Lida: “‘He just won't calm down,’ I shouted, after we had been to the park our grandson suddenly became completely upset, I was shocked when we found out why”

The most enjoyable day of the week

Thursday is our regular babysitting day. My husband and I then look after our grandson Mason, who is one and a half years old. For me, it's the best day of the week. We pick him up around half-past eight at my daughter's place, pack his cuddly toy and his drinking bottle in the bag, and set off. We usually take a walk through the nearby park. A set route: first past the animals; goats, chickens, and a tame peacock that Mason keeps pointing at fascinated. Then past the pond to give the ducks some bread crusts (from the stroller, because he prefers to stay seated and watch), and finally, a visit to the playground. In the sandbox with his little shovel and bucket, a few slides down the slide, and then it's usually time to go home for the afternoon nap.

But last Thursday things went a bit differently.

We started as always. The weather was delightfully warm for late summer, Mason was wearing his yellow jacket and chatted happily as we walked past the animals. He pointed at the goats and cooed: “Meeh, meeeeh!” My husband laughed and said that Mason was getting to speak goat language better than us. Then we went to see the ducks. We gave them a few small pieces of bread, Mason watched with wide eyes and laughed when a cheeky duck snatched the last crust right in front of another.

On the way back, he began to whine

In the playground, everything seemed normal. Mason played in the sandbox for a while, tapped around with his little shovel, and let his hands glide through the sand. Afterward, he wanted to slide – as usual – and then sat obediently in his stroller again. But as we walked towards home, he began to whimper softly. At first, we thought he was just tired. The clock was approaching half-past one, his usual nap time.

He became inconsolable

At home, I gave him some water and laid him down in the travel cot in our guest room. But instead of dozing off, he started to cry louder and louder. I waited a bit, thinking he might just need to get used to it. But the crying continued. My husband went to check on him and tried to comfort him, but Mason didn't calm down with him either. He was inconsolable. Not screaming in pain, but very upset, sobbing, with red eyes and snot everywhere.

We could not find an explanation

“He just won't quiet down,” I said to my husband after half an hour. “Could he be in pain somewhere?” We laid him on the couch, felt his little belly, his feet, his back. No strange reactions. We took his temperature – 36.9 degrees. No fever. But that's what made it so strange. If he had had a fever, we might have been able to explain it. A little virus or an ear acting up. But this? He didn't want to drink, cuddle, or sleep.

I called my daughter to share my concerns

After an hour and a half, I decided to call my daughter to inform her in advance. 'He is so upset,' I said. 'Maybe he is getting sick. Then you know.' She was okay with me calling and said she would come to pick him up soon after her work. We finally managed to calm him down with a bit of rocking, but he remained clingy and clammy.

In the evening, my daughter called…

That evening, my daughter called back. I immediately picked up the phone. “Well mom,” she said, “you'll never guess. He was so restless, kept crying, and I felt that something was wrong. No fever, nothing visible, but it just didn't feel right.” She had taken him to the after-hours clinic. There, the doctor looked inside his little nose. And sure enough: something was lodged deep in his nose.

I was shocked when she told me what had been found

“What then?” I asked, startled.

“An acorn,” she said. “A real acorn. It was just wedged in there.”

I fell silent for a moment. An acorn? "Could he have done that in the sandbox?" I finally asked. "I knew he was fiddling with his hands, but I didn't think he had put anything up his nose."

“The doctor said it's more common in toddlers,” she replied. “They're discovering their body, and apparently the nose is an interesting hole.”

My husband looked at me with wide eyes when I told the story

“Incredible,” he muttered. “Something so small, and yet so much impact.” And indeed: after removing the little acorn, Mason was calm again. He drank a bottle, crawled onto a lap, and fell asleep like a log that evening. The guilt gnawed at me. How did we miss that? But honestly: who expects their grandson to shove an acorn up his nose? It doesn’t seem to fit at all, does it? And it happens in a second; one curious toddler hand in the sandbox, and you have a mysteriously crying toddler on your lap.

Ever since then, I don't just watch in the playground to see if he still has his little shovel or if he slides down neatly. I also check if there are no small items lying around him. No pebbles, twigs, acorns. I pay extra attention to his hands, and if he has his hands closed I check far too often to make sure he hasn't got anything in them. Because yes, sometimes more fits into a little nose than you might think.

LIDA

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