The Poopy Post

As a mom of young children, poop tends to be a normal part of conversation more often than I'd ever imagined it could be. I've tried to refrain here on the blog but... the time has come to break my silence.

Zach has a bad rash. It started with weird poop Friday. Squishy, soft, loose... sometimes pure liquid. (See? Motherhood is not for the faint of heart.) This, of course, quickly led to a bright red rash. Typically, Desitin (the original stuff, not the creamy stuff) clears up his rashes right away. Not this time.

So I grab the handy dandy Boudreaux's Butt Paste. It helps a little but only for one application.

By Sunday morning, some spots are better but some are worse- much worse. There is a spot just where his little butt cheeks start to come together that is bright red... and ulcerated. In other words, bleeding. Diaper changes result in screams of "owie! owie!"

We give him some semi-naked time. We let him hang out with just a t-shirt on outside, on the deck... inside on a well covered kid couch.

My baby is in pain. My baby has tears at diaper changes. It's time for full on warfare.

I go to Target and buy every tube and ointment I can think of that could possibly be used on a rash.

We put a diet in place- white rice, bread/toast, yogurt, water.

After his bath, I load the ulcerated spot with Neosporin + Pain Relief. I coat his bottom with A+D Ointment. I coat the diaper with Triple Paste.

This morning, things look less red, less painful.

Thankfully, my mom has taken me up on my begging and pleading... ok, she's Grandma, she's easy, all I had to do was ask... but she's come to stay for a couple of days so that we can keep Zach on a diet that fixes the poop issue, keep him in as clean of pants as possible...

And I have to admit there is a potential added bonus. 2 years ago, Teagan had a bout of diarrhea. My mom came to take care of her. And my mom potty trained her. In 2 days. So successfully that we took a day trip to visit family in Chicago and Teagan stayed dry the entire visit- even notifying us in the car when she needed to stop to potty.

So maybe Grandma will have magic to work on Zach. And maybe not. Maybe he isn't ready. Maybe the little bit of pottying he's been doing is just... experimentation. But maybe he is ready to be done with diapers. Maybe he is ready to start focusing on using the potty on a regular and consistent basis.

But no matter. Whatever the outcome... my kids are getting some fantastic Grandma time, my son will have a fully healed butt in a day or 2, and I get some quality time with my mom.