Taking up my cross
I've decided that my cross to bear as a mother is poop and pee! I know, it sounds absurd, but I think it is quite true! I can't honestly explain it any other way. Mattie pooped her pants at school yesterday. Fortuneately, (if their is any fortuneately in that) she did it late in the afternoon. I could smell it immediately, so I'm sure others noticed. She has done this everyday for over a month! We threw away her underwear at the YMCA and cleaned her up, but she still smelled terrible. When we got home, she did it again. I talked with her about it, and she said she does it because she can't feel it when it happens. I don't believe that. I'm thinking that she doesn't want to take the time to leave for the toilet when she's playing, because this is typically when it happens. Not at night, not at lunch, not at church, not in the tub. She was playing in the sand this morning, and...again! She doesn't pee her pants. She doesn't pee her bed at night! If this was an occasional occurance, I would feel much better about it being something that happens, but everyday is too much. I'm taking Joe to the doctor tomorrow for his 18 month well baby check and I think I'll inquire about it. I'm not sure if I'm going to visit with her teacher about it or not. I keep thinking it will stop I guess. I am going to send her to school in a pull up tomorrow and put an extra one in her backpack. I suppose I should let her teacher know. We've tried several tactics including taking something away, spanking, letting her know that she may not be able to stay in school if this happens, making her clean out her panties by herself, telling her that other kids will make fun of her and not want to play with her...
She is not the only source of bowel and bladder issues though. Knock on wood...it has been a while since Benjamin has peed or pooped on the floor because he wanted to. He has gone in the toilet. He went almost a month without an accident at night, and now he has had one almost every night for a couple of weeks. This is despite being taken potty around midnight. It usually happens about 4 am. Needless to say, I've washed bedding A LOT in the past weeks.
THEN, there is the not-flushing-the-toilet issue. This encompasses at least three of the kids. Jakob and Joshua have reached a point where they are irritated with cleaning the bathroom because they're tired of cleaning up pee from around the toilet and poop from the walls. They haven't reached the point where they're not responsible for some of it, but they feel like they're cleaning up someone else's mess.
Joe...well, he is still in diapers, so I certainly can't complain about his pooping, but the poor child has been doing a lot of it lately. I'm not sure what is going on, but I change a poopy diaper 4-5 times a day and his little bottom is absolutely raw and bleeding. I would love it if he was ready to potty train well before this new baby arrives. It is certainly a possibility, but I've also learned that it is much easier to train in a week when they're ready vs. three months or more because they're not yet. My grandmother would definitely disagree, as her children were apparently potty trained by 12 months! :) He's shown no sign of being interested, although he can tell me sometimes that he is stinky...I can usually smell it though! Hee hee!
And then of course there is my husband...he doesn't poop his pants or pee the bed, but I think all of this should be on his shoulders because he is smelly much of his time, and is in love with the idea that he can pee outside because that is part of living in the country.
So, Lord, I will endure this, although if I could pick my cross, I'd choose something else...then again, this IS probably minor, especially considering all of my family is healthy. At any rate, it is probably NOT the last time I will whine about it.
She is not the only source of bowel and bladder issues though. Knock on wood...it has been a while since Benjamin has peed or pooped on the floor because he wanted to. He has gone in the toilet. He went almost a month without an accident at night, and now he has had one almost every night for a couple of weeks. This is despite being taken potty around midnight. It usually happens about 4 am. Needless to say, I've washed bedding A LOT in the past weeks.
THEN, there is the not-flushing-the-toilet issue. This encompasses at least three of the kids. Jakob and Joshua have reached a point where they are irritated with cleaning the bathroom because they're tired of cleaning up pee from around the toilet and poop from the walls. They haven't reached the point where they're not responsible for some of it, but they feel like they're cleaning up someone else's mess.
Joe...well, he is still in diapers, so I certainly can't complain about his pooping, but the poor child has been doing a lot of it lately. I'm not sure what is going on, but I change a poopy diaper 4-5 times a day and his little bottom is absolutely raw and bleeding. I would love it if he was ready to potty train well before this new baby arrives. It is certainly a possibility, but I've also learned that it is much easier to train in a week when they're ready vs. three months or more because they're not yet. My grandmother would definitely disagree, as her children were apparently potty trained by 12 months! :) He's shown no sign of being interested, although he can tell me sometimes that he is stinky...I can usually smell it though! Hee hee!
And then of course there is my husband...he doesn't poop his pants or pee the bed, but I think all of this should be on his shoulders because he is smelly much of his time, and is in love with the idea that he can pee outside because that is part of living in the country.
So, Lord, I will endure this, although if I could pick my cross, I'd choose something else...then again, this IS probably minor, especially considering all of my family is healthy. At any rate, it is probably NOT the last time I will whine about it.
