Mmmm, magnets

Things have changed a little bit around here lately since Morgan learned how to open doors and climb out of his crib. He learned the two things only a couple days apart. So now when he wakes up from his nap or after a nights rest he can climb out of his crib and open his bedroom door to come pounce on me in bed. Because I will still be in bed. Because I sleep as long as I can. Because I am always tired. For no reason. Anyway, this is the new morning routine.
Yesterday I was still lying in bed while Morgan was dancing cheerfully and noisily around the room while I stubbornly tried to ignore him in order to catch a few extra winks. (Futile, I know.) But then Morgan had to go and spoil it all by choking on a foreign object, which scared me enough to bring me fully awake. Nothing major though; he soon effectively swallowed whatever it was. Then I was curios. What WAS it? I searched the ground where he'd been playing for any clues. I saw a little magnet thing and then remembered that there had been a completely different magnet ball somewhere around, which I have sometimes had to remove from Morgans mouth. (Yes, I am fully aware that a good mother wouldn't have such objects on the floor, especially when the toddler already shows a propensity to put said objects in his mouth. No lectures please.) So, after a little more searching for the magnet ball, I determined that Morgan had swallowed it. Uh-oh.
Kids aren't supposed to swallow magnets. If Morgan swallowed another magnet a few hours later he would likely DIE. (The two magnets would try to stick together through all the organs and stuff or something, I'm not completely sure, but it's really bad.) So, would it also make sense then, that if he swallowed any other metal object, whether a magnet or not, it would have the same results? Well, I'm no expert so I can't say for sure, but let's just say that extra vigilance would be my credo until the magnet, uh, passed.
And boy was my extra vigilance needed! In fact, I could have used more of it. It was almost as if having a magnet inside him, Morgan turned into one. He was so attracted to little metalic objects! He found tiny screws, coins, cuff links, you name it, and immediately put them in his mouth! UGH! This kid was on a suicide mission. But he's still alive. But he hasn't passed the magnet yet.
Oh, at one point Morgan even found that other magnet, the one that alerted me to the missing magnet ball in the first place, and he picked it up and said, "Mine!" Needless to say it was immediately confiscated and hidden away.
Morgan has opened my eyes to all sorts of scary possibilities. Life seems so fragile when you have a little one. Not that I think he's going to die from his strange munchies, but it does make you more aware.