Thursday, July 28, 2005

EVERYBODY POOPS

This is what I've been reduced to: the highlights of my last week with L revolve around poo.

It began with this weekend where L decided to go on a shit-strike by withholding for 3-4 days straight. She's skipped a day before but by the 4th day, Sam and I were both a little worried, especially since it seemed that L was having trouble napping out of discomfort. We couldn't figure out what was going on either - sure, L had started some solid food but it was mostly mashed peas and basic oatmeal. It wasn't like she was putting away a plate of steak and potatoes.

We were ready to call the doctor's office the next day but that evening, L finally dropped a load - though a rather modest one, all things considered for four days. She had another normal poo the next morning and everything seemed fine.

Until today where little L-Boogs practically destroyed not one, but two entire outfits. It wasn't a T.A.E. but the sheer volume of shit was mind-boggling, especially the second one. They completely blitzkrieged the diapers she had on, the first a cloth, the second a disposable, and alas, ran right up her backside. I had to throw out a onesie (one of my favorite too!) because it was stained so bad, even the evening wash couldn't salvage it. (Not to get all gross with ya'll - though we're way past that now - but I wonder if the high fat content of breastfed baby poo has to do with its remarkable staining power?)

Just to make things worse, L has now gotten into the habit of touching herself "down there" when she's naked and while I have no qualms with her discovering her body, her fingers will go straight to her bum and then to her mouth so I had to be very careful to make sure she wasn't touching herself before I had a chance to properly wipe everything down. Throughout the whole process, I was laughing up a storm even though no one, besides Ella, was around to ask what my chortling was about.

And who says being a SAHD is boring?

Posted by P.L. at 12:57 PM

6 Comments

  1. Blogger Dollymama posted at 8:46 PM, July 29, 2005  
    For future ref, I know a little massage trick that helps with the poop situation. Ready?

    OK. Imagine your daughter's belly button being the center of a clock that is a little smaller than the size of your palm. If she's stopped up and needing to poop, you can just gently trace your fingers around the clock area, clockwise. No pressure needed at all. It's called a "nerve stroke." Just lightly go round and round for a little while intermittently through the day until you get results.

    If diarrhea is the problem, do the same thing except counter-clockwise.

    Works on big people, too! Although their issues are often more complex than that of a baby.

    Hope this helps! It has helped me quite a lot with my kiddos.
  2. Blogger Stefania Pomponi Butler aka CityMama posted at 12:25 AM, August 02, 2005  
    Hey Poppa! I am so glad you are back to blogging! I love your recent posts and highlighted your SAHD post on bloggingbaby.com. It will hit around midday tomorrow, 8/2. Keep on writing!
  3. Blogger Jennifer posted at 9:10 AM, August 04, 2005  
    I could talk poop all day.
    m,any time I have...
  4. Anonymous Anonymous posted at 6:41 PM, August 04, 2005  
    it's the oatmeal! does it to this family every time.
  5. Anonymous Anonymous posted at 11:57 AM, August 10, 2005  
    Oh yeah. Been there. My sympathies.

    Have you tried Baby Oxyclean and sunlight? It's rescued some pretty impressively pooped-upon garments for us.
  6. Anonymous Anonymous posted at 11:25 PM, August 17, 2005  
    Interesting... my three-year-old is just coming to the end of potty-training. He's got #1 down pat, but after two weeks, he still hasn't had any success with #2. He seems to get a bit apprehensive about the whole thing, which has led to some "blockage issues." On the one hand, it's nice when he goes a day without crapping, because that means you get to go a day without putting on your hazmat suit and cleaning everything up. But on the other hand, each crap-free day means that the bomb is just getting bigger and bigger. Today, for instance, he took his first crap in 72 hours -- right in his pants. It resembled the Rock of Gibraltar...

    I look forward to a time when my day won't revolve around the bowels of a three-year-old boy.

Post a Comment

« Home