Tuesday

A Glamorous Side of Motherhood, or How to Remove Foreign Objects from Your Child's Nose



It was bound to happen sometime.



The first time we were in line waiting to make our purchases at Target.



Suddenly, Big Sister was grabbing at her nose and looking a bit panicked.



It was a raisin from the trail mix. I knew better than to ask why she did it. The raisin was there, her nostril was there too, so why not?



Fortunately, I simply massaged the raisin out of her little nose. It popped right out and I was sure she'd never do it again.



I'm sure that is the part of the story that my veteran-parent friends laughed at. I really thought that would be the end of it.



The second time it was a small rock. Again, I was able to massage it out of her nose. This time I also put her in time-out. Apparently, the pain in her nose wasn't enough to stop her.



The third time was a charm. It was an eraser. The kind that is at the top of a mechanical pencil.



The kind that is perfectly shaped cylinder.



The kind that doesn't want to budge when gently massaged from the outside of the nose.



The kind that causes a two-year-old much pain.



So, I tried using a bulb syringe. The eraser still didn't budge.



I was stumped. I thought we were headed to the doctor.



But, I decided to call my friend, a mom to four, first. If anyone had experience with removing objects from noses, surely she did.



And, here is the works for me part. She suggested that I put a straw in my daughter's nose and see if I couldn't get it to move down a bit by gently sucking on the straw.



In my eagerness to avoid paying a co-pay to look like a parent who doesn't supervise her child, I didn't think twice. I simply grabbed a straw and had at it. I forgot the gentle part.

The eraser came out and so did a bit of um, nasal drainage.


That last part still makes my stomach turn.



But, it worked for me. Though I'll probably only do it again if the object lodged in my child's nose is both poisonous and on flames.


Please visit Rocks in My Dryer for more tips.





10 comments:

Unknown said...

This is hilarious!! I cracked up when I read your post. My kids haven't tried this yet, but I'm sure it's coming. When my sister was little, she did the same thing with a button. My mom did end up taking her to the doc. but just as he was going to try to remove it, she sneezed and it went flying across the room! I could just imagine myself trying to suck something from my child's nose. How funny! The things we do!

Deidre said...

First ... ooooooo! But, I would totally do the same thing. I haven't had to deal with this (yet), thank goodness. It's safe to say I won't forget this little tip ;)

Wade's World said...

Absolutely hilarious!! You know you have officially reached "Parent" status when you are totally willing to suck something out of your child's nose. Our copay is $45, so I can see many straws in our future, especially with our sneaky child! Thanks for the tip!!!!

Stephanie Kay said...

A friend of mine once had to do that to get several elbow noodles from her son's nose. So far none of mine have had anything stuck up there. Though Ben swallowed a penny last year. 15 hours is how long it took to pass through the system.

Jane said...

I don't have children yet, but when I saw your post title I had to read. So glad I did. Not only will I file that one away for the future, but it was a funny read too! A mother's dedication is without limits!

Anonymous said...

OK.... I'm wretching over here now!

Miss Lisa said...

That's a higher ewwww than the other snot story--I am positive this is why God made kids so cute--otherwise we'd be hurling daily ;)
Thanks for the tip though!

Kendra said...

OMG ~ That is all I know to say! What a story. Luckily we have yet to experience that....**Fingers are Crossed**

Did you see last nights game? We got our butts kicked by those darn Cubs! Geezzz...the Reds suck! **Wink**

Michele @ Frugal Granola said...

Good to know! :) So far, things haven't gotten to the point where I've needed a straw, but it wouldn't surprise me at the rate things are going... :)
Blessings,
Michele :)
www.frugalgranola.blogspot.com

Brea in Texas said...

Oh. My. Goodness. That was so funny!!! Thanks for sharing. A few months ago, my son (5 years old) got a really sharp piece of corn chip stuck up his nose. And it didn't come out until it had sufficiently softened. Which took about 10 minutes. Then we just blew his nose. Out came the chip, and plenty of blood where it had scratched him.

He hasn't put anything near his nose lately. Thankfully. :)

~Brea