A Nanny’s Worst Nightmare

This is an appeal to all of you nannies out there: If you haven’t already, Get CPR/First Aid Certified. I’m so grateful that I did.

I do nanny-share for two infant boys.

One day in February I put the 10 wk. old in the crib with a baby monitor close by. I then went to the kitchen to feed the 6 mo. old. After awhile, I heard on the monitor, which was right next to me, that the little one was waking up. He was fussing a little, so I told the 6 mo. old “Eat up – we need to go get your buddy!”. Then the sound from the monitor changed. Nothing really alarming, just didn’t “sound right”.

I picked up the big boy, took him upstairs and sat him in his crib. I walked into the room where the little one was. He was laying on his back, his back was arched and his eyes were wide open. He was a pale color of blue. I ran and picked him up, flipped him over frantically patted him on the back. I tried to put my finger in his mouth, but his jaws were clinched shut! He was very rigid and wasn’t making a sound. I grabbed him and ran to the parents bedroom. I laid him on his side like I was taught at the infant CPR class, and called 911. I screamed into the phone “Help me! The baby is not breathing!” The woman on the other end very calmly said “Is he laying on his side?” Yes. “Open his mouth and see if there is anything in there”. Although I had tried before, this time I pried his little gums open. Saliva came out and he made a small sound. The 911 operator said “Yes! I heard that! That’s good!” After giving her the address (I can’t believe I remembered it!) she said “The ambulance is on the way.” I didn’t even hang up the phone. The baby was still very rigid and his color was terrible. I ran down the stairs, laid him on his side and waited for the ambulance, patting and rubbing his back, and whispering in his ear that it was going to be okay, even though I didn’t believe it. A few minutes later there was a knock on the door and the Sheriff burst in. He picked up the baby and called on his radio – presumably to the ambulance that was en-route. He said “The baby is still in distress” and then he ran outside with the baby to meet the ambulance that was just pulling up.

I have no idea what the Paramedics did – they wouldn’t let me look in the ambulance. But I do know that I was absolutely sure that that little baby was going to die.

They told me to meet them at the hospital. I called the baby’s mom, told her what happened in a calm voice (I didn’t know where it came from, but now I’m convinced that all nannies have one in there to use to reassure the parents even when we ourselves are terrified.). I told her which hospital to meet us at, hung up the phone and for the first time since this started burst into tears. I grabbed the other baby and headed on auto pilot to a hospital I had never been to before. I called my husband on my cell phone as I drove and between sobs I told him what happened. I said I was sure that the baby would be dead when I got to the hospital, and I was already crying for his parents who would surely be grieving by now. My husband wanted me to pull the car over, he was afraid I would get into an accident. When I told him I needed to keep driving, he told me he would meet me at the hospital (which, bless his heart, he did). I ran into the ER, carrying the 6 mo. old. I was crying so hard by then I had trouble asking where they had takn him. Finally, she pointed to the cubicle. I was terrified to walk in there. A doctor walked out, saw me approaching with my blotchy, teary face. He looked confused for a second and then smiled and put his thumb up. I walked past the curtain and was greeted by the other mom, who is a doctor (I had called her too). She hugged me and said “He’s okay!”

I had to hand her baby over to her because I honestly thought I would faint from relief. There on the examining table, with tubes coming out all over, was this tiny pink (yes, pink! My new favorite color!) sweetheart.

Everyone told me I had done everything right. This was a hard pill to swallow since at that moment I felt terribly inadequate. In fact, in my mind I was already going through all of the things that I might have done differently.

The medical people, including my doctor/mom insisted that I had handled the crises very well and that the baby was alive because of it. They put him on a monitor for 24 hours to make sure he didn’t stop breathing again. They said we may never know what caused it. He may have even spit up and aspirated. It has been almost 2 months and I still get chills thinking – what if I had been in another room and not heard the “not quite right” sound?

Ginger asked me to write about my experience to reinforce to all of you nannies, the importance of getting your CPR/First Aid certification and keeping it current. The parents of my babies said “Thank God you had that class” and I said “But I was still terrified and I still felt so helpless”. My doctor/mom convinced me with her next statement: “Think how you would have felt if this happened and you HAD NOT'’ had the training.” I can’t even imagine. I don’t know what would have happened. Would instinct alone have been enough? I didn’t have to perform CPR, but if the 911 operator had told me to, I could have, and I knew it.

With all my heart I hope that none of you ever have to go through something like this, and if you have already, my heart goes out to you.

Now take a peek at that CPR card in your wallet and see if you are coming due for re-certification. If you don’t have one, take the class and get one.

CPR Classes are available through the Red Cross. You can also find classes at the YMCA, and most local hospitals offer CPR classes to the community. There are also certified CPR counselors that will come to your home and help you get your certification.

Believe it or not, you can even get your certification online.

Here are a couple of links.

CPR Pros

CPRToday

You can also practice your CPR here on this simulator.

CPR Simulator