I'm a horrible mother! - had to take Allie to the ER

~Roo'sMama~ wrote: Last night Allie was gassy and crying so I decided to give her some gripe water. I laid her on her back to give it to her, not thinking about how liquid-y the stuff is and she started choking on it really bad. So I sat her up and pounded on her back and she coughed up a bunch of it - then for the next couple hours she was spitting out slimy bubbly drool and coughing a little, and this morning she was still coughing a little and she was a lot calmer than normal - she felt really limp when I held her facing me instead of holding her head up like she usually does. But I didn't realize what was wrong until almost noon when I was in the kitchen gluing one of Andrew's toys and spotted the bottle of what I thought was the gripe water where I'd left it last night and realized that it wasn't the gripe water at all but my bottle of EUCALYPTUS OIL! The bottles are the same shape and size and look a lot alike, but that's no excuse. I was stressed out when I got it for her because she wouldn't stop crying and Dh was super tired and kept falling asleep. That's really no excuse either though. I totally freaked out because I'd read online that it's really bad for you if you drink it. I called poison control and they said to take her to the ER, so DH met me there. They said she was fine though - I gave her such a small amount - only a milliliter - because she'd started choking before I could give her the whole dose. Thank God I didn't give her the rest of it after she calmed down.

Her breathing sounds a lot like it did when she was really sick - and she was almost completely better so I don't think it's related to her cold. I'm taking her to her ped tomorrow afternoon so she can check her out and make sure she's still ok. I feel so terrible - I have only given her gripe water once before, but I should have remembered that it smells like licorice and not eucalyptus.

PrairieMom replied: I'm glad she is okay. How scary for you. Don't be to hard on your self. You are a good mom.

amymom replied: She is fine Thank God. Don't beat yourself up too hard.

3xsthefun replied: I'm glad she is ok!

Please don't be to hard on yourself.

Maddie&EthansMom replied: Oh hun! She's okay. You're okay. You are a wonderful mother. Don't be so hard on yourself, k?

amynicole21 replied: Oh Sara, how scary! It was a mistake though - you can not beat yourself up about it! Allie is fine thank goodness.

Kirstenmumof3 replied: You're not a bad mom! Accidents happen! I've done the same thing, I gave Claudia to much cough medicine and had to call poison control. I hope things settle down and that she is much better now!

lovemy2 replied: Hang in there - we all have our "horrible" mom moments - Olivia inhaled baby powder when she was about 1 1/2 - because I wasn't paying attention to where she was and she had wandered into her bedroom and I had left the powder on her dresser OPEN. I had to call poision control - thankfully she hardly inhaled enough to cause a problem but it freaked me right out - did anyone ever see the Oprah episode about the baby that died because he inhaled so much baby powder that it coated his lungs and he eventually suffocated............

Don't be so hard on yourself....

ediep replied: Sara, don't be so hard on yourself, it was a mistake!
I am so so so glad that she is ok, and you are ok!

luvmykids replied: How scary, but all is well and we've all made mistakes. Glad everyone is ok!

A&A'smommy replied: Oh honey she is fine.. every mother makes mistakes your NOT a horrible mother!!!

aspenblue1 replied: How scary. I am glad she is ok.

~Roo'sMama~ replied: Thanks everyone. I still can't believe I did that. She seems to be doing fine but her discharge papers from the ER said that there could be delayed effects from it. The ER doctor said that the biggest thing with aspirating something like that is that she could get pneumonia, but that she would already be showing signs of being sick if that were going to happen. He didn't say anything about the effects of swallowing it though, and i know she got some in her tummy too because even now when she burps I can smell it a little. We go to see the ped at 3:00 today, so hopefully she can put my mind at ease.

kimberley replied: i am glad she is ok. we all make mistakes especially when sleep deprived. don't be so hard on yourself.

mysweetpeasWil&Wes replied: Don't be hard on yourself sweetie! A mistake made by anyone. We have several small bottles of body oils around our house. DH also likes tea tree oil for his feet! So I could see myself doing the same thing. I'm just glad she is okay. KUP.

MyBabeMaddie replied: Wow Sara!! I'm glad she's okay! How scary! Don't beat yourself up about it!

~Roo'sMama~ replied: Well her doctor said she's fine and not to worry. Thankfully she didn't give me any lectures - she just looked at me and said I'm human after all.

I still think Allie sounds more stuffy again, but it's probably just because we're weaning her off the nebulizer - we're down to two or three times a day. Every time we've started weaning her off of it she gets worse again... I'm a little worried about that.

PrairieMom replied:
Okay, in steps the respiratory therapist...

What kind of med do you have her on, how often were you doing it, and why did you start the nebs in the first place?

~Roo'sMama~ replied:
Albuterol sulfate - she had a nasty case of bronchiolitis a couple weeks ago. Her ped had originally thought it was RSV but that test came back negative. She was pretty bad for a couple of weeks. We were doing the nebs every 4 hours, then every 2 hours when she got worse, and now I've been weaning her off of it like her ped said to do since she has been getting so much better. I went from every 2 hours to every 4 hours, to ever 6 and so on and now I'm doing it every 8 hours during the day and not at all during the night - so three times a day, except yesterday I forgot to do it while we were at Bible study so she only got it twice yesterday and now today she's stuffed up and a little wheezy again.

MommyToAshley replied: I can only imagine how scared you must have been. I am glad she is ok. And, your doc is right, you are only human. That is a mistake that any one of us could have made.

PrairieMom replied:
You may want to ask your ped about trying some pulmicort. You can do it in a neb like the albuterol, but it is a steroid that should control her symptoms. Some kids just have problems for a while after having a problem like bronchiolitis. You can do that twice a day and should be able to stop doing the albuterol.

jcc64 replied: Big hugs to you!!!! How scary!
Ita with Tara about the pulmacort, btw.

hopefulmomtobe replied: I could imagine how you must have felt! Poor thing, you arent a bad mother though. Thank goodness she is better and good job on taking her to the pediatrician. You did all the right things so dont be too hard on yourself.

~Roo'sMama~ replied:
Hmm, maybe I should ask about that. She is really stuffed up again today - is it possible she just has a new cold that doesn't have anything to do with the bronchiolitis?

PrairieMom replied:
Maybe. sometimes bronchiolitis can damage the lungs a little causing the child to have Reactive airways for a while. Some kids grow out of it and just need a longer time to heal, some kids never fully get over it. It could also just be another cold its hard to tell. But, Albuterol is a quick acting medication that is ment to be used for rescue type situations. Generally the goal is to use a steriod medication like pulmicort to control the symptoms so you don't have to use albuterol. Not that Albuterol isn't safe to use every day, it totally is, but the hope would be to not have to do meds as much. KWIM?

Mommy2BAK replied: oh Sara! I am so so glad to hear that it all turned out alright, DO NOT be angry with your self, these kinds of things happen all the time I'm sure, especially with people who have more than one child. You did a great job at responding the way you did! You are a great mother, don't ever believe otherwise!!!!