Thanks for the warning. And oy!

I recently told Mago he can’t put anything near or on Nem-nem, either - he could have choked her sharing the necklace they made for him in Nursery at church. He’s always in her face, cuddling and adoring her and touching her face - sometimes he’s rough and she’s distressed, but he’s learning pretty well how to be gentle. If he’s back enough she can see his face (which is rarely) she smiles at him.

A woman in our ward had a large family with more than a few young children. To be on the safe side, she took her infant into the bathroom with her in an infant seat while she showered. She heard the door open and by the time she got the water turned off she heard gagging sounds from her baby. In fact, by the time she got to the baby he was clearly choking and having difficulty breathing. In her naked state she did everything she could do quickly to try to help the baby breathe. No luck. She threw on an overcoat, screamed for the children to come get in the car, and got in the car with her phone. She called the hospital (nearby) and said she was coming. She could hear the baby gagging and choking for breath all the way to the hospital. He was quite blue when they pulled into the emergency circle. A nurse who was waiting in the circle for the baby’s arrival scooped it out of the car seat, turned him upside down and whacked him on the back. Guess what popped out? A large jawbreaker.

One of the very young children had very kindly shared his candy with the baby.

I very early began to instruct all my children that the baby could not have anything at all except food that mother or dad provided or they would get very sick. I point out NO TEETH to chew, and then gave them examples of what babies could not eat–gum, candy, food from the table, snacks, etc. etc. etc.

I’m sure that Mago would never “share” his jawbreaker with little Nem-Nem just as I’m sure there are probably no jawbreakers around your house for him to share. None-the-less, a good little FHE lesson about such things is always a good idea.

When Nathan was born he had to be evaluated for some potential surgery for a hernia. We went to Children’s Hospital in D.C. to see a surgeon. He had posted on a large mural in his waiting room some of the things he had pulled out of children’s lungs, stomachs and intestines. It was absolutely amazing! I sat there looking at that mural and wondered how on earth ANYBODY (let alone a child) could have swallowed some of those items.

We do love reading your posts. I absolutely love the language development stages in young children’s lives. Their observations are so fresh and enlightening.

Aunt Ginger

Love, Aunt Sherlene