I should have my Mommy license revoked(UPDATE pg 3!!!)

[TheOtherVillainess]

I am the worst parent ever. This afternoon, I was attempting to cut James' nails. When I got to the thumb on his right hand, he wiggled and I nicked him. I cleaned it up and stuck a bandaid on it. He fell asleep shortly afterward and I thought everything was cool. About a half hour later, he woke up wanting to play and I looked at his hand. No bandaid. I put him on a mat on the floor in the living room so he could play with his activity gym while I ripped his crib apart looking for the bandaid. Under the mattress? No bandaid. Removed the crib bumper. No bandaid. Took blankie and foam wedges out. No bandaid. Removed the small stuffed Pooh from the far end of his crib. No bandaid. I was getting worried by this point so I went back into the living room and picked James up. He was breathing fine (other than being snorty from allergies or whatever) and I sat down on the couch with him. I laid him on the couch and gently stuck my index finger in his mouth and felt around. No bandaid. Stuck my finger as far down his throat as I could, which only made him gag and spit up a little bit. No bandaid. Now I was worried. Started to freak out. Called Brandon and explained the situation. He told me to call Dr.Kaplan,w hich I did. Since it was after 5 pm by this point, all I got was his answering service but I left a msg and within like 10 m in he called me back asking what was wrong. I explained the situation and he asked if James was choking or having difficulty breathing. No, he wasn't. That was a good thing. Then Dr.Kaplan said the only thing I could do was watch his diaper and wait for it to pass, because it would probably pass within 24 hrs or so. That was about 4 1/2 hrs ago and I'm still waiting for that bandaid to show up in his poop. God..I feel like the worst parent ever. I let my son swallow a bandaid for chrissakes. *headdesk* How could I let him swallow a bandaid? I mean what kind of moron am I to put a bandaid on him and not assume he might swallow it because he likes to try and stuff his entire fist in his mouth? Oy...I hope it passes soon and puts me out of my misery.

On the bright side..he's breathing fine, still very pink and has had 2 6 oz bottles since this happened. So I'm assuming he'll be fine and the bandaid will work its way out of his system soon.

TOV

 

[Pooh67_68]

 

[bananiem]

My nephew ate a bunch of mardi gras beads after his sister broke a strand or two. My sister in law didn't even know until they started showing up in his diapers. First one color, then another, then another... My SIL said it went on for a day or so, every time he pooped. I'm sure the band aid will turn up, either in his diaper, shirt, or somewhere.
You're a good mom.

I forgot to add this is the same nephew that stuck a magnet up his nose when he was older. Stuck it so far up it went down. His mom ended up having to check his poop for that too.

 

[TheOtherVillainess]

Oh god..Mardi Gras beads? Now I don't feel so bad, I guess. I checked his outfit. No bandaid. It was then I discovered the poop explosion and bathed him. Another diaper after that one..still no bandaid. I hope it turns up soon.



Would I be a horrible parent if I SAVED that bandaid (assuming it comes out in one piece) to show to him later when he's older?

TOV

 

[Disfan1]

Originally posted by TheOtherVillainess
Would I be a horrible parent if I SAVED that bandaid (assuming it comes out in one piece) to show to him later when he's older?

TOV

Ick!

 

[TheOtherVillainess]

I come from a very wierd family, Disfan. One time my sister decided to have her hair cut because it was getting to be butt-length and she was tired of dealing with it all the time. So she pulled it into a ponytail and had the hairdresser cut it just above the ponytail holder. SHe put the ponytail into a baggie and gave it to my mom.


TOV

 

[sha_lyn]

TOV... If that is the worse thing you do, you will be way ahead of most of us LOL. It is was small enough ot go in one it, it is small enough ot come out the other. I learned that the hard way when I was 15 and the little girl Iwas watching swallowed a marble. Call my mom (her parents were on a boat i nthe days before cell phones) crying hysterically. She call our family physician and that is what he told us.

You might want give him a little something to help it pass easier. how old is he now? Maybe a little babylax, or if he will take it, a little oil (mineral, olive etc) mixed in his formula.

 

[TheOtherVillainess]

He's almost 4 mos old..will be 4 mos on Aug 1. If it hasn't passed by morning, I'll call Dr. Kaplan and ask if it's ok to give him a bit of mineral oil (which we still have from his massive attack of Cradle cap) in his formula to help it uh..find its way out.

TOV-

 

[sha_lyn]

yep I'd ask the Doc. I know it is safe once they are older but 4 months is still very little. Another good lubricant, but for the other end is the liquid glycerin. The solid infant suppositories are OK, but we've had better luck with the liquid. It is safe for newborns and is great when they have constipation. It works really fast, which is good when you neither mom or baby has slept because baby has been in pain all day or night.

 

[TheOtherVillainess]

*scribbles that down* I'll ask him in the morning when I call about the liquid glycerin. But so far, James doesn't seem to be in any pain..had his two bottles (one right after the incident and then another about 3 hrs later) and was playing hard until he fell asleep under his activity gym. He's sleeping soundly and breathing fine, other than his snortiness.

*paces worridly*God..well..I suppose it could be worse. My mother wasn't watching close enough at a friends' house one time and my sister drank a can of lighter fluid.

TOV

 

[sha_lyn]

I don't think here is a kid (or former kid LOL) alive that hasn't swallowed something they shouln't have. you just got that out of the way early. Believe me you might feel horrible now, but one of htese days you will laugh at the night you couldn't sleep, waiting for a bandaid to pass.

 

[twinmomplus2new]

Poor you! I would be worried to! I am sure he will be fine. nd then he can get bigger and swallow all sorts of nasty things... Just last week my 4 year old( well almost 4)
Swallowed a lollipop stick, He had the top of the pop in his hand and no stick. which he indicated was stuck in his throat. Don't ask me how who knows???? Off to the ER at 9am. I guess the pressing question is why was he eating a lolli at 9am Keep him away from those dum/dum pops!

 

[luvmydogs]

Hi TOV!

You are not the world's worst mom! As a mother of a ds8, I'll assure you that this is just the first of many stories you'll laugh about later on!

By the age of three, my son had swallowed a penny (came out in the diaper), a piece of twine about a foot long (I kinda..ummmm...pulled it out ), eaten dog poop (laid back pediatrician's response: "that won't be the worst thing he'll ever stick in his mouth") and had shoved a dime so far up his bottom that I had to get a tweezer and fish it out myself. Honestly, he'd get into everything and I learned I couldn't leave him alone for a split second--I would even take him into the bathroom with me when I had to go so he wouldn't have 20 seconds to get into trouble! Then when he was three, he was hospitalized with bacterial meningitis--now that was REAL cause for guilt and worry! Pretty much anything bizarre he did after that didn't even phase me anymore!

Now that he's 8, we all laugh about it and I make sure to tell the dog poop story in front of his friends--kind of makes up for all the worry he caused me the first few years of his life (I was diagnosed with an ulcer when he was two--what a shocker)!

Having a wee one that can't tell you what's wrong or what hurts can be stressful and confusing. I'm sending my best wishes that your little sweetie will be just fine!

 

[Beckysc]

luvmydogs,

I just have to ask....

How did you know that he shoved the dime up his bottom??

Did you see him do it, or did he tell you about it?

TOV, I am sure he will be fine.

 

[JerseyJanice]

TOV, was he in his crib when it was lost? Did you look under the mattress? On the floor under his crib?

Used Band-Aids have a way of getting around when they come off accidentally.

And honestly, honey, you are not a bad mother. You're still learning how to be one. Even us experienced moms learn new things about raising kids all the time.

Please stop being hard on yourself. You love your baby; I know you do. But you'll make mistakes in caring for him; every mom does.

If you got a new job and made some mistakes, you wouldn't beat yourself up over too badly because you'd know making mistakes is part of your training process.

Motherhood is the same thing; it is a job--probably the most enjoyable and rewarding one you'll ever have--but a job nonetheless. {hug} Hang in there.

 

[Dopey Sharon]

Originally posted by TheOtherVillainess



Would I be a horrible parent if I SAVED that bandaid (assuming it comes out in one piece) to show to him later when he's older?

TOV

You can't be serious.

 

[stacilee]

Okay you poor mommy, there will be worse things that happen.... It really IS possible that he did not even swallow the dern thing. I would try again tomorrow to check the room. Could be there still. DID you check YOUR clothes? How about the bottom of the laundry basket? Washing machine? Lint trap? Little edge between the mattress and the crib sides? Do you have a dog? You might be checking the wrong poopy!

Now if he did eat it, this too shall pass, and it will be a great story later on. In the future do not apply bandaids to a wee little one unless you plan to crazy glue it in place.

A few years ago I left my oldest DS in charge of his 3 younger siblings while I went to the grocery store. He was 16 for heavens sake. Plenty old enought to hold down the fort for an hour or so.

I am strolling down the frozen food aisle when my cell phone rings.

He screams into the phone "come home quick mom! ***** (DB age 10) has just swallowed a PIN and he's choking!"
I don't know why I didn't scream back "call 911". I do know that I only live 1.1 miles from the store- way closer than the local fire department.

I ABANDON my cart of food, RUN to my vehicle, SPEED out of the parking lot, and RACE home at a speed that I was unaware that a six cylinder Toyota minivan was capable of! I SQUEEL on less than four whells into my culdesac.
I SCREECH into my driveway, THROW the car in park (engine still running) SPRINT into the house (screaming for all hands on deck) FLY up the stairs and find the child on ALL FOURS in his UNDERWEAR in the upstairs hallway trying to gag himself whild the other siblings look on in HORROR!
I couldn't help myself. As I was about to SPRING into EMT mode I YELLED in my most HYSTERICAL mother's voice: "You idiot! HOW IN GOD"S WORLD DID YOU SWALLOW A PIN!?!?"
He looks up at me and says: Oh, it wasn't a PIN mom, it was a PENNY!"

Turns out, his brother had misunderstood him.

That 4 minutes took twenty years off my life!

I called a friend who works for a dentist. She was so calm. She said no problem, people swallow dental stuff all the time, bridges, crowns, they get all worked up about it and call at all kinds of indecent hours.
Have him poop into a ziplock bag, zip it shut and then put it into a walmart bag or other (preferably dark colored thin plastic bag. ) then think about ANYTHING ELSE while you squish squish squish until you find it. No one wanted that job, by default it became ANOTHER skill that wouldn't look all that impressive on my resume.

So the penny finally showed up on the FOURTH day!

I had to call her back to ask her- What do you do with all those people's dental appliances? You throw them away right? * I asked naievely*
"Nah, we just run 'em through the sterilizer and put 'em back in."

Yuck! TMI!

 

[MelessaG]

This definitely won't cost you your 'Mommy License.' I'm with a few others in thinking it's not 100% sure that he swallowed it. If he did, choking would be the worst that can happen and you are already past that hurdle. Each of my children has brought about one frantic phone call to poison control at about the age of 2 and we are all still here to laugh about it now. Baby James will be fine and so will you. (I've got my fingers crossed for a new job to come your way )

 

[luvmydogs]

Hi Becky!

I had been rolling coins from our change jar and ds had been "helping." When we were done I noticed he looked a little funny (combination of discomfort and guilt, I think!) and I basically had to give him the third degree until I figured out what he had done. He could never tell me why he did it because of his age, but I think it was his fascination with the rectal thermometer (yet another story....)!

That boy is the love of my life now, but in the earlier years I swear I don't know how I made it through without a nervous breakdown!

 

[luvmydogs]

Originally posted by stacilee


...Have him poop into a ziplock bag, zip it shut and then put it into a walmart bag or other (preferably dark colored thin plastic bag. ) then think about ANYTHING ELSE while you squish squish squish until you find it. No one wanted that job, by default it became ANOTHER skill that wouldn't look all that impressive on my resume.

This the funniest thing I've read all day!