Doughan Family: Not in the Plans...

So I had quite the day today.

= a not too fun trip to the ER

I am pretty sure that any mom wouldn't wish this for anything. I never really thought that it could happen to me, to my children.

Here's the story:
I wake Tucker for the morning. Oh, about 8:45 am or so, (tough life, huh?) and feed him his 7oz bottle. He's a champ of an eater. He finishes it with no problems. I put him down on the floor. Expecting that he will work his way around the living room eventually, I do a quick scan to make sure he's free to go-small toys cleared, paper thrown away, and too many to count hotwheels put up high.

I head downstairs to help Thatcher, who at this point is singing his own little tune, out of his crib. I am just about to put him on his changing table when I hear Tucker choking in the living room. Thatcher's diaper can wait. I run to Tucker to find him already have puked his bottle up and still gagging/choking/not able to get a good full breath. I ~~calmly~~ frantically start smacking him on his back but nothing comes up. He is able to get a little bit of breath but still is gagging pretty consistently.

I thought that maybe he got a hold of a little crumb or cracker or something like that and it was just stuck a little bit in his throat so I have my little helper, Lilly, go and get Tucker's sippy of water in the fridge. I give him a drink, hoping that will wash whatever down. Boy was I wrong. He immediately puked that up.

Lilly helped me once again by running to get my phone in the kitchen and I call Adam and tell him something's wrong with Tucker and while I am on the phone, Tucker is continuing to gag and dry heave.

Adam comes rushing home and sees Tucker and rushes him to the ER. I am a mess but am scaring Lilly and Thatcher so I regain my composure and quickly "get ready" for the day. My dear friend, Lynn, came over to watch the two eldest and I join Adam in the ER. There's no way I can stay home and wonder what's going on there.

The doctor does a chest X-ray and some other tissue test but finds nothing, but with the understanding that only if something were metal would show up. During our time in the ER, Tucker gags a total of about 30 times and throws up a couple times, and tried to nap in between all that.

After a lot of monitoring we finally came to the decision that the ENT would insert a scope into his nose and look for whatever may be obstructing his passageway. We had to wait for quite some time for that procedure to be done. By God's grace, Tucker did another one of his 30 gags, but this time it was like no other. He took a big yawn afterwards and I glanced and saw that a whole lot of saliva was collecting on his tongue and it looked pretty weird so I swiped my finger in his mouth and...

...it's kind of hard to make out, but it's a piece of celephan or plastic wrap or packing tape or something like that. We stayed around the hospital for another hour for observation. He was able to drink 9 0z of apple juice (totally new to him, but he liked it) and keep it down and showed no signs of irritation so we were free to leave. We also called off the scope procedure since he was doing so well.

Tucker was so relieved. He's gagged no more and he's back to his happy little self. I have been watching him like a hawk though and if you haven't guessed it already...
I vacummed the WHOLE house! With 2 little professional mess makers and a little one who thinks everything has to go into his mouth, I have my work cut out for me.

I am so thankful that Tucker is ok. I am so thankful that Adam was working in town. I am so thankful that we have doctors who care. I am so thankful for friends who help in emergencies. I am so thankful for the many blessings that take place without me even thinking about them.

Here's some pictures I took with my phone in the ER.

Tucker playing while being observed afterwards