AIBU to call 111 about my baby DD again?

[filou87]

My daughter is nearly 5 months old. A short while ago I washed her hands using a natural hand wash and cold water. I put the soap on her hands and rinsed with cold water while I held her hand, but she put her fingers in her mouth while it still had soap suds on it. I read the ingredients, it actually contains two essential oils, verbena fruit oil and lemon oil. She is her usual self but I am worried. I washed her hands because my dad held her hand and he is a smoker.

I want to call 111 to check for peace of mind. However I am discouraged from doing so because I have found them twice in the last two weeks and they said that if I called again it would flag me up to Social Services. I am a teacher so well aware that they have a duty of care to my daughter but she is extremely well looked after and loved.

Am I being over cautious or should I call 111? So as not to drip feed, I do have PTSD from her very traumatic birth and she was in SCBU. I also have some health anxiety (this began in pregnancy) about my daughter's safety. I don't want to get a visit from SS!

The other times I called 111 were:

1. I gave my daughter a brand new toilet roll to play with while she sat in her bouncer chair. I was cleaning my teeth but watching her. It was only after I took the toilet roll away that I realised she had sucked on it and some had come off. 111 said it was not a not an issue.

1. DD was in her about the chair again while I was cleaning my teeth, this time I gave her a baby board book and when I removed it she had sucked to the corner and a bit of the shiny paper had come off. I was watching her and so she had the book by her mouth but I didnt realise she could actually do that with her gums. She's teething at the moment.

I spoke to my mum and she thinks I am over cautious and that the essential oil concentration will be very low.

Thanks if you read this far.

Bless you, it’s so hard when they are tiny even without everything that you’ve been through.
You are doing a good job filou

Regarding the not supervising your daughter comments from 111..... I think that they took your concerns seriously and were working on the basis she'd eaten a large amount of toilet paper, or a lot of a book because most people wouldn't call 111 for a 'normal amount' of random stuff that a baby eats. For a baby to eat a genuinely alarming amount of toilet paper, you'd really have to be leaving them unsupervised for a long period of time and that would be a concern. Particularly if you'd done it severest times and each time they'd eaten a lot of something inedible.

From the info we have from you, your baby had just taken in a normal amount of inedible things and you were disproportionately worried. 111 can't really make that decision though, they have to take you seriously and follow through the whole pathway of questions and actions.

(FWIW I wish there was a medical helpline you could call with non-urgent queries or concerns. I'd pay per minute for that, would be so reassuring! But yes, that's not what 111 is for, as you have now discovered)

You need to seek support for your anxiety before it starts impacting on your dd.

If its any reassuramce mine have eaten all sorts of disgustingly awful things and are fine. My 3 year old recently drank an entire bottle of roll on deodrant and picked one of the few that has alcohol in

Thanks, yes I see I was being overly concerned now.

Spotspot- I told 111 exactly how much she'd eaten, ie 1 inch worth. They had the full picture each time.

I honestly have no idea how my eldest managed to survive childhood. She is now a very tall, lanky 15 year old.

She used to try to eat anything she could get into her mouth and I got very fast at intercepting her. From memory she has eaten or tried leaves, mud, clay, a slug, tried a snail but decided they were too crunchy, dog biscuits, cat biscuits, wet cat food, crayons, licked felt tips, cat toys, licked a car air freshener which looked like a large sherbert lemon, bit into a soap that looked like a cup cake, toothpaste, frozen beefburger, sucked the cats feet - he wasn't impressed with her doing that, licked the chrome bumpers on my dads car, wasabi paste, grass, twigs. The only time I remember getting her checked out was when she decided to try to eat a whole pot of glitter, took her to the doctor as the pot did have large text saying DO NOT EAT THIS PRODUCT and she showed no ill effects from it except that she had glittery nappies for a while.

However she now will happily try new foods when we are out so I guess its had no effects on her.

Hugs OP, I know what you’re going through- I too had a traumatic birth and one of my twins spent a couple of weeks in nicu but the other was in for two months. He was diagnosed with a rare illness and my anxiety levels were through the roof. I never got help for it and I should have done. I think you should too. They’re now 20 months and he will eat anything that’s not nailed down - chewed a chunk out of his cot recently.

Hi filou
I can't imagine how horrendous the past has been for you with your baby in SCBU. I haven't had that particular horror but have had others.
Fwiw, I didn't think you were using 101 as a non emergency. Clearly you were worried and it seemed legitimate to you as it would have done to me. This is what a lot of people would done just by dint of being solely in charge of this miraculous and vulnerable creature.
Fwiw I think that you're doing just fine. beware posters projecting a lot of crap with the ott reactions to you. You certainly haven't abused the service. This is what it's for. You get plenty of 'nuisance' callers ringing emergency services and Op wasn't one of them.
Also beware of posters not rtft and chipping in regardless.
My 10 month old daughter are 1/4 of a saucer of wet cat food in the time it took me to turn around and turn off washing machine. Cat food was several metres away anf down a step into the lean to extension. And we were/are vegetarian. It was horrific but I can laugh now😁 . I dont think nhsdirect line was running at that time or I would have rung, I'm sure. Of course she was fine and is turning 18 in a couple of weeks. 😁
I mostly learnt and common sense kicked in but I've had my moments. I once rang nhsdirect about 8 years later when my son presented me with a purple bowel movement inbhus nappy. A few questions in and It was established he'd had had a nursery lunch heavy on the beetroot. The shame
D'S is 10 now and far too often forgets/doesn't bother flushing.
You're doing really well. If be far more of a wreck if I'd had a tenth of your suffering and I can only send out a virtual thumps up. You learn a lot more about the details of stuff being a parent I find and that in itself can be overwhelming.

5 to 12 months is my absolute favourite favouritest time. And you have the summer too which is nice. Make the most of the last time she'll sit on a picnic rug, (in the shade and supported and supervised natch for the new mnrs needing the bloody obvious pointed it out) guzzliing her hand and generally being adorable whilst you can still chill out.

Lordy avon's post was way more interesting than mine kudos for surviving.
I think I have effectively blocked out manyvmemories of DS licking every fucking window he could . Taxi windows, supermarket windows. etc. Window licking ffs.
He also used to pull down all the clothes on mannequins in shops though if I so much as reached for a pack of socks . Im sure your Dd won't turn out like him though . That's a whole nother thread . Sorry to derail.