Wednesday, March 07, 2007

Nasty epiphany of the day

I still remember how to stop an infant from choking from the babysitting course I took when I was 12.

If you mix table food with 9 1/2-month old, sooner or later, she will try to stuff more in her mouth than she can actually eat. Lindsay chose sooner. She stopped breathing. She turned blue. I picked her up and gave 5 sharp blows between her shoulders, and the offending piece of sweet potato cartoonishly flew across the room.

4 comments:

karen said...

OMG! I'm sure Lin doesn't remember it already...but how are you?

LMP said...

This calls for a strong drink! Congratulations on keeping a cool head in an emergency.

When I was about 4 I choked on a green sourball my brother had given me. My mom performed the Heimlich maneuver on me in the hallway with the red carpeting. I still remember seeing that thing shoot out of me and down the hall. I wouldn't swallow pills whole until I was about 13; I blame the choking incident.

Anonymous said...

Did she giggle?

Sounds like fun sweept potato rockets... and all the mom attention. Kewl

Lady Epiphany said...

@Karen: Relieved :)

@Lisa: Yes, there was drinking. But, y'know, there would've been anyway.

@Anon: Nyah, it was pathetic. She wheezed for about an hour after that.