P is for Poo

Ok, so it finally happened... our first exploding diaper. We got through 8 lovely months of contained poop, which I was very proud of, until tonight. Here's how it went down...

I gave Sara a lentil and veggie blend for dinner, followed by her bottle. I stood her up on my lap afterwards and she let out the longest fart ever... she laughed afterwards, and so did I. Then we sat together and read some books like we do every night before her bath.

I thought I could smell something "off", but chalked it up to some earlier spit up that I may have missed on her sweater (it was the first spit up in a couple of days!) We read for a while until Sara got squirmy, when I picked her up and carried her upstairs to get ready for the bath. I stopped to talk to Ian while holding her, and when my hand grazed the back of her pants it felt wet... uh oh. I made a face, and when Ian looked closer at my hand, he said the words I didn't want to hear: "Umm... it's dirty..."

OH GOD.

Never having dealt with this before, I wasn't sure what to do. Ian got a towel to lay on her change pad, and when I started taking clothes off, we saw the damage. There was poo everywhere. On her pants, her shirt, most of the way up her back. At a loss for what to do first, I just stripped her down while Ian poured the bath. I had heard that lentils can be a bit hard to digest at first, but come on!! I used about a million wipes and handed her over to daddy to get cleaned up. She happily splashed about in the tub while I dealt with the laundry.

Then I realized I had to inspect the couch for poo. Holding my breath, I found there was only a small spot to clean... phew.

Only a mom could turn poop into a life lesson, but I've been spending time lately reflecting on this past year and just watching Sara... thinking about how she has changed me already. I used to get wound up and fixated on things big and small, and wanted to maintain control over things. While we still try to have a big picture life plan, I've learned that the day to day just happens. The ordinary, unplanned moments are often the happiest. Yesterday Sara was happy to just sit and play with an empty laundry basket for a while. And I was happy to just sit and watch her. It really struck me. And exploding poop? Not exactly planned, but we dealt with it and even had a good laugh.

This time last year I wasn't dealing with exploding diapers, but it's kind of a metaphor for how much our lives have changed. My heart is bigger, my home warmer, and marriage more meaningful. Our family is closer, which I'm happy about, and some friendships have changed. Some have become stronger, while others have diminished - I've struggled to accept that, but I guess it's to be expected. My art has become more important, and while I don't have nearly as much down time, my free moments are more precious and I don't waste them. There are still times when I freak out over, you know, silly things... or wish someone else would magically clean/sort/put away/throw out/buy all the 'stuff'... but I have too many blessings to count, not the least of which is our beautiful baby and her clean bum.

Oh, and for the benefit of those who come over, the couch cushions have been washed. And we're now calling it the poo couch.