My son gave me a scare last night.

United States
September 19, 2008 2:54pm CST
We had just finished putting our 2 year old to bed. We sat down and prepared to watch a movie when our son started to cry, and it was a scary cry. Mom's can always tell the difference between a hurt, scared, tired, or just whiney cry... well this one was a scared or hurt cry. At the same time my oldest son, who had been in his bedroom, came running down to say there was something wrong with the toddler because he'd made a funny noise. Hubby and I were already running up the stairs at that point... we'd jumped into action the moment we heard the cry. Now I wasn't really thinking much of it at first. All of the kids have had horrible colds lately, and the toddler had been coughing quite a bit, and the coughing occasionally scares or hurts him. If he wakes up coughing or seems to be coughing up a lot of mucus he will do that same cry. So I was thinking he was just coughing too much. When we got up to him he was having a bit of a hard time breathing. I stood patting his back and told my husband to get the Vick's Vapo Rub, we use this on the kids when they have a bad cold and it works wonders. He sounded very gurgly and was having a bit of a hard time breathing, I just assumed he had a lot of mucus in his throat he was struggling with, so I continued to pat his back trying to break it up. Luckily I was doing the right thing, because a moment later, he spit out a bolt!!! He had been choking and I didn't even realize it! I have no idea where he got the bolt from, but luckily everything turned out okay. I am so glad he was able to cry, otherwise we never would have known, and that's something I just don't like thinking about. He is fine now, and that's what is important. Has your child ever given you a scare like this?
2 people like this
8 responses
• United States
19 Sep 08
omg I am so happy that nothing happened to him!! Thank god he cried! I dont know what I would've done if I were you!!! I would bring him in though and make sure that the bolt didnt damage anything in his throat. Nothing like this ever happened to me with my son. He did choke on some food before, but I knew it right away when it happened. He is pretty good at getting things out of his throat now because he used to do this all the time (he likes to shove his whole plate in his mouth when he eats) I understand the whole "scared or hurt cry" I think its just a natural response to your child once you have a child.
1 person likes this
• United States
19 Sep 08
My husband also suggested seeing a doc to ensure nothing is wrong with his throat, but the bolt was not very large, sharp, pointy, or rusty, so I don't imagine there will be any problems. As soon as the bolt was out and the fear was gone he seemed fine. He was breathing and speaking normal, and did not show any signs of pain. We gave him a drink and he had no problems with that. Today he's been acting just fine. So I'm sure there are no problems, but if I find he's acting different or not eating I will bring him in... so far so good though.
• United States
19 Sep 08
well thats good. I hope that it didnt damage anything for his sake!! Well for you too but more for him lol...
@gemini_rose (16264)
19 Sep 08
Wow that must have been a huge scare for you, and I am glad that he got it up. Probably the patting on the back that dislodged it. I have had plenty of scares with two of my boys as little ones, they both had choking incidents where I have had to smack them on the backs really hard to get it out. One incident that will stay with me forever was with my third son, he would have been about 18 months or so at the time and his brothers had been eating mini eggs, now I would not let the little one have them and had given him buttons instead but somehow he managed to get his hands on a mini egg, I walked into the room as he had put it in his mouth, well because they are in a sweetie shell it went in his mouth and slipped straight down his throat! I sprang into action quick and picked him up and smacked his back, it did nothing, I tried again, and again, nothing. Of course now he was losing colour, he was turning blue around the mouth, my hubby and my two boys were watching and they were starting to panic and the two boys were crying. Of course this set me off, I just could not shift it, so I put my arms around him and I pulled and I did it 3 or 4 times and my hubby at this point was on the phone to the ambulance when all of a sudden it shot out of his throat. I tell you, I have never been so relieved in all my life, my legs just turned to jelly. The best part was, the little devil got off my knee and went to try and reclaim the egg that had just shot out of his throat, and he broke his little heart when it was promptly scooped up and thrown away!
1 person likes this
• United States
20 Sep 08
I am so glad you got it out of his throat though, I would have been horribly panicking too. My little guy wasn't completely choking, but he was having a difficult time breathing. It's funny though that he tried to get the egg after he'd choked on it. The silly things kids do.
@1grnthmb (2055)
• United States
20 Sep 08
This is a real scare. To think if he had not cried you would have not known that he was choking. That is a blessing that he was able to cry. He had an angle looking down over him.
• United States
20 Sep 08
It is a blessing. I don't want to think what would happen if he hadn't been able to cry. I don't even know how he was able to cry, because I remember a time I had choked on a piece of meat and I was not able to make any noise, not that it would have helped because I was home with just my 2 little babies, no one to call an ambulance for me or help me. I could breathe but not make noise... so I have been thinking of that since last night... how was he able to cry? Well it doesn't matter how, just that he did. I am thanking God that he is allright.
1 person likes this
@emarie (5442)
• United States
19 Sep 08
OMG!!! I would have been hysterical if i were you. I had my children chock before. my youngest son once put a penny in his mouth while playing with his brother (dunno where the things came from) and started gagging. i was in the same room and rushed over to him. before i could do anything like stick my finger in his throat to get it out he just vomited it out. i was relieved and scared at the same time. he was just 6mo old at the time. i also remember a time, i don't know which kid it was, but they were eating chips of ice because it was hot, one of them started chocking on a piece and for some reason, a natural response was to hang the kid upside down...dunno why i did that but it came back up and my son spit it out. my boys give me scares all the time. i'm surprised i don't have that much white hairs because of it. now my nephews are constantly placing things in their mouth so i'm still on guard. no serious choking though. but i'm so glad that you and your baby are okay.
1 person likes this
• United States
20 Sep 08
My first response to a situation where I know they're choking is to just pound on their back. If they're lying down I sit them up, if they're sitting up I place them over my knee while hitting their back. They usually don't choke, but they have gagged on food once or twice and I would just hit their backs a couple time until the food dislodged itself.
1 person likes this
• United States
7 Feb 09
oh no! i cant even think about it myself! im soooo glad he is okay. when my son was about a year old he was standing on the sofa by the window and i had the blinds let up which allowed the strings to hang ya know? anyhow i didnt think about it which i should have but i walked out of the living room for like 2 seconds to put some laundry away and i heard him make a choking sound and i ran into the living room and he had somehow gotton the cord from the blind wraped around his neck. i was freaked about that i mean i was out of the room 2 seconds omg. they are so quick. now i make sure i put the cords to the blinds up on a nail at the top of the window to make sure he cant reach them.
1 person likes this
7 Feb 09
i feel for you on this one.. my little girl 8 at the time chocked on a tiny piece of milky way , because she was laughing at her friend.. she came up to me making a funny noise. i realised what was happening and so slapped her back a few times hard nd it dislodged it self.. i was scared to bits.. i know this happend 3 months ago. but still get flash backs of it.. worrying it will happen again.. but us parents act on instinct... honestly it was like she couldnt breath, lips bluish too.. but all was ok in the end.. thnk god ur lil one cried.. he certainly had is gaurdian angel at his side...
• United States
7 Feb 09
Yes, he certainly did have someone watching out for him that night! Thank God for that.
@Hatley (163781)
• Garden Grove, California
16 Dec 09
hi katsmeow1213 oh yes this happen to my son when he was about the same age, now a long time back. I heard this odd gurgly sound and dashed into his bedroom. He had a loop from the fringe of the s tuffed monkey my mother in law had sent him for his birthday and it was around his neck. he was so little he did not realize he was pulling the loop so snugly around his little neck it was cutting off his air. I grabbed the scissors and I did a quick snip to get the loop off his little neck so he could breathe again, then sat down and held him and shook for awhile. his color came back and he started to cry, the most beautiful cry I had ever heard. you can believe I snipped all those loops on that darned monkey, I do not know why I had not thought of that before. never give a toddler a toy like that with loops. mygod I was so l ucky to get to him when I did.
@Barb42 (4214)
• United States
20 Sep 08
Kats, that is very scarey! Good thing you heard his cry. Little kids will put almost anything in their mouth. I know it is upsetting to think what could have happened, but thank goodness you were doing what you normally do and got it out of his throat.