Call poison control!

Have you ever had to call poison control for one of your children? Well, I have. When Brandon was about 2 years old I had to call them twice in the same month. I thought for sure they were tracking me and that I was going to get arrested for child neglect.

The first time I had to call them, I had just moved into a new house around the time my first marriage ended. Usually I had a lock on all of the "dangerous, poisonous" chemicals in my house so Brandon couldn't get to them. Well I had just moved and had not gotten those things locked up yet. I think that I was in the living room and he was in the kitchen playing or whatever and then I heard it. A really big I'm hurt!!!!! Scream. I ran in the kitchen to see what happened and I saw that he had the bottle of 409 cleaner pulled out and he was rubbing his eyes. I made sure that he didn't swallow any of it and called poison control. They assured me that everything would be fine, just get him in the shower and let the water wash the chemicals out of his eyes and to call back if it got worse. So I did that. I was so relieved that he was okay and I just knew that I would never ever have to call them again. I was going to be way more attentive and I was sure to get a safety lock on that cabinet right away.

Well, within the same month I had to call poison control again, because like the first time I was busy and not paying attention to what my child was doing. I know, you don't have to tell me what a great mother I am... I have the award to prove it! Anyways, so I was on the phone with my dad and Brandon reaches up for me and I picked him up. I smelled a really strong laundry detergent smell, and then I saw the powder mixed with slobber on his chin and shirt. Yes I just used the word slobber. So I quickly let my Dad go and called poison control. The lady told me that he should start vomiting soon as all it would do is irritate his tummy. Before I got off the phone with her he started puking. Oh, and this was the best cleanest smelling puke ever. After all of the commotion was over, I was relieved that he was going to be fine and then I figured out that using soap powders would be a good way to "wash his mouth out" when he talks back or tells a lie. Hey there's one good thing to come of it, right? Just kidding. But don't think it hasn't actually crossed my mind over the past few years.

So I wanted to tell that story to build up to this one. Most of you know that I have a nearly one and a half year old son, Brodie. Recently he has had to take a lot of medicine to help him with his reflux problems and digestion problems. So both of my children are on medication. Brandon has to take synthroid for his thyroid disorder. Last night I was giving Brodie his liquid medicine, he has to take two different ones, and it takes about 5 minutes or so to administer it all to him. Jay held him while I gave him the medicine, and then Jay put him down. I decided that since I was already up, I would go ahead and get Brandon's pills ready for him to take. And then I gave Brandon his medicine. Or so I thought.

I gave him his medicine and sat on the sofa to watch American Idol. Brodie walked up to me and I noticed he had something in his mouth. I inspected the contents and realized by the little fragments that were left and by the color of the contents that he was chewing up Brandon's synthriod. Oh my God! What have I done?! It all came back to me. Instead of handing Brandon his medicine like I usually do I actually, absent mindedly, shoved the pills into Brodie's mouth and he chewed them up! What the hell was I thinking? Well, I wasn't thinking and I wasn't paying attention. So I panicked. I asked Brandon if I gave him his medicine. He said no. I knew for sure that I had given Brodie Brandon's medicine. I shrieked at Jay to call poison control, but he handed me the phone because he didn't know the number. 411 info is hard to remember I guess. Ha! So I got on the phone with poison control and told them what happened. The nice man on the phone assured me that Brodie would have had to have taken several milligrams for it to cause any problems. Whew!! That was scary! I cannot believe I did that. Man, I really know how to pay attention! I really really hope that poison control doesn't take away my children.