! LOL.

[Natalka]

My son recently did his First Aid certification, and the procedures for CPR had recently changed.

Current St. John Ambulance guidelines

-poster you can print
http://www.sja.ca/Canada/Documents/S...8infant%29.pdf

Their main site
http://www.sja.ca/Canada/Pages/default.aspx

I really think all parents should have to have basic First Aid certification. I did, and so did my husband.

ashokia, as others have said, babies/kids just get into everything.
What I used to do was get down on the floor myself and see things from my son's eye level - that helped somewhat! Otherwise, just constantly being vigilant - as I'm sure you are! They find things regardless!

[corbinx]

As a nurse, I would definitely recommend a CPR course through an accredited program, please don't try to learn the procedure from a website!!!
I have a 9 month old who puts everything in his mouth...and with a big sister who constantly leaves toys, hairclips, wrappers, food, etc. within reach it's extra hard. The best thing is to make sure the baby is always close by to where you are...do a look around for hazards before setting him down and make sure there are lots of safe toys around to try to keep his attention. You can't mash his food forever, just make sure the pieces are cut/grated as per guidelines (I use the pamphlet from my health centre for suggestions) and keep him in a chair to eat. Generally babies under a year are too young to understand discipline...saying "no" is fine but slapping their hands is not necessary. The best thing is supervision and babyproofing (which will require constant changes as they get into new things). Crawl around and see what things are within reach...you'd be surprised at all the things you find at their level!

[sweetproserpina]

My DD was the same as well and I second what everyone else has said. I'd also recommend if you want to give him chunks of food, try one of those mesh feeders. We used ours for all sorts of things. Everything just got chopped into pieces and then into the feeder. That way she could chew and gnaw to her heart's content and I wouldn't worry about something getting stuck.

Don't worry, it'll be over soon Now my daughter just climbs up all the furniture! Good grief!