SHE POOPS!!! Alternate Title: I Praise the Power of Prunes.

I never realized how much of my life would include dealing with shit! Literally.

We are at the baby stage in which one of my primary job duties is poop analysis: consistency and frequency. (And of course, there is poop clean-up, but that’s not really a stage, it’s a never-ending duty.) Little girl has been eating solids for the past two weeks. We started with rice cereal and applesauce and then moved to vegetables. Her favorite food thus far has been carrots.

Since she is the second child, I am much more relaxed about keeping track of things, one of which is the frequency of her bowel movements. Right from the get go, her regularity has been spaced out by days. So I was not surprised nor alarmed when she had not done her business in a few days. But then, extreme crankiness descended upon the house. Clearly, my little one felt very uncomfortable. Hmmm….after mentally reviewing the “what’s-wrong-with-baby” checklist, I noted that perhaps my preciousness might be constipated. She was not necessarily inconsolable, but definitely letting me know that she was not happy. The usual comforts from Mom were not cutting it.

So we had a series of bad nights of a lot of crying and restless sleeping….and that was just me. Ha! No seriously, she was up a lot. Midnight bath and tummy massage did temporarily relieve the pressure build-up and did allow for some sleep for both of us. I called the pediatrician’s office for advice on at home remedies as well as to make an appointment if those did not correct the problem. The nurse recommended apple juice and prunes. And if that did not solve it, then a glycerin suppository. I really hoped it did not come down to that.

Happily she sucked down apple juice for the first time. And prunes? Why they are delicious. Thank you, Mommy. Now I praise the power of prunes. I did not have to wait for long for the prunes to work its magic. Later in the afternoon, albeit it was an effort for her as conveyed with some very angry crying, she passed what can only be described as a golf ball of poop. Her bowel movement was the size of a golf ball and just about as hard. No wonder little girl was mad.

This is how I know I unabashedly embrace parenthood. I considered taking a picture and sending it the Hubby. I didn’t! I just thought about it. Instead I did give a full report to the Hubby which I’m sure made his day in between emails, meetings, and briefings.

But there is a cautionary note to this as well. Beware of prune power! Because apparently, I overloaded little girl with a little too much prunes. Her body obviously tried to self-correct its system. I had to deal with not one, but two blowouts soon thereafter the golf ball incident.

I haven’t decided which is worse – constipation crankiness or blowout battles that make me want to don on protective gear, throw everything out in a hurry, and dunk her in the bathtub.

For the time being, I do now have a happy girl. I am monitoring her poop schedule a little more closely as well as her diet. It’s the first bout of many, I’m sure.

He barely looked back at us as he climbed onto the school bus today.

Waiting in the rain at the bus stop.

The whole family is here. In a blink, she'll be ready for this day all too soon for this mama!

Only looking back because we are calling to him.

He barely looked back at us as he climbed onto the school bus today.

I’m happy that he is excited for kindergarten.

I’m sad that my baby boy is growing up and every day he needs his mama less and less.

I remind myself, especially on this milestone morning, that my reward as a mom is to raise an INDEPENDENT child, and it's the culmination of these little milestones that gets him ready to walk out the door and face the world, one day completely on his own. I want him to know that he is loved unconditionally. I want him to face the beauty and the ugliness of the world with his eyes open and with the ability to navigate through it all to the other side of a life well lived.

This mama just needs to breathe and let go a little. The world is not out to get him. Letting him get on the bus was a huge act of faith for me that everything will be alright, that this community will take care of him, that he is prepared to follow the gingerbread men to his classroom, that he will be kind and friendly to others, that he will make friends easily, that he will not get picked on.

I am also accepting that I will not know every little detail of what will happen to him in a day. I will not get a daily report from his teachers. What was said? What was he reaction? Was he an instigator? What made him nervous? Or embarrassed? Or joyful? What did he think was funny?

So as his sister naps and I have a few minutes of solitude, I wonder what he will tell me today when he comes home from school. What will he take away from today? Is today glorious and let’s do it all again? Was today overwhelming? Was it just another day? I am looking forward to seeing my Little Man soon. Deep breath. He will find his way home without mommy intervention.

On the other hand, I am not so serious as to not enjoy my new found freedom (at least while the Baby naps). I have already had a Starbucks run, uploaded photos, talked to friends, scheduled a long overdue Mommy coffee for this Friday, cleaned my kitchen, made my dinner & shopping lists for the week, fed my child, and hung out on Facebook. And the list continues into the afternoon but I am just taking a few minutes to reflect, to pause, to enjoy this milestone morning of mine.