You Know You're a Parent When...

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 a 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.

Be sure to visit Kristin's at We are THAT Family for some more handy (or should I write nosy) tips.

Have you acquired a rather interesting skill since becoming a parent?  Who knew knowing how to remove things from a nose could be such a helpful parenting skill?