Feeling Lucky: The Choke That Made Time Stand Still

I often feel we are within seconds from a trip to the emergency room on a daily basis. Just in the last several weeks, Carter got his head stuck in a fence at Epcot, Judah tripped over a basket of cars and got a gash on his head as he hit the corner of a door, Nolan bit it on his bike, and Preston, oh dear Preston... because he keeps trying to do things so early, he's falling over constantly. 

Thankfully, although bumps and bruises are in high supply over here, we've been able to stay clear of major injuries and major dangers. That is, however, until a couple of weeks ago when I had my biggest scare as a mom. 

It was a Friday and we were sitting down for a late dinner as a family. Everyone had had a full day of school and work and we were all happy and excited to be together and connect. As we were sitting down, I began feeding a hungry Preston tiny pieces of naan and Babybel cheese. He was inhaling them, which is typical; he sure does love food. He began to choke a little- just coughing a bit so we were keeping an eye on him. He was breathing fine and didn't seem too bothered so I assumed a little piece had gotten stuck and he had gotten it out. 

As we began to say prayers, though, he still seemed to be having trouble. I calmly let Josh and the other boys know that he was still working it through so maybe we should pause prayers for a minute. I tried to swipe in his mouth with my finger, which I know you aren't supposed to do, but usually I can get anything out. I didn't feel anything so I picked him up and started kinda patting his back like when I burp him. He was going in and out of coughing and was still breathing normally. 

I'm not sure exactly what happened, but then his choking took a turn for the worse. He began struggling a bit to breath and was still trying to get something out that just wasn't coming. Josh could see the worry on my face as I turned him around to do the baby Heimlich Maneuver. The other boys began asking questions and asking how they could help; they were getting scared for sure. As I pounded his back, I could tell things were still not okay. I turned him over to face me so that I could see how he was doing and he was turning blue. 

Then, the panic set in. Josh dialed my mom quickly asking for her to run over and we began yelling at each other grasping at straws for what to do. Even though it had only been a few seconds, it was long, it was painful, and it was so so super scary. Finally, as Josh was dialing 9-11, he yelled to me that something had come out. I heard Preston cry. Just like when babies are first born, that cry is one of the most beautiful sounds in the world. I turned him over to see a scared and upset baby, but one with color in his face and oxygen in his lungs. 

As I looked down at the floor, shock filled my face. He had coughed up a ping pong sized ball of mushed up naan and cheese. I thought he was swallowing all those small pieces he was inhaling, but really he must've been storing them somewhere in the back of his mouth. 

He was okay... my littlest baby was okay.

So many horrible thoughts had crossed my mind in that short amount of time and now that I was out of survival mode and knew that Preston was okay, I began to shake all over and let out some pretty heaping sobs.

Nolan and Judah needed their own consoling as they were absolutely terrified; I'm not sure Carter quite understood how serious things had gotten so he was mostly okay. 

How did Preston react, you're wondering? Well after crying for a bit, he wanted to go right back to eating. We fed him crumb-sized pieces only... for the rest of that day and the weekend...

That night, I could barely lay Preston down in his crib to sleep- I wanted to hold onto him and keep him close. I stayed in his room awhile just to watch him sleep- watch his chest go up and down and up and down. This motion felt so overwhelmingly important.

As parents we deal with hundreds of split-second decisions every day. Thankfully, they are hardly ever life and death (although sometimes our children react as if they are ;) ). Most of the time we don't even think much about the sheer number of requests we deny or accept, questions we answer, advice we give, and situations we maneuver around on a daily basis. But when you have a scary situation like Preston's choking, things do stand still a bit.

Don't let a scary situation need to come your way before you slow down and take time to count your blessings. We all have a lot to feel lucky about...

We love you, littlest nugget