What a Day!!

WARNING:  If you can't handle poop stories, then do not read on!  Also, this is going to be a really long and drawn out story so if you don't have that kind of time to kill, then just forget it.  :-)


I am not an every day blogger.  I rarely just sit down and blog about our day to day life.  I wish I did, but I just can't seem to find the time to do it.  Today, however, I feel is worth documenting.  It was "one of those days!" and I need to blog about it so I can look back years from now and laugh!  (actually, I'm already laughing)
This morning, we had a playdate with some friends.  We met up at the Galleria playscape to let the kids play and then have lunch at the food court.  The morning went pretty smoothly - I got up around 7:30am and took a shower before Caleb woke up.  He actually woke up right as I was getting out of the shower at about 7:45am.  We did not need to leave until around 9:15-9:30am or so, so we had time to sit down for breakfast and also get ready to get out of the house.  Caleb ate about 2 1/2 mini blueberry muffins and probably 4 peach slices (his new favorite fruit) for breakfast.  It wasn't a stellar breakfast, but lately, if he eats anything for breakfast, we are doing good.  We left at around 9:20am and I was giving myself mad props for getting out of the house on time! (we were meeting at 10am)

Caleb was so excited to "go bye-bye" and "pay fins" (play with friends)!  We got to the Galleria with no problems (thank goodness I can get in the HOV lane with Caleb!), but now that I think back on our drive, Caleb started whining and getting fussy not long before we got there.  I thought he was just ready to get out of the car.  We parked and when I was getting him out, he says "poo-poo mama."  So, I put him down in the back of the car and changed his diaper.  He had pooped and I noticed that it was a little watery.  I also noticed that he was starting to get a little bit of diaper rash.  I didn't think much of it because it wasn't bad and this has happened from time to time (isolated runny poop with diaper rash).  I put some Dr. Smith's on it and we went into the mall.  I was so happy that we actually got there on time!  Several friends were there, and most importantly to Caleb, his friend Caleb (Pearce) was there.  We got settled and the kids started playing.  We do not go to playgrounds/play lands very often so it took a little bit for Caleb to get warmed up and want to play.  He finally started exploring and I sat down with the other moms and we chatted while watching the kids.  (this is a great play area, by the way).

(this is the best picture I got....bad indoor lighting and I was using my point-and-shoot)

After about 30-45 minutes or so, Caleb started getting whiny again.  Then he started crying.  He was also holding himself (his front "parts").  I thought that was strange but gave him a minute to see if he'd stop.  Then, he starts crying even more and saying "poo-poo mama."  Honestly, at that point, I'd forgotten about the earlier small episode of poop and rash.  I grabbed him up and headed to the family bathrooms nearby.  We had to wait a few minutes and the whole time, he's crying and holding himself while saying "poo-poo mama."  A bathroom finally opens up and we go inside.  Then I notice that he's had an explosion and leaked out of his diaper and onto his shorts.  Great!  Thankfully I did have a change of clothes.  When I opened his diaper, I was shocked at how red and inflammed his little bottom (and part of his front) were!  He had a really bad diarrhea explosion and I guess he probably played around for a bit before telling me and it really irritated his skin.  REALLY bad!  He has an "outbreak" of diaper rash, I would say at least once a month....sometimes every few weeks...but this was the worst I've ever seen.  He screamed so much while I was wiping him.  And the fact that it was diarrhea and all over the place, did not help with the wiping situation.  It took me forever to get him cleaned up and I felt so bad because he was just screaming.  I was in there for so long that people kept knocking on the door and I would yell "someone's in here!" and they'd stop.  Then there'd be another knock....this happened maybe 3-4 times.  I thought whoever was out there could hear me...and hear Caleb screaming!  Well, apparently not b/c I'm trying to get him in a new diaper when I hear the door being unlocked!  A security/mall employee just opens the door without even peeping in - he just throws the door open and I am a bit flustered by this time so I said (probably not in a nice tone of voice) "I'm trying to hurry! Give me a minute!"  Thank goodness I was not sitting on the toilet when he busted in!

So, I get Caleb changed and into a new pair of shorts...then I go to the bathroom myself (you know, because it's been less than an hour since I last went) and we go back out to the play area.  I send Caleb back off to play but he did not last long before he started getting whiny again.  By this time, it's about 11:20am so I figure we should go eat lunch and head home.  Everyone else was ready for lunch too so we all walked down to the food court, got Chick-fil-a, and actually found a table.  Lunch went just fine - Caleb ate all his chicken, some fruit, and drank most of his milk.  He had a lot of mall scenery to take in and was also playing with a straw while eating so he was content.  After we were all done eating, we headed out and got back on the road to head home.  As usual, I could not keep Caleb awake for the last 5-8 minutes of our drive.  We got home and I changed his diaper again...still VERY inflammed and he had another very small, runny poop...and he screamed when I wiped him again.  It was about 1:20pm when we got home so I put him down to try to take a nap.  He goofed off for a little while and I thought he might not nap because of the car nap...but he did fall asleep at around 1:50pm.  I planned to wake him up by 3pm if he was still asleep, so I had about an hour to myself.  I always do my quiet time while Caleb naps, so that's what I did.  I was about to go get him at 3pm when he woke up on his own and started crying.

I went in and started a diaper change....and yep, you guessed it - more runny poo and a terribly inflammed bottom.  I felt so bad for him.  I could tell it hurt him so much.  He was walking funny because part of the inflammed area was where his diaper touches his skin on the insides of each leg.  He was not a happy camper.  He let me hold him for a little while on the couch (he's not one to be held) and then I thought I'd spoil him a little (since he wasn't feeling well) and see if Mickey was on TV (he doesn't really watch TV much, but he thinks Mickey Mouse Clubhouse is funny - especially the dance they do at the end).  Well, Mickey wasn't on but Tom & Jerry was so I put it on that for a few minutes.  I didn't think anything of it because we used to watch those old cartoons as kids, and he laughed at it for a few minutes.  However, I have to say that we will never watch Tom & Jerry again because in this particular episode, they both drank about 4 bottles of some type of alcohol and got drunk.  Are you kidding me?!  This is supposed to be a kids' cartoon?!  I mean, I know he didn't know what was going on but that is obviously not a cartoon any kid needs to be watching (in my opinion).  Not to mention, I don't remember it being so violent. 

Anyway, by this time I think it was around 4-4:15pm.  I had planned to cook meatloaf and mashed potatoes for dinner and since Caleb was so unhappy, I started to think that dinner wasn't going to happen.  I almost texted Rhett to see if he'd pick something up....but decided to go ahead and start dinner prep since we're at the end of the month and the end of our eating out money!  Caleb was roaming around and seemed ok for a little while (I took his shorts off so that'd be one less thing to rub against where his little legs were red).  He came into the kitchen and I smelled poop again - ugh!  I changed him (again) and it was another kinda small one.  I went back to dinner prep and Caleb came into the kitchen and asked to give the dogs a treat ("pup-pup teet") so I let him do that....then back to dinner.  Caleb went into the living room and then a few minutes later, he comes back saying "wet! wet!" while holding his foot out.  I'm thinking, what in the world is wet that he stepped in?  I asked him to show me and he goes back into the living room and points out a huge puddle of dog vomit on the floor - great!!  He had stepped in it and trailed it across the floor...so I cleaned off his feet and hands and then went to grab something to go clean it up.  While I was doing that (for a split second) he went back into the living room and stepped in it again...and picked up a vomit chunk - wonderful!  I then cleaned him up for the 2nd time (yes, I washed my own hands too!)  By this time, I am struggling to get dinner going and it is nearly 6pm!  Kid diarrhea, severe diaper rash, dog vomit, kid stepping in dog vomit, and trying to cook meatloaf and mashed potatoes just does not work well!!

I should also mention that I had decided to post a question on my Facebook wall to see if anyone had suggestions or thoughts about what was going on with Caleb  (one of the things I love about FB - getting input/advice/experience from other people who've "been there, done that").  I checked my phone every so often to see if anyone would respond to my question...and saw that lots of people were responding with "I've done this....or that."  One of the things mentioned was to let him go diaper-less.  The thought had actually already crossed my mind but I was kinda scared to do it since he's all over the place!  I decided I'd try it out, though and I brought his play kitchen into the actual kitchen so he could "cook" while Mama cooked.  I stripped him down, lathered him up with Dr. Smith's and baby powder, and set him up in the kitchen to play while I got dinner going.

(I just couldn't post his little butt crack on the world wide web)

After a few minutes, I went to the bathroom (door open so I could hear him) and left him for just a moment in the kitchen (I wasn't worried about him getting into the living room b/c it's at least wood floor and not carpet).  I did not realize that in all the craziness already going on, I'd left the antiseptic cleaner/spray for the kitchen sitting pretty close to the edge of the counter (a big NO-NO in this house).  I turned my back to him while getting an egg out of the fridge and when I turned around, he was spraying himself with the cleaner (luckily most of it got on his chest and not much in his face).  I ran to grab it and put the egg down on the counter.......and it rolled off and "crack!" - another mess to clean up!  (If you're still reading then I am impressed)

I got the egg cleaned up and also decided I'd better put a towel down in front of his little kitchen in case he did go....he had not up until this point.  I put the towel down and then went back (for the millionth time) to cooking.  Caleb was playing happily (and nakedly, LOL) at his kitchen when I hear yet again, "poo-poo mama."  I turn around to see that he had "squirted" just a little (sorry if that is too descriptive but you chose to read on!)  Poor baby starts crying and I run to go get wipes to clean him up.  Of course, he screams while I'm wiping him - poor thing.  While I was cleaning him up, I noticed that he'd also peed a little on the front of the kitchen (luckily, not too much and it is all plastic).  So, this is the scene Rhett sees when he finally gets home at about 6:15pm....there is food prep stuff everywhere, toys all over the floor, Caleb's kitchen in THE kitchen, Caleb is butt naked and lathered up with Dr. Smith's and baby powder, and the pregnant wife is down on hands and knees wiping urine off the front of the play kitchen (well at the moment, he did not know it was urine but he soon found out).  Honestly, at this point I was already laughing a little bit....not that it was funny that Caleb had the diarrhea/rash problem but that things just kept happening one after the other!

So, poor Rhett, fresh home from work, had to take over entertaining a very naked Caleb while I continued to work on dinner....yes, I was still working on it!!!!!!!  By this time, there was no turning back - we were having meatloaf and mashed potatoes one way or another!!  Caleb had not eaten dinner yet and it was about 6:30pm, so I asked Rhett to fix him a PB&J sandwich (needed something easy and quick to feed him!)  We couldn't let him sit down (naked and covered in ointment) so Rhett just fed him bite by bite as Caleb continued to walk around playing (and peeing on the towel I had put down).  I'm working on dinner, Rhett is feeding Caleb while talking to his mom for advice (she's a nurse practitioner) and the dogs are circling because they are also starving!  A couple times during all of this, Caleb would say "poo-poo" and then squirt out a little more....maybe pee a little....and he'd have to be cleaned up again.  Poor little guy.  At one point, I don't know what was going on that he got out of our site, but he went into the living room.  The next thing I know, he is saying "poo-poo" for the millionth time.......so we go into the living room and find that he'd had a very large diarrhea explosion near (and some of it on) the TV cabinet.  Yes...ON the front of the TV cabinet!  (well most of it was on the floor...but still).  He was really upset about the poop burning his bottom and I think really confused about what had happened so I'm trying to console him and then he starts peeing everywhere (on the living room floor still).  Oh my.  Things were really going downhill.  Thank goodness Rhett was home when this explosion happened because I think I would have cried if I'd been left to deal with it by myself.  So I must admit that we did laugh at the TV cabinet poop explosion...I mean, really?  Did he have to explode on the TV cabinet?  LOL  (but poor little guy.....he was having a rough day!)

We got everything cleaned up and Rhett put Caleb in the bath.  He bathed him while I...well, I can't remember what I did - so many things were going on.  By the time Caleb's bath was over, dinner was actually ready!  Rhett suggested we make a make-shift cloth diaper so that his disposable diaper wouldn't rub all over his tender, inflammed skin...and I suggested that we just buy him some regular underwear instead since they'd be more breathable.  SO, Rhett went off to Walmart while I watched (a still naked) Caleb.  He also got some OTC cream to put on it just in case the rash was yeast-related (couldn't hurt to try).  After Rhett got back from Walmart, we put Caleb in his little undies and oh.my.word. could he be any cuter?  I think not!  He looked like a little man in his "tighty whities" (only they are Thomas the Train).  So now Caleb is roaming in underwear and we finally sat down to eat!  I just could not stop laughing at the poop explosion - if you could have only seen it...well, maybe you'd have thrown up.  I think I was delirious and a little crazy by this time!
checking out all of his new "choo choo" undies...

So this is where the story finally calms down!  After dinner (it's probably 8:30-8:45pm), we all go to the living room to relax.  Caleb was having a grand ole' time playing (the only time he got upset was when the poop irritated his skin and when we were wiping him, otherwise he was ok) and Rhett and I both just needed to sit down and breathe for a moment.  We decided we'd put him to bed at 9pm (yes, later than normal....but this day was far from normal), but then Caleb pooped again in his undies so we went ahead and got him changed and did the whole bedtime routine and got him into bed.  When it was all said and done, I think we put him down around 9:15pm.  He fell asleep at about 9:45pm - thank goodness he didn't take very long to get to sleep (30 minutes is good for him as of late).  Once he was in bed, we both worked to clean the filthy kitchen.....and finally sat down ourselves!  Now, Caleb is fast asleep and we are praying that he doesn't have any more diarrhea, especially not tonight!

You see....it was just "one of those days."  BUT, one of my favorite bible verses is Psalm 118:24 and it says "This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it."  It was definitely a crazy day, but things could have been so much worse.  I am thankful and praising God that Caleb did not have any other symptoms of illness and that overall, he is a healthy boy.  I am also thankful for my husband who helps me in any way he can because I could not do this parenting thing without him!  And I don't know if (in that particular moment), I could have cleaned up that giant diarrhea explosion!