So, I’ve always thought that I was safe with how I “baby proofed” my home. I have locks on any under counter cabinet that has any type of cleaning product in it. I have the outlet covers on EVERY outlet in the house. I’ve kept all medications up high and out of reach, even from a step stool. I’ve made sure to keep all pots and pans turned in when cooking on the stove. I STILL have gates at the top and bottom of my stairs, even though my girls are 3 years old, and very cautious when walking on the stairs. We had a heat resistant gate around our fireplace to keep them from touching it and getting burned for a long time. All of this preparation, and none of it prepared me for this morning. I didn’t even think it was possible, but this shows me what “teamwork” can get. 

It was only 7:45 am, and I was still in bed half asleep. I could hear everyone around me, but my eyes just weren’t opening yet. Daddy gets up to get ready for work, and then, I hear it. “OH MY GOD! What are you doing? How much did you take?” That’s all I needed. I was wide awake and running down the hall. I get to my girls’ bathroom, and there they were, with the Children’s Tylenol bottle opened, and their dosage cup and dropper on the counter. Both had pink liquid in them. I freaked out! I grabbed the Tylenol bottle from them and ran back to my bathroom. I didn’t know how they got it from my medicine cabinet or how they then, opened up the “chilI looked inside, swished it around, and felt like there really wasn’t much gone from the bottle. It was about half full to begin with, and it didn’t look or feel less than that afterwards. Once we calmed down enough, we got the girls together and asked them how much they took. We asked who used what device, and how much they put in each one. We tried to stay calm as possible as we tried to get them to tell us how much they had taken. It wasn’t working.. Then Daddy had the idea to ask them to show us on the cup or dropper what line or number they filled it up to. Alexandra told us that she did like Mommy says and only put it to the “1”. She pointed to the 1mL mark on the dropper. Victoria tells us she also did like Mommy says and put it to the “1” line on the cup. She pointed to the 1tsp line. I called the pediatrician and left a message for the advice nurse. After making sure and asking several times, they continued to tell us that they only had up to the “1”. I was feeling a little bit better, but really needed to hear from the pedi. 

I got a call back from the nurse who advised me to just call Poison Control, and she gave me the number. The lady from Poison Control was very helpful. She asked me what happened, and a whole bunch of information about the girls, age, weight, etc. She did a little research and told me that in order to be toxic, they’d have had to drink a little more than an entire bottle each, and I didn’t have that much in there to begin with, so they’d be fine. They shouldn’t get sick, or have any other ill effects. I just couldn’t give them any more for at least 8 hours from the time they took it. No problem. My immediate thought was to figure out a way to not only keep these medications out of reach, but behind some sort of lock also. 

I had made plans to go grocery shopping this morning, so I added the task of looking for a medicine safe. I knew they were available on line at One Step Ahead and Leaps and Bounds, but I wanted something NOW. I didn’t want to wait for them to get shipped. Well, I learned some things just aren’t as easy as I wish they were. The first place I went to was Goore’s. The largest baby and kid store here in Sacramento. They have a pretty large safety section full of gates, outlet covers, corner guards, and door latches, but nothing for keeping medicines locked up. I checked out Target, Walmart, and Toys R Us. I even checked Walgreens and Long’s Drugs. Everyone I asked looked at me like I was speaking a foreign language. I was SHOCKED that no one carried these things, and especially that no one had even heard of them. Only one person had offered an alternative.. a fire proof safe. I’m sure it’s a great idea, but that was way out of the price range I could afford.

Now, I’m back to square one. I have everything put away up high, in a different spot, but still not behind a lock. Oh, and the other thought.. if they can figure out how to get into my bathroom cabinet… they’re more than likely going to be able to get into my cleaning supplies… Yet one other huge fear of mine. I know the same company that makes the medicine safe makes one for cleaning supplies, but again, no where to be found here locally. 

So, what do you do with your medicines? Do you have them locked up? Where do you store them? Obviously my storage solution wasn’t as secure as I thought it was. I’m still in shock that it happened here.