Blue bead in baby’s nappy

[Greendino90]

Hi all,

My 11 month son has just come home from nursery and whilst changing his nappy following a BM I saw a blue bead in his nappy. He’s notorious for putting things into his mouth, as are all babies. I don’t recognise the bead so assume he hasn’t had hold of it at home hence why I think it’s likely he swallowed it at nursery (he hasn’t been anywhere else in the last few days). My eldest child also went to this nursery (he’s now at school) and I’ve never had any concerns, they’re great.

I’m just looking for some thoughts on a couple of points -

• should I raise this with the nursery? I don’t want to come across as accusatory because I don’t definitively know that it did definitely happen there but I’m wondering whether they need to check that there aren’t any others accessible to any other children

• he seems to have passed the bead without any difficulty (I was with him when he did the BM) but do I need to seek medical advice in case it isn’t the only one he’s swallowed? I’m assuming if he has swallowed any others they would pass as easily but now I’m worried about the possibility of an obstruction. Rationally I think this is very unlikely but it’s hard to remain rational when it comes to your baby..

Any thoughts would be appreciated, thank you

Had it definitely been through him? Was it just a solitary bead? Or was it 'buried'?

Origin of bead? Are there more?

@neverknowinglyunreasonable hi, yes it was buried and just a solitary bead

I've seen beads, small coins, and chewed up crayons of many colours in the DCs' "offerings". The crayons speckles were like unicorn poop.

It never occurred to me to call the doctor about any of it.

I'd have been worried about small batteries or little magnets.

I wouldn't worry about an obstruction. If he shat out one with no bother, he'll shit out any others too. Children swallow stuff like that all the time and unless it's something potentially corrosive like a battery, the advice is invariably just 'Wait for it to come out of the other end'.

My guess is that it's something your older child found at school/playgroup/childminder's/somewhere else and put in their pocket at some point, and then dropped at home.

Or it might have fallen out of a parent's pocket or bag at nursery pick-up/drop-off without them realising, rather than something they actually keep at nursery.

I think it would be fine to mention it to them, but to do it in a really non-accusatory and light-hearted way - "I know this is weird, but I'm hoping you can help me solve a mystery! Do you keep beads here by any chance? It's just that this randomly appeared in DS's poo last night so he must have swallowed it, but we don't recognise it and we just can't think where it could have come from!"

Some babies use nappies like pockets. He's probably just put it there for later.

I’d only worry if it was magnetic or a small battery.

Dd once swallowed a marble whilst she was sat on my lap!! By the time I’d got my fingers to her hand she’d stuck it in her mouth and it was gone. Parenting fail of the year right there.

Drs said it would pass through and to come in if she seemed in pain. I sifted through poo for 2 days before it reappeared.

I really wouldn't worry about this at all.

Thanks so much for all the reassuring advice

Soooo many of our Playmobil accessories were shat out over the years. Blue Playdoh was the worst one, it didn't merge with the other poo at all and came through in a lump.

Sometimes the absorbent material in nappies is blue. When wet it forms blue balls/beads. Which can escape from the tiniest tears. Just a thought , I remember what it was like to stress out about everything x

Bead as in threading bead for jewelry? Or water bead?

@Strictlymad definitely not a water bead thankfully

Now you know blue is possibly his favourite colour.

If you mention it to them please don’t make it a big deal, because it really isn’t.

If you are concerned that your child may have swallowed something at daycare, discuss this with the nursery management. This does not necessarily mean blaming, but rather working together to ensure the safety of all children. As for medical care, unless you have reason to worry, it is best to monitor the child's condition.

When my baby swallowed something weird, the clinician from 111 told me that as long as it's less than a centimetre wide and it's not sharp, they're not concerned and it will just pass through.

In his case it was a googly eye from a craft kit his older brother was doing. That was one very weird nappy.

I'd maybe mention it to nursery but agree it's not a huge deal.