Driving Miss Drew

Very naively, Jerry and I thought we were through the worst with Drew and her teeth troubles...

It now appears that Drew has a kind of constant flow of watery mucus from her nose, similar to that of Niagara I should imagine. Coupled with this never-ending nasal stream of goo is a never-ending dribble.

It doesn't matter how many times you wipe her nose and mouth, the goo from her nose usually ends up in her mouth and then she tries to create MORE dribbles to get rid of the nasal goo.

To make matters worse, tonight Drew woke from her usual 7.00pm slumber screaming. This usually means she needs to burp or her teeth are hurting. No burp would come up. Drew seemed like she was in real pain and wouldn't stop crying and got herself so worked up. Having given her gripe water to help ease any pain she might have, we think it went down the wrong way and she started to choke and gasp for breath. After a few frantic seconds (which seemed like minutes!), Drew caught her breath, but couldn't stop coughing and gagging. This made her continue to cry. We tried everything...except one thing. The car. Guaranteed to make your baby sleep. I wonder why no one has bothered to add this to a vehicle specification...

...Permanent all-wheel drive; Mid engine; 6 cylinders; 180kW (245bhp); sleeping baby guarantee; leather seats...

So, to cut a long and tired story short, Jerry and I ended up going out for a drive. Twice. Drew did fall asleep the first time (8.00pm). One of us driving, the other in the back trying to calm her down. Trouble was, she woke up again as we tried to get her in her cot when we got home. So off out we went again. In the meantime, we called NHS Direct for some help and advice.

They were very good and asked loads of questions to determine the severity of Drew's symptoms. They promised to call back within the hour and a Nurse did call us back while we were out driving with Drew. After finding a safe side road to stop and talk to her, Jerry stayed in the back keeping Drew calm and I answered the Nurse's questions best I could. Whilst trying to work out the difference between a 'gasp' and 'breathless', I noticed a vehicle on the other side of the road had also parked up. Nothing odd you say?

However, this car had stopped half on the road, half on the pavement, positioned over a metal bollard (now horizontal!) and wedged into a low wall! I could also see a man hunched over the driver's wheel and was trying to attract Jerry's attention in the rear view mirror. Eventually, Jerry could see the same bizarre sight and rushed over to check on the man.

I was concentrating on the Nurse's serious questions about Drew, looking over at the man in the car in front and realised I could hear cooing, laughing. I turn round to look at the little lady responsible for us being out this late...butter wouldn't melt. When Drew saw me looking at her, she grabbed her foot and put it in her mouth. I think she was feeling better.

Jerry returned to the car. Apparently, the man in the car was hunched over his mobile phone. Calling for help with his car. The driver (his wife!) had done a runner! That's HIS story!

The Nurse determined Drew was in no danger, apart from choking on her own feet. She recommended 5ml of Calpol, check the room temp. was under 20degrees and to keep Drew hydrated. We followed her instructions completely and within 5 minutes of putting her in her cot, she was sound asleep.

...and breathe...