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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Baby ate a bluebell!

29 replies

Kittypillar · 29/04/2019 13:10

Hello, neurotic mum of PFB here...

We visited a bluebell wood near us to take some photos to mark the fact our DD is nearly 1. Photographer sat her down amongst the bluebells to take some photos. Quick as a flash, she grabs a bluebell and it goes right in her mouth. I run over to pull it out but I'm not convinced I got all of it in time...

I did dreaded Dr Google which says bluebells are poisonous, so I'm now bricking it just a weeny bit. DH thinks I'm being ridiculous, that I probably got it all and she's fine.

I probably am being ridiculous (and have had issues with anxiety since I've had her so this isn't exactly unlike me), but just want to make sure I shouldn't be taking her to the doctor? She does seem absolutely fine at the moment. Not even sure how many bluebells you'd need to eat to have any effects anyway?! Annoyed at myself for not stopping her more quickly...

Next year when I want a birthday photo, I'll take one of her amongst some cotton wool instead. Urgh, hate being such a fun sponge mother Sad

OP posts:
PlainSpeakingStraightTalking · 29/04/2019 13:12

Whats is your aibu ?

Ciwirocks · 29/04/2019 13:12

She will be fine op, and will likely eat worse things than a bluebell in the next few years. Honestly don’t worry Smile

Original poster
Kittypillar · 29/04/2019 13:14

Whats is your aibu ?

AIBU to be worried perhaps....?

OP posts:
Atalune · 29/04/2019 13:15

Well you know you’re BU and overly worrying

Baby will be fine. Perhaps you should consider speaking to your GP about your anxiety... that’s no way to live Flowers

Yalltroll · 29/04/2019 13:18

What an unhelpful first response to a worried mother!

YANBU to worry, but she’s most likely to be absolutely fine. It sounds as if you got there in time, and that she’d have to eat more than a tiny amount to cause any problems. If she’s not had an upset stomach, she probably didn’t swallow any.

However if you’re really worried (because PFB and we do worry!), you could ask a pharmacist first, and if they think you need a doctor, you could then make an appointment?

As the PP says, she’ll probably put worse in her mouth in months to come.

NoWittyNamesAvailable · 29/04/2019 13:18

My friends 1 year old at a bluebell the other day. She ended up vomiting quite a lot through the night and next day, but was absoloutely fine

Atalune · 29/04/2019 13:19

You’d have to eat a huge amount for it to cause any harmful effects.

However there is nothing wrong with monitoring for sickness or diarrhoea.

Original poster
Kittypillar · 29/04/2019 13:19

Thank you, that's a good to hear.

Already on waiting list for some CBT after a discussion with my doctor. I feel like I've missed out on a lot of happiness of DD's first year by being like this. Constantly worried about everything. It's pretty crummy Sad

OP posts:
Divgirl2 · 29/04/2019 13:22

Bluebells are poisonous but not particularly likely to cause real harm (assuming she didn't hoover up the whole field).

Watch out for sickness and diarrhea, obviously if anything scary happens go to A&E. It's more likely than not that she'll be absolutely fine.

Atalune · 29/04/2019 13:23

kitty. You haven’t missed out- you’ve been there and you’ve been a good mum. The anxiety probably causes you a lot of worry but I think it also makes you a very responsive, loving and empathetic person. It’s a double edged sword!

I take the over the counter Kalms now and again when I feel anxious. But that’s not the same as post natal anxiety which sounds like you’re getting to grips with through the CBT.

Also the Headspace app is good. Just as a morning routine/reset. It helps me practice self care. And I try and be a bit more forgiving.

Hang in there. Flowers

lau888 · 29/04/2019 13:23

I've done a quick google too... both animals and humans can get stomach upsets from ingestion due to the toxicity of bluebells. However, if she had eaten enough to be ill, she'd have D&V. If she'd eaten a lot of bluebells, she'd be ill enough that you'd have already called the ambulance because her pulse would have dropped. Logically, if she appears to be well in herself - eating and babbling normally - I think you managed to snag most of the bluebell before she ate it.

It is not unreasonable to be anxious about your first baby eating all the things. However, that's pretty much what babies do. If you go on to have a second child (or babysit a younger niece, nephew or cousin), the anxiety level will be much lower in the future... after you've witnessed how many random things your first baby put in their mouth. Honestly, whatever doesn't get digested does tend to come out the other end. x

freshasthebrightbluesky · 29/04/2019 13:28

Yanbu to worry op, I was terrified when my dc ate a daisy and I'd read that they were poisonous.

I'm going to be that massive dick though and say yabu for going onto the bluebell patch for your photos. They're very fragile and easily damaged and if you crush the leaves, the plant can't photosynthesise and so it dies. It can take years for the damaged area of bluebells to recover and it's because of people trampling on them and picking them, which is illegal btw, that we end up with small patches of bluebells rather than the beautiful carpets of them covering the woodland floor that we see in the pictures.

BluntAndToThePoint · 29/04/2019 13:28

Bluebells can be dangerous - they can cause vomiting, diarrhoea and can lower your blood pressure. Keep an eye on her and see how it goes. If she appears to be in any discomfort then get her seen by a doctor.

Flobalob · 29/04/2019 13:29

YANBU to be worried.

My second baby managed to get to a tub of Sudocrem and tucked in while I was in the loo. He was covered by the time I got to him. That sent me into a panic and he wasn't my PFB.

It was the first time he'd moved and the Sudocrem was in the changing bag. They're quick little blighters when they want to be!

Heyha · 29/04/2019 13:35

Completely missing point of thread as you've been well answered on the toxicity thing...but it's a common misapprehension that picking bluebells is illegal. It's illegal to dig up the bulbs and it's also illegal for landowners to sell them but it's a myth about picking the flowers. Not advisable necessarily but try telling the ones that my sheep share a space with that they are destroyed by trampling, they grow like weeds and that's with the sheep nibbling at them!

Original poster
Kittypillar · 29/04/2019 13:36

I'm going to be that massive dick though and say yabu for going onto the bluebell patch for your photos. Not being a massive dick at all! We stuck to the pathway there through the wood, we didn't just plonk her down in the bluebells themselves. She just was able to reach over and grab one of them unfortunately.

OP posts:
Heyha · 29/04/2019 13:37

Although of course of you're picking any flowers you should have the permission of the landowner first.

Original poster
Kittypillar · 29/04/2019 13:37

You haven’t missed out- you’ve been there and you’ve been a good mum. The anxiety probably causes you a lot of worry but I think it also makes you a very responsive, loving and empathetic person. It’s a double edged sword! Thank you @Atalune, that's really kind. I've been beating myself up about it a lot so I appreciate it. Flowers

OP posts:
PlainSpeakingStraightTalking · 29/04/2019 13:38

In the time you typed all that out, you could have googled 'are blue bells poisonous', and got the answer (large quantities might be) .

Yes >>>. DH thinks I'm being ridiculous

www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/visiting-woods/trees-woods-and-wildlife/plants-and-fungi/woodland-wildflowers/bluebell/

www.thepoisongarden.co.uk/atoz/hyacinthoides_nonscripta.htm

There are no cases, ever of anyone every dying of blubells.

Original poster
Kittypillar · 29/04/2019 13:39

Sorry, realised I should have clarified that - when I said amongst the bluebells, I didn't mean just in the middle of them. There were little pathways through there which we sat her on. Apologies for the confusion, just typing in a hurry and not being clear!

OP posts:
runoutofnamechanges · 29/04/2019 13:40

Don't panic - I doubt your DD ate enough for it to have any effect.

However, as PP have said, all parts of the bluebell are poisonous. I would strongly advise you to call your GP who can check on Toxbase for treatment/how much your DD would have needed to ingest for it to make her ill. Obviously if your DD has any symptoms (eg diarrhoea, vomiting, change in temperature or urination, pain, flushing), you should go straight to A&E. If you can, it's always best to take the entire plant with you for identification purposes.

Really DON"T STRESS, I am just suggesting this as a sensible precaution - I am not a medic, I am a plant scientist.

EmeraldShamrock · 29/04/2019 13:45

Well I never knew blue bells were poisonous. Every day is a school day on MN.
I'm sure she will be fine, give the GP a call. Have a look at YouTube for some CBT methods.

FrenchBoule · 29/04/2019 13:51

OP, hope your DC will be fine. Please watch out for very common plants that are EXTREMELY poisonous- laburnum, foxgloves, lily of the valley

Basecamp65 · 29/04/2019 13:53

Just for future interest - my grandson once ate a lily which can of course be poisonous but the severity depends on the variety of Lily.

We phoned A&E and they needed a photo of the flower - not sure what you do if they have ate the only one but anyway - emailed over which they then sent to the National Poisons Centre who were able to immediately identify it as only moderately poisonous and just to keep an eye on the child for 24hrs.

Victormeldrew1 · 29/04/2019 13:55

If bluebells are poisonous I suspect she would probably have to eat alot more than 1 for it to have any affect on her

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