Pickle baby number four, Quatro, is well and truly mobile these days. Commando crawling at a surprising pace he no longer stays where you put him for more than a fleeting moment. Among an uncanny interest in the bathroom his main aim in life seems to be to eat things…. things other than food.
A leaf, a handful of sand, an odd sock, a rock, and yes, that photo above is my baby, chomping on a shoe.
When the girls were little they also put all manner of crazy things in their mouths and I would quickly dash over and relieve them of their disgusting non-food choice.
When Muski was this age I wasn’t quite so vigilant but I only once knowingly let him eat a piece of old toast he found under the couch.
But poor old Number Four Noey…. I let him chow down on all kinds of things without even flinching. If he’s not going to choke on it or get some terrible disease it’s fair game. If it’s keeping him happy and entertained and not off wrecking one of Muski’s duplo constructions then I all but encourage him to have a little taste of a book or the leg of a chair here or there.
The other day I plonked him down at my feet while I hung out the washing. A few moments later I wondered why he hadn’t crawled away yet and looked down to see him lunching on a handful of grass. I thought about taking the grass out of his mouth and trying to wrench the second course out of his slobbery little fist, but then I figured ‘what the heck’. He was happy. I got to hang out the washing. Surely a mouthful of grass here and there is ok. I mean, cows eat it, and they are ok.
So that’s my burning question…
Do you let your baby eat stuff?
Do you think a handful of grass is going to do any harm?
Where do you draw the line on what is and isn’t ok to gum?
Goodness yes! And I was one of those awful mothers who, when the dummy hit the deck, stuck it in my mouth to clean off the dirt before shoving back to baby.
Never did them any harm.
(that I could tell)
Now they are healthy, allergy free teenagers.
Oh actually they are allergic to cats (like their dad) but I put that down to not being exposed to cats – we didn’t have one because their dad is allergic.