This is important: You should know it.
Something every parent should be aware of happened in our household tonight. As we were sitting at the table working on some smoked chicken, Finn started coughing. Coughing is normal at this age as he's still learning how to eat, so we weren't too concerned. As luck would have it, coughing turned to choking. It was terrifying. His face turned purple and I could tell he was becoming desperate to breathe. In a split second, I picked him up in my right arm, held his body at an angle, and smacked him on the back two times. Chicken came flying out and he started coughing. I stopped smacking and he continued to cough until he started to throw up.
There it was. Zach pulled it out of his mouth as we all looked at it in horror.
A chicken bone.
I've always been really good about dicing up Finn's food to finger sized bites. I've just recently started giving him longer pieces of celery as he learns how to chomp with his 8 teeth more and more, but things like chicken and other pieces of protein get chopped up really small. Needless to say, we have no idea how the bone got in his food, nor are we even sure why it was so small, but it happened, and it was terrifying.
Horrifying, actually.
So here's what you need to know. The infant Heimlich Maneuver. This is typically for kids who are still not mobile or crawling.
I'm not licensed. I don't teach it on a regular basis, but I've been certified since I was 16 so I know how to do it, and apparently, I can do it in a crisis.
First things first, never leave your kid unattended. I never leave the room when Finn (or any other kid I'm watching) is eating. It's not worth it. They're not professional eaters yet!
If your infant is choking, they will have stopped making noise. The air is no longer able to pass through equalling no noise. If they are coughing, cough with them. We cough with Finn as a way to say "keep going buddy! Don't stop until it's out!".
At this point I would say call 911. They will be on the phone with you and talk you through it.
We didn't call 911 tonight because I think deep down I was fairly certain I would handle the situation. Looking back, that was stupid. There is no harm in calling and cancelling the call if you're able to dislodge the blockage.
Once they have stopped making noise, but are still conscious, you will pick them up and and hold them with one arm. Picture your hand holding their chin, not their neck and not their mouth, and your forearm being aligned with their breast bone and down their stomach. If they're too heavy, you can sit in a chair, but be sure you're able to angle them downwards. Angle them on your leg if you have to.
Here's where it gets fuzzy with some people. It is "five back blows and five chest thrusts" when you are taught in a class. But they are five. intentional. back blows. Not "one, two, three, four, five". It is a "one hit...two hit.. three hit.." and so on until you reach five and they are meant to be intentional and attempt to dislodge the food or object with each blow.
Flip your baby over and check their mouth. Can you see it? No? DO NOT STICK YOUR FINGER INSIDE THEIR MOUTH.
This can cause it to be shoved further back. Unless you see it, you don't touch it.
Their mouths are much smaller than yours.
Still angled downwards, give five chest thrusts. With two fingers or two knuckles, in the center of the breast bone or just below the nipple line, give five thrusts downwards. These are intentional thrusts as well. Not just five thrusts but with each thrust, you are attempting to dislodge the food or object.
Continue the 5:5 ratio until you're able to dislodge the object/food or until they go limp.
If they go limp, continue infant CPR. This is also why you called 911 in the beginning!
I'm not going to go into infant CPR because as I mentioned, I'm not trained, and I really recommend that if you have children, you get certified.
Five hours every 2 years of CPR training saved my kid tonight.
Totally worth it.
I don't know if this is useful to you, but I felt compelled to share it. Here's a pic of my sweet kid eating blueberries picked fresh from the patch!
There it was. Zach pulled it out of his mouth as we all looked at it in horror.
A chicken bone.
I've always been really good about dicing up Finn's food to finger sized bites. I've just recently started giving him longer pieces of celery as he learns how to chomp with his 8 teeth more and more, but things like chicken and other pieces of protein get chopped up really small. Needless to say, we have no idea how the bone got in his food, nor are we even sure why it was so small, but it happened, and it was terrifying.
Horrifying, actually.
So here's what you need to know. The infant Heimlich Maneuver. This is typically for kids who are still not mobile or crawling.
I'm not licensed. I don't teach it on a regular basis, but I've been certified since I was 16 so I know how to do it, and apparently, I can do it in a crisis.
First things first, never leave your kid unattended. I never leave the room when Finn (or any other kid I'm watching) is eating. It's not worth it. They're not professional eaters yet!
If your infant is choking, they will have stopped making noise. The air is no longer able to pass through equalling no noise. If they are coughing, cough with them. We cough with Finn as a way to say "keep going buddy! Don't stop until it's out!".
At this point I would say call 911. They will be on the phone with you and talk you through it.
We didn't call 911 tonight because I think deep down I was fairly certain I would handle the situation. Looking back, that was stupid. There is no harm in calling and cancelling the call if you're able to dislodge the blockage.
Once they have stopped making noise, but are still conscious, you will pick them up and and hold them with one arm. Picture your hand holding their chin, not their neck and not their mouth, and your forearm being aligned with their breast bone and down their stomach. If they're too heavy, you can sit in a chair, but be sure you're able to angle them downwards. Angle them on your leg if you have to.
Here's where it gets fuzzy with some people. It is "five back blows and five chest thrusts" when you are taught in a class. But they are five. intentional. back blows. Not "one, two, three, four, five". It is a "one hit...two hit.. three hit.." and so on until you reach five and they are meant to be intentional and attempt to dislodge the food or object with each blow.
Flip your baby over and check their mouth. Can you see it? No? DO NOT STICK YOUR FINGER INSIDE THEIR MOUTH.
This can cause it to be shoved further back. Unless you see it, you don't touch it.
Their mouths are much smaller than yours.
Still angled downwards, give five chest thrusts. With two fingers or two knuckles, in the center of the breast bone or just below the nipple line, give five thrusts downwards. These are intentional thrusts as well. Not just five thrusts but with each thrust, you are attempting to dislodge the food or object.
Continue the 5:5 ratio until you're able to dislodge the object/food or until they go limp.
If they go limp, continue infant CPR. This is also why you called 911 in the beginning!
I'm not going to go into infant CPR because as I mentioned, I'm not trained, and I really recommend that if you have children, you get certified.
Five hours every 2 years of CPR training saved my kid tonight.
Totally worth it.
I don't know if this is useful to you, but I felt compelled to share it. Here's a pic of my sweet kid eating blueberries picked fresh from the patch!
So scary! I am so glad you had training and didn't panic. Little Finn is lucky to have you for a Mom. Other kids are not so fortunate. Thanks for posting this Kellie. Love you, Zach and Finn.
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