HFMD
Greetings to all.
When one plans their future and they think of children, there is the expectation that once they start school some diseases will come home with them. One thinks of colds and upper respiratory infections, ear infections, pink eye. Other diseases are also considered, like measles, mumps, chickenpox, all things to which, as adults, one has immunities to or vaccinations against.
During Xavier's first week of school (which began Monday, August 29th) we kept him home Thursday (he goes Monday through Thursday this year) because of what we thought was a head cold. He ran a slight fever and was stuffed up.
Xavier also developed two sores on his face, one on his lower lip and one just below his lip. Rebecca thought these might be cold sores; she got these as a child. We thought nothing more about it, though we kept an eye on them.
Then we noted small sores on Xavier's legs, not too many. We thought bug bites. We cleaned his room thoroughly, changes his sheets and blankets and gave him an extra bath. We found nothing in his room, so maybe mosquitoes got him at night when outside.
Labor Day weekend, Xavier developed blisters on his feet, mostly on his toes. We looked these over and thought gravel from the playground at school and at church were rubbing his feet. We bought him a new pair of shoes to keep out the gravel.
The following Wednesday, Xavier and I sawed up a large branch for the trash. The blisters which developed on my hands I thought were because I did not wear gloves.
Thursday I felt weak and oddly tired; by three o'clock in the afternoon I could barely keep my eyes open. Rebecca was out of town Friday through Monday, leaving me in a pickle if I could not get ahead of what I thought was a cold coming on. I thought it weird that I had a sore throat (like a cold), but no sinus congestion or stuffiness.
Friday, I woke with several new sores on my face and hands, the ones on my hands similar to my "blisters". The bells started ringing; this seemed familiar. I had something like this when I was a boy. It was off to the all-knowing Google.
We diagnosed the problem. Xavier did not have cold sores, nor bug bites, nor blisters on his feet. Nope, he brought something home (not from school, ironically, but from church) he could share.
When one ponders raising children, I think it would rarely cross their mind to consider Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease.
Mission Complete
Greetings to everyone.
When does the training end? That's the million dollar question. When can parents let their guards down?
Xavier is doing fantastic with the potty. He uses his little potty exclusively now when at home. He disappears down the hall, then reappears a short time later, his business complete. He sometimes closes his door.
I haven't seen a diaper in two weeks! Not even a pull-up. We've had only three accidents, two early morning and one after a nap. All of them peeing accidents.
The first happened in the morning. Xavier woke up and informed me his pants were wet. As we changed him, we explained to him what happened; he seemed to understand.
The next accident I consider a parental fail. He got up from his nap and wanted to go immediately outside to "move dirt" (that's Xavier-speak for playing in the dirt with his dozer and backhoe toys). Dad suggested "Xavier, you should sit on the potty first." "No, Daddy, no tickle"
We weren't outside more than two minutes. Back in the house to clean up and get a dry set of clothes.
The third time was similar to the first. Xavier had a hard night. In fact we all were up or awake most of the night. In the morning, we let Xavier sleep long. About 8:30 he called out "Daddy." Yep, he was wet.
I got him to his room (he was sleeping with us in the master bed) and sat him on his potty while I pulled off his wet clothes. As he sat on the potty, he finished draining this bladder. Exciting! He had caught himself wetting his pants and bed, then managed to stop and call Daddy in to help. He had a lot more pee to let out. In fact, it was (in Xavier's words) "a big pee."
We learned from this accident not to let Xavier go more than 12 hours between pee breaks.
I should mention at this point that Xavier has not been wearing his "sleeping pants" (aka a pull-up) at night or for naps. After the third day of training, he refused them. "I don't want sleep pants" when being polite, or "No sleep pants!" when copping an attitude. He is the Commando Boy.
We have a portable potty seat for traveling. In fact, we have something like a diaper bag, only this is for mobile potty. It contains a seat insert, change of clothes and wipes. Xavier is a pro at using the insert.
Now, whenever we enter a store, the first thing we look for are the locations of the public restrooms.
At home, Xavier goes to the potty on his own, often without announcing it. He cleans his potty by carrying it across the hall and dumping it in the toilet. He often pulls out his stepping stool and washes his hands. He has even surprised us by using wipes to clean up his little behind. After he finishes his "number two," he (with some effort and agility) gets the box of wipes from his changing table. He even tosses the used wipe into the diaper pail.
(Why not keep the wipes at his level and near his potty all the time? you might ask. Well, Xavier would then use those wipes all the time. He would pull one from the box and do who-knows-what with it. Then, he would go back and get another. So, the wipes stay on his changing table for now)
Both Rebecca and I have relaxed a bit. We don't press Xavier about needing to go as much. When he tells us he doesn't need to use the potty, we believe him—he has earned our trust by showing he knows his body and can handle it. He's very good about telling us he needs to use the potty when we are away from home.
At this point, I would declare Xavier potty trained with two weeks experience. But when can our guards be let down entirely? When does the training truly end? Perhaps when we no longer ask Xavier "Does your butt tickle?"