My baby just put a dead shrew in her mouth

[BaylisAndHardon]

Posting in AIBU for traffic, and to ask for a hand hold while I get over this horror.

We live in an old victorian house (with many mouse holes) in the country and have a cat to manage the rodent populus, but he also sometimes brings things in . I always check the floor of the snug for anything and disinfect/scrub if he has before putting her down to play.

But this time he put it under a toy in her play pen and I didn't see it and she picked it up and put it in her mouth before I could lauch myself at her to get it out. I am horrified.

Messages of support please. Also accounts of children who have survived to adulthood after putting disgusting things in their mouths. Tell me your worst. I need to hear it.

Twice I've awoken to my precious toddler chomping through a gargantuan turd he's done which has come out of his nappy in his cot.

Upped the nappy size and went back to sleeping bags to contain any accidents. He still had room for breakfast.

reader I did not eat it

Dying at this

I turned round the other day to find my grand daughter licking the floor in Tesco.

I ate a woodlouse aged about 9?
I thought it was one of those cola ball sweets, having dropped a bag of same.
It unrolled, and I was so shocked I swallowed it.
I'm still here to tell the tale.

I used to volunteer at a donkey rescue home and we had a visiting toddler who picked up a fresh donkey dropping (they are about the size of quite a large pebble) and munch half of it before it's mother could get to it! They weren't fed any supplementary food so it was just recycled grass really!

I saw the child around a lot, it was fine!

My DD used to love snails and carried them around, made hotels for them etc. One day one pooed on her hand. So she thoughtfully ate the poo. She said it tasted sandy

One of my twin boys, at age around 3 or 4 came walking in from the garden holding a MASSIVE dead rat!

Does the cat think the child in the cage* was undernourished and was feeding her up? Carefully leaving the food hidden in her playpen so you wouldn’t find it and take it off the poor starving baby!

I wonder what other nuggets he’s brought in to feed her on when you haven’t been looking?!

*i don’t think playpens are cruel or cages, I used one myself. Just imagining the cat’s thoughts. Maybe he thinks she is his new pet?

We live in the countryside too

Your little one will be fine, my girl has eaten worms, rabbit poo, wood pigeon feathers, flies, compost, Chewed on stones, stuck sheep fleece in her mouth, and those are just the things I know about 😂

Toddlers are gross, but their immune systems have to develop somehow right?

DS once ate his own pooh. DH picked him up and kept saying for hours afterwards "ew, his breath smells of shite".

Friends of ours had a toddler who sucked the "ball things" out of a urinal (I have no idea what they are - apparently something to keep down the smell but either way....bleurgh)

DH was "watching" a friend's daughter once while we made tea, we came out and the daughter had half a slug in her hand...no guesses where the other half was.

She'll be fine OP - but YANBU to feeling mildly nauseous.

My friends son once licked a town centre lamppost.. on the Main Street used for drinking- it was grotty. He then proceeded to throw himself on the floor and become a dead weight because I wouldn't let him do that again! he is 15 now, doesn't seem to have don't much lasting damage 🤣

My 11 year old eats paper and has recently munched his way through a blanket.

he does this now I mean. He's fine. (He has special needs in case that was not immediately obvious )

It's not a parenting technique I ever thought I'd have to employ; 'DS!!! Stop eating Harry Potter!!'

My son ate a dead fly. I was distraught but he seemed to find it quite tasty. He's 16 now.

Been there, done that... well maybe not in the mouth, but I have a very autistic DS and even at his age, if he finds a cat kill in the garden, he'll pick it up and wave it around.

I'm sure the risk is very low, but we have to worm our cat because he's such a bastard rodent killer. Worms that live in the guts of all the little voles and shrews he goes for... I think it's massively unlikely but might be a good idea to watch out for signs ...

I sucked on a slug in the garden when I was a baby. If you knew how squeamish my mum was (and still is), you’d get the full understanding of how horrified she was (and still is). No harm done.

My son when he was about 18 months was playing in the garden and came over to me with his mouth full and his teeth making a weird rattling noise, he had a snail in his mouth. The tantrum when I removed it from his mouth and threw it away was epic ! Sure she'll be fine!

Our toddler lovedto find snails in the garden- one for the chickens and one to crunch himself. As a baby I fed him lovely organic food. He then found some pre chewed gum on the train and ate it. He loved it so much he would look under the table every time we got on a train. He is a fit and healthy adult 😁

My two year old licks mirrors in public toilets, drinks pooey water from duck ponds and munches sand at the beach (I do try to stop her!) So far she seems to have a much stronger immune system than her more fastidious big sister, so hopefully your DC will get extra immunity from this!

Fabulous thread. Sorry to be so enjoying your predicament OP whilst at the same time sympathising. What with the urinal cakes and all I think you got off lightly with the shrew. It’s particularly wonderful that you are indeed a doctor. I imagine taking DDs into our GP and explaining the shrew situation and her doing the old cats bum face! You’re taking it really well.

My DH ate dog shit once as a child. Almost 30 years later he's fine but still quite indignant that his Mum wormed him when she found out. 😂

Our 2 year old DS has also carefully picked a bird shit off a fence post and eaten it, and also rolled in a revolting, muddy, smelly puddle, then licked the filthy water off his bobble hat before I could stop him. He was fine both times.

I'd keep a slightly closer eye for the next day or so, but I'm sure your little one will be fine and it'll be something you can laugh about one day!

eww - all these stories - gross but I hope you don't mind if I giggle.

My

I was often found munching coal. I found my daughter licking out the cats bowl.

Crawling 8m old DD, I had to prise out of her mouth that she scavenged from the ground in a playground.

She wasn't ill & got good A-levels :).

I've fished bird poo out of DS's mouth on more than 1 occasion. He seems to still be functioning.

I've just remembered that I used to spend the day at the riding stables mucking out, grooming and generally being filthy, then when I got home I would clean out the black groot under my nails with my teeth and eat it. I did that every week for about 10 years - maybe that's why I didn't grow very tall?