He Ate WHAT??!!

This afternoon I had a conversation I never imagined myself having. It went a little something like this...

Me: Hello?

Dr O.: Hi! This is Dr. O calling back. I got your message. Ben ate a what?!

Me: (in my totally mortified, I am a horrible parent voice) Um...he ate a Christmas light.

Dr.O.: You mean he pulled it out and swallowed it?

Me: Um, no. (that would not be Ben's style) He grabbed the strand and chomped it right off of it's socket.

Dr. O.: (in disbelief) Ok, what was it made of?

Me: Glass.

Dr. O.: Do you think it is in one piece?

Me: No, he chewed it up. That was how I caught him. I heard the crunching!

Dr. O.: Okay, well it is likely nothing to worry about but I want you to take him to the ER to be safe to get an X-ray and see what is going on. Take the lights with you so they know what to look for.

Me: Okay, thanks!

Yes folks, you read that right, my incredibly brilliant 2 year old child ate a Christmas light this afternoon, curtailing any plans we may have had to prepare for Howard's birthday tomorrow and Christmas that is just around the bend. Life is never dull a day in the Bolte household, especially not since Ben came along...that kid is going to be the cause of every gray hair on my head.

That phone call was followed by brushing and swishing glass out of his teeth (seriously who eats glass? AND did I mention there was not a cut in his little mouth?) two hours in the ER. Re explaining the story to a triage nurse, another nurse, a doctor and a radiologist. I felt like possibly the worst parent in the whole world, but come on, who thinks their kid is going to eat a light right off the strand!?

Those who know me, know I would make my kids wear a helmet 24/7 if Howard would allow, I am big on child safety and have childproofed my home (or so I thought!) I was mindful when decorating for the season of the fact that there is a two year old in our home. No one EVER warned me about a child eating a light right off the tree! Poinsettias, yes! Glass ornaments, YES! Hooks, Yes! It never occurred to me that he might think a light looked tasty and sneak a taste right from the tree!

I will say that I am so thankful for the triage nurse who did NOT look at us like we were nuts and just said "oh my son ate a couple last week". To which Ben said, "I ate RED!" and without missing a beat she said, "my son ate blue!". Even if she was lying to make us feel better...it worked! (although in reality, have other kids REALLY eaten Christmas lights?)

All of that said, despite the slivers of glass working their way through his digestive tract, he is expected to make a full recovery. We have to feed him lots of fiber, and "binding" foods?! I have cut the said light socket with the shards of glass he missed sticking out of it, out of the strand to tape into his baby book so he can remember what a "bright" kid he was! He gives a whole new meaning to "Let Your Light Shine" which is appropriately a verse displayed on the wall of our home! Maybe I should hang the broken light there!