The Bad Parent Award Goes To......

So it happened, I suppose it is a right of passage, but I just don't like that it happened on my watch. Berkeley swallowed a penny yesterday; that is correct, Mr. Lincoln is swimming in his belly today.

Berke has an obsession these days with money; any sort of money he gets is $16. He is obsessed with a bowl of change we keep on a table in our entry way, he is always asking to play with money and we always give him a couple pennies to with which to play. It has always been fine.

Yesterday he was playing with his $16 (3 pennies) and it was time for his nap. Berke asked me if he could sleep with his $16, I had a thought enter my head. Hmm, that sounds like a bad idea, he could swallow the money. Then another thought, he'll be fine, he never puts anything in his mouth. It was like the angel and the devil on both shoulders, although at the time it just seemed like problem solving. So I told the kid he could sleep with his 3 pennies; that would make him happy and that is all I really want after all. So I laid him down.

Fast forward 10 minutes and I hear crying coming from Berkeley's room, a very unusual sound during his nap time. I rush in to see that we now only have 2 pennies instead of 3, and my little man is holding his throat. I ask if he swallowed a penny and he said "yeah." I thought, well he IS breathing so that is a good sign. He was distressed however, so I became distressed. I got him up and called our doctor friends. He was crying, but could talk and drink water and I took that as a good sign. I was told unless he has pain or trouble breathing it probably is just gonna come out in his poop. I calmed the kid down and we went back to bed.

I laid down with my boy, who was a bit traumatized. He kept trying to reach down his throat to get the penny and said, " I can't reach it mom." We talked about how it was okay, but he shouldn't put money in his mouth ever again. Berke then turned to me and said, "We should only swallow waffles mom." So true Berke, so true!

We both settled down and nap time proceeded without further problems.

Lesson: Don't let your kid sleep with $16, even if they NEVER put anything in their mouths!