Clean-out Day

For those of you thinking that clean-out day is a spring clean....it isn't. Clean-out day means that we are cleaning out the colon in preparation for a colonoscopy the next day. In this case, Aiden is having a colonoscopy tomorrow morning. With adults, they give them go lightly at night, which induces horrible frequent diarrhea to clean out (there are also some restrictions on diet and clears, but I don't remember it being as extreme as kids). In children it is not so easy. You can't give go lightly. So from the time the child wakes up until noon they can have jello and broth (nothing red though--dye can make it look like blood on the scope). After noon nothing but pedialyte or water with Miralax to induce all the poop to come out.

I've done this three times with Kyle and this is the second time with Aiden. I prefer that we do clean-out and scopes together because trying to feed one toddler and not another--rough. Plus, did I mention neither of my kids like jello or broth. So Aiden has had zip food today, with only 10 oz of pedialyte. He is miserable.

I know clean-out day is going to be miserable, because the kid is cranky and cannot understand why you aren't feeding them when they are crying at their chair or begging for "mopcorn," "milk," "cereal," or simply, "eat." They don't take good naps because they are fighting hunger pains. Every insult, injury, or disappointment is met with a horrible meltdown because it is too much to take. Most of the day you end up holding them while they watch TV---no energy to do much else. It is the price we pay to get some answers.

Well, today topped my charts on the times I've done clean-out. FYI: This is graphic content.

We drove down to Orem this morning. While we were waiting on Evan, after I finished errands, I found a local park on my phone. I went with three toddlers in tow (a friend's little girl, Morgan, has been staying at my house). There was no close parking, so after unloading everyone, we walked about 4 minutes through wet, muddy grass to get to the playground. Immediately upon arrival, Kyle says he needs to go to the bathroom. Crap!

There is not one available, and he looks desperate. I tell him to come with me (no purse, no wipes, no diapers, all in the car). We walk about 50 ft away behind a tree where I can still watch Aiden and Morgan. There is another family of girls playing on the play structure on the opposite side form where I took him. In walking over, he tells me he needs to poop. Double Crap! I know that I have no time.

So I still take him behind the tree. I'm racking my brains to figure out what to do, as I show him how to squat, while supporting him and making sure he doesn't pee on his clothes. He tells me he is done. Well, surprise. It was diarrhea. Yup, folks, welcome to my nightmare. He has gotten some of it in his underwear. So I set him down on the wet bark chips behind the trees, take off his shoes, take off his underwear, pull back up his pants, and put his shoes back on. I used the underwear to wipe his bum and sent him on his way. While I piled dirt onto his mess, luckily it was a very limited amount.

Then 10 minutes later, you guessed it. Mommy, I need to go to the bathroom. Poop?? Yes, I need to poop. We go through the whole rigamarole again, except I already had poopy underwear to wipe him with. I called it then, we went to the car, I put a diaper on him and we went to get Evan.

If you have suggestions on that situation, let me know. Because I'm pretty sure that I will face this situation again. Especially because this is caused by the new medication designed to help his reflux---too bad it causes uncontrollable diarrhea (we've had 5 or so accidents in the bathroom because he can't help it over the course of this drug trial).

I hope someone can laugh at this because it still isn't funny to  me and if you live in the Orem area, sorry for pooping in your park :)

Because we were in Orem, on the drive back to SLC, all the kids slept. So what does that mean, no nap!! So upon laying Aiden down in hopes he'll get a nap, but mostly so I can feed the other two toddlers without his knowledge, he cries. And cries, and cries, and cries. My neighbor texts to ask if I need anything and that it sounds like nap time is not going well. Yup, not going well at all. Thirty minutes later, I call it and put him in bed with the toddlers to watch a movie. Morgan leaves shortly thereafter, my kids get to watch Kung Fu Panda.

Well, that was a bad choice. Because Kyle decided to BE Kung Fu Panda, they both fall off my  bed. I go to comfort them, leaving my lap top on the couch. I then use the bathroom, Aiden finds my laptop. Kyle tries to help putting it up on my mantle. Because we have concrete walls, my highly pricey framing job on my Chinese prints are resting there. He puts the lap top too far over and one of the frames falls on him, cutting his leg. Not to mention that it bent my highly pricey, super expensively framed picture. He is sad, I am sad. Lots of blood.

After an afternoon lounging and trying to get Kyle to stop asking for popcorn in front of Aiden. I put them in the bath. I pull Kyle out early so he can eat dinner. Aiden cries when I say dinner. Aiden at this point has not pooped, even with Miralax. This seems to be what he does on clean-out day, he stops up. So I give him an enema. Awesome. He laughs while I perform it but commences shaking like a leaf as soon as the diaper is back on. It helps some, but I am pretty sure there will be poop tomorrow in the pictures.

I finally got them to bed. Honestly, it could have been worse. Our medical situation could be so much worse. But on days like today, I really feel for mothers in the world who have no food to give their children and this situation is a common experience for them. It is heartbreaking and he will be one happy boy to get his slushy tomorrow after the procedure.