Repeat after me.... "You are not a bad mom...."
I know I'm not a bad mom. I think I'm pretty standard when it comes to the scale. But for a few hours today I questioned myself, just a little...
The whole family is battling or recovering from a mean cold - and currently it's taking its toll on the hubs and myself. We went for a little drive around lunch time to just get out of the house and on our way home from our drive, Charlie and Wyatt both fell asleep in the truck. Since they only slept about 15-20 minutes, when we got home, I let Charlie play around for a little bit, have a snack and then I planned to put him down for a nap.
Charlie had different plans. :) Of course, 15-20 minutes of sleep is PLENTY for a little boy recovering from a cold.... In his mind. Nonetheless, I put Charlie in bed and sat in his room like I always do, just giving a little company and waiting for him to fall asleep.
**I've thought about leaving this portion of the story I'm about to tell out, but it's the truth and I know I'm not the only one this could happen to...**
Today, however, I decided it was time for momma to get a little catnap herself - maybe it'll help me recover from this cold... So I laid down on Wyatt's bed and told Charlie I was going to take a nap, too. I dozed off...
Ten minutes. Ten minutes is all. That's all the time that passed. But when I woke up, Charlie wasn't in his bed. Sigh.......... Where is that little rascal....
He wasn't in the living room. He wasn't in the bathroom. He wasn't in my bedroom. Then I heard him in the kitchen.... Probably just getting a snack.
I walked in to discover Charlie had pulled the kitchen table chair all the way across the kitchen and had climbed up and opened the medicine cabinet.........................
OHMYGOODNESS!!!! CHARLES!
He had opened a bottle of chewable antacids and had chewed up but spit out three or four of them. Then I noticed on the kitchen floor was an open bottle of allergy medicine. Open. Pills all over the floor. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no.
"Charlie, did you eat any of these?" "Yes!" "Charlie, how many did you eat?" Charlie starts counting "One, two, three!"
Now.... Charlie answer yes to a lot of things... and he starts counting to a lot of things.... You can't always trust a two year old.... Obviously.
I cleaned up the mess. Gave him a cup of milk, took him to the living room and turned on a show. I sat and wondered what to do.... Surely he didn't eat that medicine.... it's hard and I'm sure tastes awful.... Maybe I'll just give him 30 minutes and see how he's doing...... Maybe...
I decided I'd go on and call Poison Control. I explained the situation to a wonderful nurse, Rachel, and she explained that the allergy medicine he had isn't necessarily a dangerous medicine. IF Charlie did ingest any of it, it would sort of amp him up - he might get a bit hyper or even irritable or start shaking. Keep an eye on him and she's going to call and check on us in an hour and probably again later in the evening.
Thank the good Lord, Mr. Charlie is JUST fine. He has been my normal wonderful little Charlie and I could not be more relieved. I really have no idea what I would do if something ever happened to either of these boys.
Wonderful Rachel at Poison Control called to check about an hour or so later and then again a few hours after that. She explained the time frame for any possible side effects would be about two and a half hours after ingesting so she is very certain that we are in the clear.
I called my mom in the midst of the waiting and we tried to decide if I needed to relocate my medicine cabinet.... It has all been cleaned out - old meds trashed - condensed and placed on the highest shelf in the cabinet.
"You're not a bad mom....." If I hadn't dozed off.......... But me falling asleep isn't the reason Charlie was able to get in the medicine cabinet. I could have just as easily been using the restroom. We can't have our eyes on our children 110% of the time... But we can try to eliminate the dangers. I really didn't imagine Charlie could get into the cabinet. But clearly, I was wrong. Also surprising, the allergy medicine he had gotten into had a "childproof" cap on it. I've seen stories before showing children opening all sorts of "childproof" caps.... and Charlie clearly has this ability as well. So, don't trust childproof caps, parents.... Put the stuff up HIGH!
And in case anyone else gets in this pickle.... do not be afraid to call Poison Control. I've called them twice now in my time as a parent and I have been completely pleased with my experience both times. They are always so sweet and caring and definitely not judgmental at all.
I hated the experience this afternoon but the outcome was everything I could have hoped for. I have my handsome, happy little Charlie being his normal sweet self. And........ that ten minute nap seemed to help. Either that or the adrenaline after discovering my little rascal in potential danger....
Tomorrow is a new day. Hug your kids. Hide your meds. Even better than you think you need to hide them.
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