Hip Hip Hooray for Motherly Instincts

Dear Diary,

I am living proof that motherly instincts are real! I recall a particular story that can prove it. I was at my sister Sarah's house when her daughter who was 8 months old got a hold of something.  Like every other infant, that "something" went straight into her mouth! We noticed her starting to choke. This was before I was mom. In fact, this was before I was even thinking about being a mom. I instantly started cringing and flapping my arms. I was so nervous I couldn't even watch.  Sarah quickly grabbed Eva and started to perform the Heimlich maneuver on her- while she told me to call 911. I quickly dialed and started panic mode while practically yelling at the lady on the other end of the line. Sarah got the barbie heel out quicker then the 911 could dispatch. I stood there... staring at Sarah, still holding the phone in my hand and thinking, "how? what just happen?" Her response was simple, "motherly instinct". I laughed because it seemed so fake... so cliche. How could a mom "just know"? Ever since that day, I cringe when I hear a child cough. But this all changed after I had Layla!

Choking scares the bageebees out of me. Children cough. I had to get over it.  Especially since I now have one of my own. I am very cautious about what is around Layla now that she is mobile, that task is more challenging.  Yesterday she was crawling around our bedroom while we were getting ready. I heard Layla make a weird noise so I reacted by swiftly picking her up. She was choking. The "old Katherine" would have froze. But the "new and improved mom-Katherine" sprang into action. I threw her in the proper hold and started the maneuver. Layla started throwing up and then I could see her chewing. Something I remembered from nursing school was to never reach into a choking person's mouth without being able to see what you're reaching for. You could end up pushing it back down the wind pipe. I saw something. I hooked it out. A small piece of packaging tape! After the event, I was in shock, pure awe. The light bulb went off.....Motherly instincts exist! Having learned the skills at some point was enough so that I didn't have to think about what I had to do... I just did it! SuperMOM!

If you're still a non-believer about motherly instincts or would like to brush up on your Heimlich maneuver knowledge, I found some great websites to help ease your mind.
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For an infant: click here

For an adult: click here