A Penny for Your Poop

Keely, who just turned two, was still walking around with a pacifier dangling from her lips, as of three days ago. She reminded me of an plump old fellow who would talk with a cigar in his mouth as if it were an actual part of his body. The pacifier rarely left her mouth and on the occasion that it did I would try to hide it only to have her crying for it a short time later. I am well aware of the pacifier recommendation of stopping by the age of 3 months but I never enforced it with my others and they turned out fine. When Ryleigh sucked one we always made her remove it while speaking as to not need speech therapy later in life like her paci-speaking older brother. I'm not sure if the pacifier is the culprit of Jace's struggle to keep his tongue in his mouth while trying to pronounce certain words, but I wasn't going to take chances. How quickly we forget though! Keely kept it in her mouth while speaking and only when I would remember or need clarification of a word would I ask for her to remove it. Now, Keely speaks like Sloth from the Goonies, I don't think the paci is to blame but rather I think her deep whining grunt-like communication is a phase. The pacifier was her best friend, her comfort; sleep was not easily found without it and with her companion in her mouth she was the best sleeper of all of my children. The pacifier was her playmate acting as her chew toy. Many a paci found it's way into the trash because of holes she had chewed in them. The holes would collect food particles because Keely liked to put food in her mouth top it off with a paci and chew it all together. When a hole was discovered I would confiscate and replace. Well, I have finally run out of replacements! The first night without her dear friend was not fun. I contemplated running to the store and purchasing another one but Brian stood firm. Eventually she fell asleep, but it has not been an easy few days. She misses her paci-buddy terribly. Off and on throughout the day she tears up and I have to hold her for a while until she calms. Numerous occasions I've had to remove her from the trash can, as she searches for her lost chum and eats a couple of scraps she has found. Now her oral emptiness has led her to find surrogate comfort. Normally it's her hand, fingers up to her knuckles or her fist, occasionally I ask her not to chew toys or animal food. Today however, when I went to change her diaper I laid her back on the couch and she started coughing and choking, I sat her up ready to Heimlich her when she swallowed. I asked her what was in her mouth and she replied in her Sloth voice, "there", pointing at a pile of pennies in Brynna's purse. Thanking the Lord that it went down and didn't choke her, the older kids were almost in tears with concern. I assured them it would be okay, and told them that I've heard stories that it just comes out in the poop. Well you might have thought I told them we had won the lottery. The questions of how, the excitement of when! I'm a little anxious over this situation. Not my children's fascination with fecal matter, but over Keely's desire to replace her beloved paci. You can only child proof a house so much and I later found her with a die, from one of the kid's games, in her mouth. I guess all I can do is pick up as much as I can, solicit the older children for help, say a prayer that whatever she ingests goes down okay and see what treasures await me in tomorrow's poop.