Sing it With Me: 3 Firefighters, 2 Paramedics, and One Baby Eating Toxic Substances

Well, as you can tell from the title, we had a bit of excitement at our house this evening. My dear, sweet little baby decided to taste the toilet bowl cleaner (more on that in a moment). I was getting her ready for her bath and all of the sudden she started coughing and gagging. I didn't feel I had the time to look up the number to Poison Control, so I called 9-1-1 right away. The dispatcher sent out the rescuers, and along came 3 firefighters, followed by 2 paramedics.

So there were five men in my house all hanging out. The firefighters (not in their gear, by the way) were watching the paramedics. One was checking Kamryn's vitals and the other was on the phone with Poison Control. Meanwhile, 2 of our neighbors came over to check on us (glad there wasn't a true emergency) and, all the while, THE HOUSE WAS SO SO HOT!!! I'm sick of my swamp cooler. I want central air conditioning.

So everything turned out okay. We just had to keep Kamryn awake for another hour or so, give her some milk, and make sure her breathing was normal. If she had any drooling or coughing up blood we were to take her to call 911 again so they could take her to the hospital. She ate her bottle just fine, danced around a little bit with Jayci and me, and went to bed.

As for the toilet bowl cleaner:

This is a new product. I'm sure you've seen it advertised on TV. There is gel inside of the applicator (the long stick thing in the front of the picture) and you squeeze the gel from the applicator under the rim of the toilet bowl. I really like it. It keeps the toilet fresh-smelling, helps keep it cleaner throughout the week between manual cleanings, and is easy to use. But it has its downsides. The applicator is the only thing you keep. The box goes in the trash and there is no label on the applicator to say what to do if it is ingested! Poison Control said they have had a lot of calls about this, so I see an applicator label coming soon.

Anyway, Kamryn stuck her little finger in the glob in the toilet and decided to taste it. I'm guessing it wasn't very good by the way she kept gagging and coughing. Although I'm very thankful that everything turned out just fine, it's terrifying when you realize how quickly something can go wrong. I was in the bathroom with both of the little girls getting their bath ready. I was RIGHT THERE!! I'm also very thankful for the public servants who help us all everyday, even if it is just to put a worried mother's mind at ease.Their response was so fast (the firefighters were there within 2 minutes of the 9-1-1 call, with the paramedics following about 1 minute later) they were all so friendly (of course, Chad knew 2 of them personally), and were non-judgemental and understanding.

So a big THANK YOU to everyone in positions like this. Whether you're a dispatcher, or a soldier, the job you do is so essential and important, and I truly appreciate each and every person who devotes their lives to serving other people.