At some point it had to happen, no matter how much I watch out for Raphaela and try to prevent small accidents, Raphaela swallowed a small round bead this morning, an item that is distinctly a foreign object rather than food. It was the size of a small M and M, and went down her throat just fine. Now I await its exit....
Knowing that kids eat the darndest things does not assuage my feelings of guilt.
3 comments:
Guilt is not a constructive emotion in parenting.
The button incident is not a big deal, and even if it was guilt would not be constructive. Learn from the experience and move on. You are the best possible mother in the world for RR - do not let anything or anybody make you feel otherwise.
I have a friend whose husband (now also my friend) is a doctor. I was at a barbecue with them once and questioned whether I should stop their toddler from nibbling on something -- I don't remember what it was -- that wasn't necessarily 100 percent hygienic or healthy. His response was "Sarah, we're talking about a child who takes handfuls of dirt and puts them in her mouth. Don't worry about it."
Another example from the same dad, who is, again, a doctor. A couple years later, with their then-few-months-old-baby. I was holding the baby and talking to someone and discovered too late that the baby had been sucking on my necklace charm, a mother-of-pearl disc with Hebrew writing painted on it, and that the paint had come off! I rushed to the dad and said "He swallowed the paint!" And doctor-dad said calmly "Well, what do you want to do about it?" and I said "But it might have lead!" and he said, smiling, "Even if it does, there's nothing we can do now but love him. Don't worry about it."
PS Both children are much bigger now and doing just fine.
And I am happy to say that we have achieved a successful exit as well.
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