Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Kind of a Shitty Day

Michaela: 1 small accident
Maeve: 3 craps in her pants
Alasdair: 5

The day itself wasn't all that shitty. A little hectic here and there, but good lord! How much poop can one woman tolerate in 12 hours?? I've just totally had it with Maeve and her panty pooping. I have found her "place" though. She goes into the closet in her room and does it there. But this evening she did it at the library. So I wouldn't let her check out any books, I made her ride home (much to the dismay of my other kids) with her pants full, and then I made her go straight to bed an hour early after I cleaned her up. Honestly, I just don't know how to nip this one in the bud. She is supposed to be completely potty trained by the end of August so that she can go to preschool, but I just don't see that happening. Plus, I am just the kind of person who can't deal with this type of stubborn behavior. It's illogical and it drives me crazy. I know, I know. Why do I have three kids if i can't stand illogical people? I DON'T KNOW.

And Alasdair has been having a lot of movements too. So far the weepy rash hasn't come back, but it is red. So I've been slathering him in Desitin and keeping him comfortable at least.

One more day to go, and then it's my sitter's turn to change poopie diapers for a while. Hallelujah!!

Monday, June 29, 2009

Debonair Doodie

Michaela: no accidents lately
Maeve: simply will NOT use the toilet for #2
Alasdair: lots of summer fruit = excess poops and diaper rash :(

I actually had to pull out the Ilex cream. We haven't had to do that in quite a while for Doodie. But he was just eating SO much fruit that his little bum couldn't take it. In just a few hours we went from sort of red to total skin breakdown. But the Ilex finally took care of it. Honestly, if anyone has a kid with Hirschsprung's and you haven't found Ilex yet, take my word for it. Use it. It's worth every penny you spend on it to make your kid's butt feel better. And I'm pretty sure unless your kid has HD you don't really know what a diaper rash is. :)

Anyway, we're still struggling with Maeve to get her to use the toilet for pooping in. She told me the other day that she was scared she would get flushed down, which is a load of crap, no pun intended. She pees without fail all the time on the toilet. So I decided to get down and dirty with her like I did with Michaela (see previous post). So far I've thrown out her Barbies, her Polly Pockets, and two of her favorite nighttime buddies. I've also made her stop playing with Michaela and the neighbor girl next door (which was a huge screaming fit) and I've made her go to bed early twice. I really don't want to have to get mean and take away her Elmo or her kickit (her favorite handmade baby blanket), but I might have to. Nothing seems to phase her long enough to get her to want it back. Ugh.

Here's a nice photo to end the day. My Dapper Doodie:



Sunday, June 21, 2009

Happy Father's Day!!

Michaela: no accidents
Maeve: 1 HUUUUUGE crap in her panties
Alasdair: 3, plus a rash that's getting out of hand

So, I put Maeve in a diaper today. She actually said I should, and I was so angry at the huge dumper she took in her pants today that I actually did make her nap in a diaper. After she woke up I put her back in some underwear, but I told her that I was going to start "throwing away" her toys tomorrow every time she poops in her pants. It sounds extreme and nasty, but you know what? it worked for Michaela and she was younger than Maeve is now. It's turned into a power struggle. It's not about learning to use the toilet and learning about the feeling when you have to go. She knows damn well when she's got to go because she leaves the room, goes somewhere quiet and comes back poopy. When I did this with Michaela it took 1 weekend. Day 1 I put all her movies in a garbage sack and "threw them away" by putting them out of sight in our spare room. Day 2 I put all her books in a sack and did the same thing. Day 3 it was all her baby dolls. Day 4, did not poop in her pants again, unless it was a real honest to goodness accident. So, i'm gonna get tough with Maeve and see how it goes.

And Doodie has been eating too much fresh fruit I think. Now, any good parent might say, "HA! No such thing!" However, these would not be the parents of a child with Hirschsprung's Disease. His diapers are gross and just smell like recycled fruit, but they are also giving him The Rash. I went straight to the Ilex cream, it was that bad. But even the Ilex didn't do anything the first two times I put it on. Wha?? So, tomorrow I'm going to have to double up on the diaper changes and see if we can get the rash under control before it gets to the bleeding stage. Poor baby!!

Sunday, June 14, 2009

My Cutie Patootie Doodie

Michaela: skids
Maeve: still won't poop in the toilet
Alasdair: normal as ever!

We think that Maeve is constipated because she doesn't want to poo on the potty yet, so she holds it until she can't anymore and then it starts to hurt. We're gonna sneak some Miralax into her drinks and see if that helps her go more often. I'm still not sure how to get her to go on the potty, but going is better than not going, regardless of where she does it. It makes me nervous though. Michaela was also very regular until she was potty training. Then she got constipated because she didn't want to go on the potty and she's pretty much been plugged up ever since. So I'm hoping to avoid any long-term issues with Maeve.

On a cuter note, Doodie got lots of attention from strangers today. This morning we went to the See Kai Run warehouse sale to get him some new shoes. He was wearing his current pair and was strapped into the stroller with his SKR balloon tied to it. When we got to the register they commented on his shoes and asked if they could take his picture, so I said yes. Then later in the day we hit Sorticulture up here at Legion Park. It's like a Garden Art fair. The kids got restless after like 2 minutes, so I gave them their "Yan-yan" snack. It took about 30.6 seconds for Doodie to be covered in chocolate, but enjoying himself thoroughly. We had one couple start giggling at him because he was adorable, then a few minutes later these 3 ladies caught sight of him and asked if they could take his picture. :) I love it when strangers think my kids are cute.


**Updated to add some photos of the two youngest in all their chocolate glory:






Monday, June 8, 2009

I actually DID survive the husband's Leave of Absence

Michaela: smears and streaks, and she peed her pants
Maeve: every day she poops in her pannies
Alasdair: healthy as a Hirschsprung's Horse!

So, yeah, I didn't exactly finish my posts the week my husband was out of town, but I did survive. It was a strenuous and busy week though.

Lately we've been trying to figure out the enigma that is Michaela. We (I) took her to her doctor and we discussed her behavior. I found the whole appointment less than helpful. He basically just wrote her a prescription for Adderall and sent me on my way. We decided to hold off on it for right now. We're going to try some things at home this summer to get her to be able to concentrate more and follow through with things. Then, when school starts back up i'll speak with her new teacher, get weekly updates from her for 4-6 weeks, and then we'll see where things are at. We may want to try the medication then. It's a really hard step for me to take, partially because I feel like a bad parent and that her inability to focus and follow directions is my fault. I can't distinguish between this being HER problem or MY problem. Ugh.

But school is out in a day and a half and i'm ramping up a "schedule" for all 3 kids so that they aren't just running around like wild monkeys all day long for 2 1/2 months. And the weather has been unseasonably nice for Seattle and we've been taking full advantage of that. Maeve continues to crap in her pants with no resolution to that problem in sight. I'm not sure she'll actually be going to preschool in the fall because she's got to be able to go. I should probably have more faith in the girl, but I don't. She's too stubborn for her own good. :)

Alasdair is blooming in the language department. His few words up until now have really only been the first half of the word, with a few exceptions. But he's almost finishing some of the words now and picking up on some bigger ones. I also noticed that he copied Maeve's words in the car today. Maybe this summer he'll take some huge strides in that area.

And some other good news: Maeve learned how to pedal on her "big girl bike" and Michaela can now ride her bike without training wheels! Yay!