Pica, pica
Last weekend I spent Saturday and Sunday babysitting my two baby brothers, Brennan (3 years old) and Logan (1 year old), to give my mom a break for Mother’s Day.
Of course the task was stressful. Taking care of two boys under 4, both of whom are very strong-willed, wiggly, and generally whiney young men, is not my idea of a rockin’ weekend, even though I love the little guys.
The weekend was even more stressful because of the long list of potentially harmful substances that Logan ate.
He started off the weekend by taking a sizable bite out of a candle. This I quickly forgave because, after all, candles do smell good (I’ve considered eating one myself once or twice, especially the ones that smell like cinnamon rolls), and he did spit some of it out, but as the weekend progressed I became more and more concerned.
Later in the day I took the boys out on the deck to get some fresh air, and Logan started sucking the mud off a very dirty rock.
The next morning while I was getting dressed after my shower, I caught Logan shoveling my lotion into his mouth by the handfuls, and actually swallowing.
The nice lady at the grocery store we made a stop at to buy some chocolate milk gave my brothers two stickers each, and on the way home, Logan ate both of them.
Every baby does this at least once. Brennan was caught eating bird poop at the age of 1. But the worrying thing is that Logan seems to enjoy it; if he gets the chance he eats the same thing over again.
There is actually a psychological disorder for this, called “pica.” The disorder occurs during early childhood and is characterized by the repeated eating of “dirt and other nonnutritive substances,” according to the WebMD’s Psychology Today Web site.
Hopefully Logan does not have this disorder. He probably doesn’t, since it also includes loss of weight and lack of development, and Logan is the chubbiest baby I have ever seen. Hey, maybe he’s just hungry.
— Bethany Hutchens