The mysterious case of the travelling poo!

A funny thing happened to me this week, late on Monday night. We had the rare occurrence of Baby E waking in the middle of the night. This is so rare that it had only happened once before since he was 8 weeks old and has been sleeping through the night. I know we are very lucky to have a Baby who is so happy and calm at night and is comfortable to settle himself on his own when he wakes up so I don't mind getting up to help him when he needs us. Normally he only wakes up if he is feeling poorly, and true enough he was very hot and had a little temperature.

A quick application of Calpol, and he was back in his cot yawning and cuddling his teddy. My baby brain memory is guaranteed to let me forget something just 2 seconds after it has happened, and on this occasion it was on top form. I had forgotten that moments before it looked as though Baby E was having a poo. Sure enough, within half an hour of Baby E being in his cot, and just as I was dropping off to sleep I was summoned again.

Something clicked in my brain ... oh ... I think he has had a poo. My thoughts were correct, and I found Baby E with a dirty nappy. I kept the lights dim to remind Baby E that it was still night time, and quickly changed his nappy. With Baby E's bottom now clean and a new nappy in place, I began folding up the dirty nappy to place it in the bin. Just as it was nearly wrapped up I noticed the lump of poo was on Baby E's chest. It was sitting there, winking at me. Was it a relative of Mr Hankey the Christmas Poo? I felt like it was sitting there on Baby E's left nipple mocking me, saying 'ha ha, bet you don't know how I got here'.

I was completely taken by surprise, how did it get there? The last time I saw the poo it was in his nappy that I was folding up and was holding in my hands. Did the poo leap through the air and land on his chest? Was my nappy folding action too forceful and I had inadvertently flicked the poo into a trajectory that would make it travel a whole foot up the changing stand? Maybe I was mistaken in thinking I had seen the poo in Baby E's nappy? Maybe it had been sat on his chest since I first opened the nappy. How long had it been there?

Was it possible that Baby E grabbed it as soon as I opened his nappy. He had very grabby hands that were reaching for his willy, and on a previous nappy changing occasion he had grabbed at the wet wipe that I was using to wipe his bottom. My mind turned to visions of him picking up the poo and playing with it. Turning it in his hands like it is one of his toys or even worse some food! Help! What had happened to the poo???

Fortunately there was no sign of poo on his hands (or face) so I must live with the belief that my forceful nappy folding set the poo on a trajectory leading to Baby E's left nipple. Baby E seemed perfectly happy with the situation, and not at all traumatised with the poo/nipple incident. It shall forever remain the mysterious case of the travelling poo!

Baby E's First Tooth

Hooray Baby E has his first tooth. It arrived on Tuesday 23rd June 2009, and I simply can't stop looking at it!



His first tooth to come through was the bottom middle on the right side. I am amazed by how sharp it is, and how little fuss he made as it came through his gums. We had a few restless nights (aided by Calpol or course), and a few days where he had a red bottom, but nothing worrying. He was so relaxed I hardly think he noticed.



First the gum looked like it had a little indent on it, as if it were parting to let the tooth come through, then after a few days we could feel the tooth, but not see it. This was very frustrating for me as I was so excited to see what it looked like.



Now just over a week later there is a lovely white tooth shining out for all to see. It looks a little crooked, however I am sure it will straighten up when it has lots of other teeth to keep it company. Next his little tooth is another indent as the gum is preparing for it's neighbour to break through also. I think it will still be a few days until we meet the next tooth, as we are yet to see a sore bottom, but it is definitely on its way.



Both myself and my Fabulous Boyfriend have no cavities, and have never had a filling. I will forever be grateful to my parents for teaching me good dental hygiene, and am now feeling the pressure to pass this knowledge onto my son. I know I would feel a failure as a parent, and that I was not looking after him properly if he were to have poor teeth and heaven forbid a filling. So the day his tooth came through I set off on a mission to get the best toothbrush and toothpaste my wallet could buy. I went to my dentist and chatted to the receptionist who had been trained in children's nutrition and dental hygiene. She explained what snacks were safer to give him through the day as they are sugar free, and recommended some toothpaste and toothbrush. We (Baby E and I) left the dentist feeling satisfied with our purchase and a handful of leaflets on children's dental hygiene.



So now we have added teeth cleaning to our daily routine. Baby E has his own little toothbrush which he cleans his one tooth as I am cleaning mine. I must admit he mainly chews on the wrong end, but we help him out by turning the brush around and positioning the bristles over his tooth helping him to give it a little wiggle in the right spot.



Along with the tooth we have a new sound. Baby E is exploring his changing mouth and discovering he can make little clicking noises. They are so perfectly crisp and clear and very cute. This is a very exciting time, and he is changing almost every day, new noises, new teeth ... what will come next???