tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83970211247180433492023-11-16T06:22:29.753-08:00Motherhood is PoopOne mom's fight through the diapersjessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17006062434455968647noreply@blogger.comBlogger147125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8397021124718043349.post-22416763786693784172010-10-06T21:59:00.000-07:002010-10-06T22:07:12.591-07:00Diaper ExplosionIt's been one of those days today. Michaela had a headache last night that quickly turned into a migraine, which then lead to vomiting in the wee hours of the morning. I kept her home today since she would have just been too tired at school. I keep giving her laxative, but she's still smearing. We'll keep that going.<br /><br />Maeve has been just fine, crabby, but regular. She never has any accidents. She never has any smears. She's never constipated. I love it.<br /><br />Alasdair didn't have a bowel movement today, even though he's been on a laxative for the last 3 days or so. And the one little spot he did have was dark greenish. I'm going to keep an eye on that. Green = bad! Earlier today his diaper also exploded, so that was cool. It apparently happened up stairs in the kitchen, then he worked his way downstairs and Maeve laid down in some of the nasty gel on the floor. I found the trail with mounds dropped all over the place from the kitchen, through the living room, down the stairs, down the hallway and all over the carpet in the play room. Gross. Those things are damn near impossible to clean up. It's not as bad as washing one in the washing machine. I know from experience. Twice. Still a pain in the ass.<br /><br />Let's hope this laxative starts kicking in soon and clears out my two. Luckily it's "dad's" weekend so i get a break from the poop!jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17006062434455968647noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8397021124718043349.post-68288252381271026842010-10-04T21:42:00.000-07:002010-10-04T21:53:31.202-07:00Two On, One OffMichaela and Alasdair are both back on the senna laxative for now. And it seems to be working. Things are moving right along. With any luck it will be just a couple of weeks and I can get them off of it. I hate having to use the laxative. I'm not sure why I have such an aversion to it as opposed to any other meds that the kids take for constipation, I just do.<br /><br />Alasdair has had some pretty nasty diapers though. With all the fresh fruit he eats, then the laxative on top of it, they are just caustic. There aren't many things worse than trying to change your child's diaper or give them a bath while they are screaming in pain. And you HAVE to either wipe or soak to get them clean. And I'm sure it feels like I'm using sandpaper. I hate watching him waddle around because his thighs are raw and chaffed because of the extra full diapers and it hurts for him to walk. I hate that there is no "how to" manual for Hirschsprung's Disease once you come home post surgery. I feel like the success that families have comes with so much trial and error, and constant second guessing yourself. And once you do figure out what works for you, things change. It's a constant battle managing HD.<br /><br />Some days Hirschsprung's Disease seems like the worst thing ever.jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17006062434455968647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8397021124718043349.post-64912143388239370492010-09-30T21:25:00.001-07:002010-09-30T21:32:57.552-07:00Free Diapers!!<div align="left">Well, not for me. But maybe for you!<br /></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"><br /></div><div align="left">I learned that in some states if you have a child over 3 that has a medical reason for delayed potty training, it becomes classified as "incontinence", which then makes diapers a medical supply! My insurance doesn't cover it apparently. It's not in our "contract". But for others out there it might be something to look in to. Pass it on!</div><div align="left"><br /></div><div align="left">I started Alasdair on laxative last night. I'm hoping to get him back to a more regular bm schedule. Michaela continues to have tummy aches that are relieved by using the bathroom. I can't seem to get a laxative into her system so that it doesn't affect school or soccer. I'd hate for her to have it kick in on the field or in class or something. So she's still doing the miralax (or the Costco version of it), and i'm trying to increase that to see if it will help in the meantime.</div><div align="left"><br /></div><div align="left">I also ate the entire bag of Alasdair's bribe candy. I mean, you can NOT leave a bag, either open or unopen, in my house. I will find it and I will consume it. I'll have to get him his own bag of something less appealing to me and just keep the candy corns and candy corn pumpkins for myself!</div><div align="center"> </div><div align="center"><br /></div><div align="center"></div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5522930597063913730" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOvhxkva0GxF6fI-TUp3e27QDMx_-lw1oy_DdXWelP2FOVgsVhN3hMs996T_x27F2TfhcFcHXnoeh1Qf13TlnT87TabEveiuSEdo0lbOQQakw0KFnvXOVpCzG3qjt4DMnTXfTKnk9ue8M1/s320/halloween-candy.jpg" /> <p align="center">mmmm, Halloweenie goodness.....<br /></p>jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17006062434455968647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8397021124718043349.post-15059124153380382542010-09-27T21:27:00.000-07:002010-09-27T21:39:59.350-07:00Learning CurveToday my little ones had soccer practice. Afterwards Michaela tells me she thinks she's carsick, after a 10 minute car ride, that her tummy hurts. We get home and I slam out some dinner. She cleans her plate and then tells me that her tummy still hurts. She thinks it's because she ate dinner and then went up and down the stairs two times.<br /><br />Michaela, that much exercise isn't going to make your tummy hurt.<br /><br />Oh.<br /><br />You probably need to poop.<br /><br />Oh.<br /><br />{brief interlude while she uses the facilities}<br /><br />Mom! I pooped! A lot!<br /><br />Does your tummy feel better?<br /><br />YES!!!<br /><br />See, when your tummy hurts, try to poop. You'll feel better, I promise!<br /><br />Okay!<br /><br />This is a conversation we have at least once a week, if not more. She's 8 1/2. You'd think that at some point she would realize that whatever "that feeling" is for her, it means she has to use the bathroom. But nope. I feel like somewhere along the way we forgot to let her touch the hot stove so she'd learn that hot = ouch.jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17006062434455968647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8397021124718043349.post-41234495135640341112010-09-25T10:55:00.000-07:002010-09-25T11:09:53.967-07:00Potty Training: The Final FrontierFor some reason I feel like potty training will be the last big hurdle in our adventures with Hirschsprung's. Although in my head I know differently. I have to. I'm a mom of an HD kid. For the rest of his life we'll be watching for signs of constipation, diarrhea, infection, malnutrition. It won't ever end. But I see that as a daily maintenance sort of thing. Potty Training. That's a huge deal! Not only for "normal" kids, but especially for HD kids. I just hope my kid can physically do it! I know he's ready to learn. But how frustrating is it going to be when we start worrying about having a bm in the potty and he just might not be able to? Based on our first feeble attempts, I'm not so sure we're going to have an easy road of it.<br /><br />I bought a bag of candy corn pumpkins. You know, for bribery. We brought the potty chair downstairs near the toys and the TV. We're all set! He's 3 months past his 3rd birthday and now in preschool. And he's interested. He knows when he's peeing in his diaper. I've seen him hold it until the moment he gets into the bathtub, picks up the rinsing cup, points right in there and lets it go! yeah, he's ready.<br /><br />The first couple of times were a huge success! He sat on the potty = 1 pumpkin. IF he pees on the potty = 2 pumpkins. If he POOPS on the potty = anything he wants, including a pony or a lifesize robot.<br /><br />He actually got rewarded twice the first day for pooping on the potty with handful of pumpkins each time. But then i realized that he's not actually just having a bm. The stuff is literally just oozing out of him. I mean, I rewarded it anyway, but this is not good. It was very thin ribbons of poop too. I don't think that's normal. I've seen the size of the poops from his sisters and I know what these kids are capable of! And it's near imossible to see that from a diaper. But in the potty I could tell, and it makes me nervous.<br /><br />For the past couple of weeks he has been having 6 - 8 dirty diapers a day, none of which are of any significant size. They stink to high hell, but they are probably just the results of the constant oozing. And then maybe once a day he'll empty out his entire body into one poor unsuspecting diaper. Good LORD.<br /><br />When he gets back from his dad's this weekend, i'm going to put him back onto the dreaded laxative, stock up on Desitin and more vasaline in case we have to bust out the Ilex for a weepy rash, and see how that goes. If in a couple of weeks things aren't getting better, we may have to go in to see our surgeon. I'm concerned that he might have a stricture or something physical going on that's now allowing the stool to move through his colon and keep a normal shape/size.<br /><br />Also, Michaela has been on a bowel clean out program since late July, meaning we put her on a laxative and double dose of miralax for 1 solid week (her bum was so red I actually had to use the diaper cream on HER!). Then after that week we have her on daily miralax. Things were going great until last week. Her tummy started hurting a lot, and i think she might be getting plugged up again. I really need to find a time we can get her back on a laxative for a few days as well, but between soccer and school, and knowing that the laxatives don't actually kick in for her until about 2 days in, I can't find a time to do it without putting her in danger of having an issue in the middle of class or at the soccer field.<br /><br />The things we do for poop in this house! Geesh!jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17006062434455968647noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8397021124718043349.post-23176352969575056612010-04-08T17:05:00.000-07:002010-04-08T17:16:55.412-07:00Are things back to "normal"?Doodie has actually had some "normal" looking bowel movements lately. Woo hoo! He's still going on his own, without laxatives, about once a day, sometimes more. If he does skip a day he makes up for it the next day. And not all of the movements are "normal" looking, but I think it's a good sign that some are.<br /><div></div><br /><div>His diet the last 5 days has consisted of Easter candy. I'm curious to see what happens when that's all gone! I think they have all three finally emptied out their baskets, so we'll be back to normal food soon.</div><br /><div>It's probably time to go get him weighed again, too. If he still hasn't gained any weight since January, I think it will be time to find a new pediatrician and get him in for a talk about it. </div><div> </div><div>Here's the best HD shirt EVAR! And on the cutest HD kid EVAR if I do say so myself. :D</div><br /><div></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5457924699707244770" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRxmBHdTHyTpF_zhwtPTJjy-jlCkM-Y5JnGPI86RmWOO91AoCmHwZoTRbnCT3-0sjuumMp5c5nNUv3zIc9wJpSJzMRKEN3uZIglhLqUYCmspeplXcgKp-G7HJ74RgDHKTGAhc8L46k8gfj/s320/untitled.bmp" border="0" /><br /><div></div>jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17006062434455968647noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8397021124718043349.post-71863643285887026342010-03-30T19:42:00.001-07:002010-03-30T19:51:19.640-07:00Doodie UpdateWe've had Alasdair off of his senna laxative now for about 4 weeks. I've been really focused on keeping his diet super high in fiber and keeping his calorie/fat content up for some weight gain. So far, he's been having "regular" bms most of the time. Almost every day anyway, and sometimes 2 or 3 times a day. But their consistency is NOT normal. I guess as long as he's going that's a good thing.<br /><br />I also had one of those "aha!" moments today. Doodie is a grazer. He's never been a champion eater at meal or snack time, which makes it tricky to keep his weight up (hence the high calorie/high fat diet to make every bite he DOES take count). There are times when he only takes 3 or 4 bites of his dinner and then leaves the table. Other times he won't even come to the table at all. And inevitably he complains about being hungry 15 minutes after the rest of us have finished and cleaned up. He does go and grab himself oranges or apples or pears out of the fruit drawer in the fridge and eats a lot of that throughout the day. So, I've started leaving his meals on the table.<br /><br />This morning I offered him oatmeal made with half and half and flax, sliced plums, grapes and his meal replacement shake that he didn't drink last night. At first he ate the fruit and half his shake. Both he and Maeve asked for more fruit so I gave them more and he ate that, too. Then 30 minutes later he said he was hungry so i told him to go eat his oatmeal. And he did! and the rest of his shake, and the fruit that Maeve left on her plate!<br /><br />He did this the other night at dinner and over the weekend at lunch. So I think for him I'm going to leave his meals sitting out so he can graze on them, assuming it's not something that's going to get completely gross in a couple of hours. And perhaps set out a snack bowl with some things that are easily accessible for him. Maybe just letting him graze all day long will ensure that he actually eats enough food and can gain some weight!jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17006062434455968647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8397021124718043349.post-1425692698567546192010-02-23T08:30:00.001-08:002010-02-23T08:38:08.727-08:00HD is not fun.After four days of no bowel movements and still on a full dose of laxative, I had to do something I've never done before: give a 2 year old an enema. Twice. It wasn't fun, but it wasn't hard either. Having read many times about poor mothers having to give their HD kids enemas, I was prepared for the worst. I had myself draped in a towel ready for some massive explosion of brown smelly goo. But I have to say it went much better than I expected.<br /><br />First, he thought the enema bottle "tickled". Good grief.<br />Second, he wasn't bothered at all by the filling of his colon with cold liquid.<br />Third, there was no explosion as I removed the bottle.<br />Fourth, the look on his little face when he realized he was gonna go after he stood up was hilarious. (I was a little preoccupied so I didn't get a photo).<br /><br />Once I realized he wasn't going to explode on me, we just put on a diaper and followed him around. After about 2 minutes we changed his diaper. Then maybe 5 minutes later we changed another one. Neither was overloaded or totally disgusting. And that was all he had. The next morning we did it again, with only one diaper resulting. Luckily after that he started going on his own, still on the laxative, of course.<br /><br />This time we dodged the bullet of having to return to Children's Hospital for an "official" enema and x-rays and all kinds of other horrible things. (knock on wood)jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17006062434455968647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8397021124718043349.post-39986530052683731982010-02-01T22:21:00.000-08:002010-02-01T22:30:57.174-08:00Slow MotilityWe've been giving Doodie the Little Tummies Laxative now for just over two weeks. He was having 2 - 3 bowel movements every day and I wasn't sure if that was good or bad. Did he really have that much in there to get rid of? Or was his food just passing through at a faster rate because of the laxative. I am admittedly NOT a laxative expert as some HD parents are. I know all about fiber, healthy high fat diets and diaper rash creams and remedies for weeping rash. I suppose now is the time I should learn about the wide world of senna.<br /><br />I decided last Thursday to half the dose we had been giving him, hoping we could slowly wean him off of it and see if his constipation had been relieved. The nurse at Children's called last week to check on him and said that was a good plan. Just play with the dosage, but warned us that a lot of HD kids are on laxatives long term. I'm unsure about how that relates to us. I mean, he's been 100% constipation free for 2 1/2 years. It seems weird that just all of a sudden he would turn into a laxative dependant kid. The doc said physically he's fine as far as pull thru/scar tissue stuff goes. His diet hasn't changed. I don't know.<br /><br />Anyway. We've been giving him half the dosage for about 4 days now. Today he didn't have any bowel movements at all. And last Friday on the second day of his reduced dose his dad told me he had a 4 pound diaper, all BM. Seriously? The kid only weighs 28 pounds!! I'm thinking in addition to our lifetime supply of Desitin that we keep on hand, we'll be adding the Little Tummies for at least the foreseeable future. I just hope this isn't a downward trend in his health. Keep your fingers and toes crossed!!jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17006062434455968647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8397021124718043349.post-15593482976166894242010-01-24T22:35:00.000-08:002010-01-24T22:50:30.420-08:00I think I'm back!It's been a few months, and lots of things have changed in my life. I'm selling our house, moving, pulling my oldest out of Catholic school because we can't afford it, and getting divorced. After a few weeks to heal some and a great therapist and friends to cry with, I feel I can now continue down my little journey forged through the pooh. So, here are my updates on the kids!<br /><br />Michaela: she still continues to have small accidents. We keep to a high fiber diet as a regular in our house, but otherwise, she's not on any Miralax, soy, probiotics or anything else anymore. None of it ever worked for her. But she doesn't seem to be constipated anymore. I think her "accidents" are from lack of paying attention at this point.<br /><br />Maeve: she is completely 100% diaper free! Right after that last post in August, she never really looked back. She's had a handful of accidents, but she's not even 4 yet, so I can deal. She's much better that Michaela ever was at this age, so I'm thankful for that!!<br /><br />Alasdair: he's a little more complicated. We see his surgeon every year in January for his check-ups post pull-thru surgery for his Hirschsprung's. Last January at 18 months old he finally hit 20 pounds, thanks to his high fat-high calorie diet. He was doing great! In June when he turned 2 he was 28 pounds! So we figured we could put him on the same diet everyone else is on in the house, like 2% milk instead of whole cut with half/half, eliminate the nutrition drink at night cut with half/half, cut down the butter and fats, etc. He continued to do well until about October. His bowel movements started to get erratic. He would not go for 1 - 2 days, then he'd go 2 or 3 times in one day, and they were huge blow-out poohs that stunk to high heaven. But he wasn't distended, he didn't have a fever, and his appetite hadn't changed, so I wasn't too worried about enterocolitis. This continued until last week when we saw our surgeon for our check up. He weighed in at 27 1/2 pounds. Uh. Yeah. While they were happy with is growth chart having gained 8 pounds in 1 year, I'm not so thrilled with the fact that he didn't gain anything at all in 6 months. I know that weight gain slows down as they get older, but it shouldn't stop altogether. So, he's back on the high fat-high calorie diet. And we were told to give him a senna laxative (Little Tummies). We give it to him once a day and it's definitely gotten things moving. So far he's had between 1 and 3 bms every day since we started giving it to him. And while they still smell fairly raunchy, they are returning to a more normal consistency (slowly) and a better color. So we'll continue with this until things get back to normal, keep him on his diet until his birthday in June, and hope that we will be able to take him off the senna soon. The prospect of having to use it long term is not an appealing one.jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17006062434455968647noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8397021124718043349.post-69234200598174123982009-08-31T20:31:00.000-07:002009-08-31T20:33:48.951-07:00OMGOMGOMGOMGOMGMichaela: who cares!!<br />Maeve: SEE BELOW!!<br />Alasdair: who cares!!<br /><br />Okay everyone.<br /><br />MAEVE.<br /><br />POOPED.<br /><br />IN.<br /><br />THE.<br /><br />POTTY.<br /><br />All week long!! She hasn't had an incident in her pants since last Saturday! And we even still have 1 bribe gift left on the counter. :) So i'll pick up some candies to continue the bribery on a scaled down level.<br /><br />But, by jove, I think she's got it!jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17006062434455968647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8397021124718043349.post-9011445717152902812009-08-24T21:06:00.000-07:002009-08-24T21:09:51.527-07:00At least a little good newsMichaela: 1 accident recently<br />Maeve: See post<br />Alasdair: normal as ever<br /><br />I've been going through some life-changing events this last couple of weeks, and not good ones, so my desire and ability to blog has been squashed for now. But I did feel it necessary to at least mention the one really great thing that has happened:<br /><br />MAEVE POOPED IN THE POTTY.<br /><br />Seriously. Saturday she did once, and Sunday TWICE!! I took her to the store and bought a bunch of bribery goodies. Hopefully we got enough of them so that she'll create a good habit before we run out.<br /><br />So, yay!! And check back now and again. Someday I'll feel good enough to get back to regular blogging.jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17006062434455968647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8397021124718043349.post-78442910874573730272009-08-12T21:31:00.001-07:002009-08-12T21:38:54.609-07:00Dr. Phil, here we come!Michaela: doing okay<br />Maeve: still pooping in her pants<br />Alasdair: normal poops, no rash<br /><br />I'm terrible at blogging during the summer. I apologize for the huge lapse in between posts. Maybe once school is back in session and we're back on a normal routine I'll be able to sit down more regularly and vent.<br /><br />Our struggle lately is still trying to get Maeve to poop in the potty. She goes into her closet in her bedroom and lays it down in there. I've started making her clean it up by having to remove her own pants and get the pooh out from her panties/pants and into the toilet. Then I help her clean up because she would never be able to get herself clean. But you know what? She HATES it. And God forbid she gets poop on her fingers or legs. She absolutely freaks out. So, while I see this as a step in the right direction, it still hasn't curbed the behavior. So now, we're tryin' it Dr. Phil's way. Next time she does it I'm going to make her sit in a chair IN her poop for a spell before I make her clean it up. I'm not sure she'll care all that much, but we'll see.<br /><br />It's so frustrating. And you know, I'd even be happy if she wanted to go in a diaper, as long as she would just come and say, "Mom, I need a diaper to poop in." At least I wouldn't have to clean up the huge mess. But no. She's supposed to go off to preschool next month fully potty trained, but that's obviously not going to happen. I'm going to send her anyway. I mean, what are the odds that she'll crap her pants during the 6 hours of preschool she's in each week?<br /><br />What's that, you say? 100%?<br /><br />Yeah. I know.<br /><br />*sigh*jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17006062434455968647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8397021124718043349.post-88589825737661827222009-07-16T21:47:00.000-07:002009-07-16T21:54:14.871-07:00HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!Michaela: having minor issues<br />Maeve: 1<br />Alasdair: .5<br /><br />So, we're going camping this weekend. I spent the majority of the day trying to squeeze in work, cleaning up, packing and grocery shopping, plus keeping the kiddos happy. During my "lunch break" I ran out to get gas, get some produce, run by the bank and hit Costco. Usually our ritual for grocery shopping is Costco, followed immediately by Top Foods. And it's usually dinner time. So right after Costco when the kids are starting to whine and drive me insane, we get them berry smoothies from the food court at Costco. I shit you not, all three of my kids can down them in about 20 minutes flat. They don't stop to whine, fight, yell or even breathe! It's amazing. So that's what my kids had for "lunch" today. An apple in the car, a sucker from the bank teller, and a berry smoothie from Costco. I'm a great mom. :)<br /><br />The rest of the plan was to finish out my work day, feed the kids then run back out to do the main grocery shopping. But it turned out that Mike was leaving for the evening later than I expected, so as they kids were eating dinner, I escaped to do the shopping on my own. (yay!!!) Upon my return I find out that Maeve had done her "doodie" for Mike today, but she wasn't wearing any panties under her dress and it fell right onto the living room carpet! HAHAHAHAHA!!! While I feel marginally bad for Mike having to clean it up, I'm more elated that it wasn't ME for once. :D<br /><br />Off to Icicle Creek tomorrow for a relaxing weekend of mojitos, pina coladas, junk food, reading and river swimming. :Djessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17006062434455968647noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8397021124718043349.post-52595196585883546642009-07-05T21:04:00.000-07:002009-07-10T22:38:48.362-07:00Poop: 1. Me: 0.Michaela: no accidents<br />Maeve: 5 successful trips to the toilet for pee, four pairs of peed in panties, two pairs of wet shorts, one pair of pooped in panties<br />Alasdair: 2<br /><br />Oh. My. Lord.<br /><br />It was a day from hell today. Everyone keeps telling me to "not count" today, but it's hard to not count it when you're still living it. I took all three kids to the zoo today with my sister's family. We were there for over 5 hours. No naps. No extra money for bribery and sugary snacks. It was fun and it sucked all at the same time.<br /><br />Frist off, Michaela was a trooper (as was my sister's family). It's not easy to go to a place like the zoo with a 3 1/2 year old who is potty training. It takes a long LONG time to get through places, and you end up seeing every single bathroom in the whole place more than once.<br /><br />Here's a rundown to the best of my memory. I'm secretly trying to block it out to save my sanity.<br />Leave my house.<br />Get gas.<br />Stop by my mom's house to try to find something that my sister lost.<br />Feed the kids the lunch I packed for the zoo in the car at my mom's house.<br />Drive to the zoo.<br />Get in to the zoo.<br />See the giraffes and some ostriches.<br />Take Maeve to the bathroom.<br />See hippos and lions.<br />Take Maeve to the bathroom because she's digging at her butt.<br />See the tapir, elephants, orangutans, siamangs.<br />Take Maeve to the bathroom because she's digging at her butt again.<br />See the raptors, tigers, sloth bears, sun bear, penguins.<br />Take Maeve to the bathroom because she's digging for gold.<br />Maeve refuses to try to poop on the potty.<br />We get 20 feet from the bathroom door and she says she has to go potty.<br />I tell her too bad.<br />Eat a snack at the food court.<br />Maeve pees next to the table.<br />Clean up Maeve and change her panties and shorts.<br />Change Doodie's rancid fruit diaper.<br />Other adults and older kids go to the nocturnal house.<br />Maeve pees while squatting on the park bench outside.<br />Change Maeve's panties and shorts.<br />But I'm out of shorts and panties.<br />Put Maeve in Michaela's panties and tell her she's not allowed to get out of the wagon now because she's half naked.<br />See colobus monkeys and the gorillas.<br />Maeve tells me she has to pee.<br />I tell her too bad.<br />She pees in the wagon.<br />She has to sit in the pee until we leave.<br />I pick up Doodie and put him on my hip.<br />I feel the wet spot on his shorts.<br />I set him down and notice that his newest rancid fruit diaper has leaked all over his shorts.<br />And on my shirt.<br />Change Doodie's diaper and let him go bottomless for the rest of the afternoon.<br />See the flamingos, some other crappy birds and the lame ass petting zoo (complete with miniature cows that look like full grown cow bodies on pig legs).<br />Leave the zoo before I start crying like an idiot in front of a bunch of strangers.<br />Get home and feed the kids fruit snacks while dinner is cooking.<br />Maeve pees in the back yard.<br />Eat dinner.<br />Bath.<br />Jammies.<br />Maeve poops in her pants.<br />Clean up, story, bedtime.<br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Now I'm drinking a mojito and trying to forget to day ever happened. :) </span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"><br /></span>I'll post some pics of the trip and the aftermath after I dig out my computer from under the laundry pile and attempt to get the photos off my camera's memory card.jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17006062434455968647noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8397021124718043349.post-27456498950790705082009-06-30T21:51:00.000-07:002009-06-30T22:07:34.796-07:00Kind of a Shitty DayMichaela: 1 small accident<br />Maeve: 3 craps in her pants<br />Alasdair: 5<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />One more day to go, and then it's my sitter's turn to change poopie diapers for a while. Hallelujah!!jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17006062434455968647noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8397021124718043349.post-40827510436888052212009-06-29T21:15:00.000-07:002009-06-29T21:25:52.776-07:00Debonair DoodieMichaela: no accidents lately<br />Maeve: simply will NOT use the toilet for #2<br />Alasdair: lots of summer fruit = excess poops and diaper rash :(<br /><br />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. :)<br /><br />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.<br /><br />Here's a nice photo to end the day. My Dapper Doodie:<br /><br /><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5352972012518374050" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 246px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgamkVmp3hcjwqkL1gLMI-fnpZOUH1I-Wys52A3Mep2W3mFugrbpyZXpCEw_bIxMQ8qdRsEOQONxowXqnMG1kch967kBZgI72lSNS3iZV2XmgaS7U782GKZYeNwTCBeZGqGe0eN_1gRWxx-/s320/dapper+dude.jpg" border="0" />jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17006062434455968647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8397021124718043349.post-11891775520047370102009-06-21T22:15:00.000-07:002009-06-21T22:22:54.499-07:00Happy Father's Day!!Michaela: no accidents<br />Maeve: 1 HUUUUUGE crap in her panties<br />Alasdair: 3, plus a rash that's getting out of hand<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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!!jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17006062434455968647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8397021124718043349.post-20765680822910544862009-06-14T21:15:00.000-07:002009-06-19T13:52:37.288-07:00My Cutie Patootie DoodieMichaela: skids<br />Maeve: still won't poop in the toilet<br />Alasdair: normal as ever!<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br /><br /><div><div>**Updated to add some photos of the two youngest in all their chocolate glory:</div><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349144213229813906" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKs_4vT8lXtKH6_YZgiOU-NHnZIkHizfV5RCcf7Sr5rGc021r7oR7jJd0Rcwu3yfWaRcS5FEmwu2OvXNB-F_JFTSzp4a7xn12Z9QrNdsn_d3s1Dn69K9SPCoJh6ShBRsn2sz5ai2v9mDqn/s320/Sorticulture3.jpg" border="0" /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349144217499772178" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY4ZfwKPR7574bVlibCWjcPdJ2e_dZ0MVMyKy_2z0k3Q0YIgDyYRVNJ2JXMLEuoPc2G5Wiq8jNwg314-0s9-sb3xdVzySvXp5plDwXkXgLPw-7CEcy5vwbkJuX_Beo3vyeqwydax2wgN3W/s320/Sorticulture1.jpg" border="0" /><br /><div></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349144223919097250" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGm3SLJrX7wFBci-Nw6hLnDcZXaX7Xz18lvUSacXchezuMqsJlVfCLZAE9uaKU55L3IJ-F2cntba9ly-vW_9Z-Y7WddNHmmGCyV8PyUnNAbM3fSuQ1fAHj7gaRyNPKUmZ8siFigMKun-G3/s320/Sorticulture2.jpg" border="0" /><br /><br /><br /><div></div></div>jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17006062434455968647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8397021124718043349.post-68762541393411934242009-06-08T20:36:00.000-07:002009-06-08T20:46:00.170-07:00I actually DID survive the husband's Leave of AbsenceMichaela: smears and streaks, and she peed her pants<br />Maeve: every day she poops in her pannies<br />Alasdair: healthy as a Hirschsprung's Horse!<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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. :)<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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!jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17006062434455968647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8397021124718043349.post-44783972688933971422009-05-20T21:02:00.000-07:002009-05-20T21:14:43.052-07:00Survival - Day 3Michaela: 1 accident<br />Maeve: 3 poops in her pannies<br />Alasdair: 1<br /><br />I am convinced that children have some sort of internal alarm telling them when the worst possible time to crap in your pants is. I mean, really there is never a <em>good</em> time to crap your pants, but some times are definitely worse than others. Like when your mom is getting ready to herd you all out the door to swim class. Or when she's late picking your big sister up from school. Or she's going to miss her bus for work. Or right after she's given you a bath and hasn't had time to diaper you yet.<br /><br />Today it was swim class. I was running a little late and herded the kids from the back yard into the house so I could get Maeve in her "jump-soup" (that's Maeve-ese for swimsuit) and head out to her lessons. But the minute I pick up Doodie i can smell him. So I wrestle him to the ground and pin him down so I can change the grossness and I asked Michaela to help get Maeve's jump-soup on her. As soon as Maeve's panties are down Michaela's all "Eeeew! She pooped!" Well, of course she did! We're late, she's not dressed and Doodie's got the shits from hell! Yay! Anyway, i cleaned her up and we ended up making it to swim class on time.<br /><br />Then to end my marvelous day, the kids were playing in the back yard after dinner while I was trying to clean up the kitchen (which has a clogged drain and is FULL of gross standing water, ugh) when I hear something plastic on the slide outside. Now the kids decided that getting in our old cooler and shutting the lid is "fun". So they take turns getting in, the others shut the lid, then open it and you get out. Next kid goes. Rinse, repeat. Before you all call CPS on me, it's not a refrigerator type cooler, it's like an igloo cooler. And it's a cheap one at that. It doesn't fully close and it's not airtight, so it isn't a safety hazard. Except that when I'm hearing this plastic sound on the slide. My kids figured out how to turn it into one. My 7 year old crammed the 2 year old inside it and was dragging it UP the slide so she could let it go and watch it slide down. OMG. So I yelled at her and put her in a time out, which apparently was her most oppertune time to crap her pants.<br /><br />I hope my husband isn't reading this from Springfield. He might not come home. :)jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17006062434455968647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8397021124718043349.post-15230865154427256002009-05-19T21:28:00.000-07:002009-05-19T21:33:24.788-07:00Survival - Day 2Michaela: no accidents<br />Maeve: 1 poo in her pannies<br />Alasdair: 1<br /><br />My day went something like this:<br /><br />Get up<br />Get ready for school<br />Take M to school<br />Work<br />Lunch<br />Naps for kids<br />Work<br />Pick M up from school<br />Coach M on her "to do" lists while trying to<br />Work<br />Snack<br />Work<br />Ballet class (while keeping the two little ones entertained for 45 minutes in my car)<br />Work<br />Dinner<br />Dishes<br />Baths<br />Jammies<br />Doodie grabs a dirty plate and messes up the floor<br />Garbage to curb<br />Maeve Poops in her pannies<br />Laundry<br />Brush teeth<br />Read stories<br />Bed for the Girls<br />Get Doodie his "milk cocktail"<br />Book for Doodie<br />D to bed<br />Bake Brownies<br />Work<br />Blog<br />EAT BROWNIES.<br /><br />Time for that last step now. I'm surviving w/o Mike here, but I could use a small break. Hum.jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17006062434455968647noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8397021124718043349.post-50558251233225493372009-05-18T21:57:00.000-07:002009-05-18T22:02:10.850-07:00Survival - Day 1Michaela: no accidents<br />Maeve: 1 pooh in her pannies<br />Alasdair: 2<br /><br />So, the hubby is out of town on business (which doesn't happen very often so I'm very much not used to it) and honestly, this is probably one of the worst times ever for that to happen. I'm way too emotionally fragile with the kids right now and having to handle the three of them, plus work, plus swimming and ballet, plus the gym, well, let's just say we're walking a thin line of sanity.<br /><br />BUT, I made it through day 1 with no major meltdowns, the kids got fed, bathed, homeworked, dishes are done, my chores are done (even the laundry!), the house is clean enough to not totally stress me out, and i just finished up my last bit of work for the day. I finally got a shower about a half hour ago and i'm ready to slip into my clean sheets!<br /><br />I'd say other than Maeve's pooh incident, things went pretty well today. 4 more to go!jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17006062434455968647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8397021124718043349.post-74493993441911073292009-05-12T21:41:00.001-07:002009-05-12T21:50:40.895-07:00Blogging StandstillMichaela: skid marks aplenty<br />Maeve: pees great in the potty and poops in her underwear<br />Alasdair: 2 good poohs<br /><br />I think i'm losing my mind, seriously. I can't keep up with punishing my kids every 5 minutes, so I definitely haven't had time to blog. Things are pretty normal though. Michaela's totally ADD, which i'm slowly coming to terms with, and still crapping her pants constantly. Maeve is now a professional at going in the potty, as long as it's not solid. We haven't mastered that yet. And Doodie is pooping right along, no diaper rash and nothing too funky.<br /><br />But my 7 year old, OMG. I'm ready to wring her neck. Here's her list of "issues" currently:<br /><br />Can't follow directions<br />Doesn't pay attention in school<br />Doesn't finish her school work<br />Talks and interrupts<br />Can't remember to put anything away<br />Can't remember that my floor is not a trash can<br />Can't remember to do her homework<br />Can't remember to do chores<br />Poops her pants<br />Can't answer any question unless the answer is "i don't know"<br />Can't sit still to save her life<br />Can't stop screaming at her sister and brother<br />Has no volume control whatsoever<br />Can't get herself ready for school in the morning<br /><br />there's more, but there's probably a character limit on blogspot. I'm so torn. I can't decide if she's just 7 and maybe immature or if she might need a trip to the doc and a diagnosis of ADD. It's not something I'm taking lightly, but i'm at my wits end with her. I don't know how to parent her successfully and it's not good for anyone in our house. I didn't just decide she's a pain in the @$$ and chalk it up to ADD, but every day I'm more and more convinced that her behavior isn't normal.<br /><br />Anyway, I shouldn't be the only person in our house medicating themselves to stay sane, should I? Misery loves company!!jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17006062434455968647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8397021124718043349.post-90464389210740621212009-05-06T21:34:00.000-07:002009-05-06T21:44:27.080-07:00Worst Day EVARMichaela: no accidents, but some skid marky undies<br />Maeve: 1 pooh in the potty, 2 in her pannies<br />Alasdair: 3, and one was a DOOZIE<br /><br />Let's begin with 1 poopy Doodie diaper and 2 pantie poops from Maeve.<br />Then there's the flat tire. I walked out to my car with the little ones to go to the gym and had to drive straight to Les Schwab. Do not pass GO. Do not collect $200.<br />After I got that fixed we drove to the Y. There was no parking. Not one spot. Nada.<br />After 15 minutes I found a spot and got inside, but the Child Watch for Doodie was full. So I checked Maeve in and put D on the waiting list. For 45 minutes.<br />Finally I got in to the gym and slammed out my workout in 30 minutes, grabbed the kids and fled home.<br />Poop.<br />Lunch.<br />Nap.<br />Poop.<br />Work.<br />Collect M from school.<br />Work.<br />Poop explosion from Doodie.<br />Swim lessons for Maeve.<br />Work.<br />Oh, and in between all this was the incessant bickering, fighting, screaming, jumping, running, crying and downright unruly-ness from my kids.<br />I was at the end of my rope. Seriously, I'm at a loss. I'm not sure where I lost control of my kids, but it has happened and I don't know how to get it back. My 7 year old is literally out of control, and the 3 year old just copies everything she does. Then the 2 year old picks up on all the finer points from the bigger two. Between picking up all their messes and breaking up fights and trying to ignore the screaming I can't seem to hold on to my sanity these days.<br /><br />I think it's time to chant my mantra for a few hours: This, too, shall pass.<br /><br />Tomorrow will be a better day.jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17006062434455968647noreply@blogger.com1