Poop. That's right. This entire post is on poop, and it it graphic, so if you want to move on, go right ahead.
One of my boys has an unbelievable tendency to clog up toilets. In fact, it was so bad that we actually bought a NEW TOILET because we were sure that there must be some problem with it...I mean, what 3 year old routinely clogs a toilet? Oh, one of ours. And we're not talking clogging like you can use a plunger to fix it. We are also on our second snake. To those of you who have no clue, a long metal "snake" is a tool that you either hand crank or drill to rotate and send through the plumbing in a toilet and dislodge poop. It is foul and disgusting and smelly and dirty (and I am so glad I get to be the hand cranker/drill girl and not the one who has to lead the snake into the toilet...thanks Nate!!!).
At any rate, we use the snake every 2 weeks or so. He poops more than that, but sometimes it is not horrible. It is just huge. Huge. I can't even describe...and I have no clue how something that large can actually be in and get out of a child.
Nate has encouraged me to use a toilet brush or a plunger to break it up before I flush it so that we don't have to resort to the snake. So gross. Jenny then recommended a spoon. That's right, a spoon. To break up the poop (slice it, if you will). And yes, I finally resorted to the spoon (after the episode I'm going to talk about next). It worked. Disgusting.
So Sunday this child went in and pooped, clogging the toilet significantly. Not 2 minutes later I walk out to the backyard where the other 3 were playing. Another child is crying, crying, and talking about poop. He has his pants around his ankles. I figure he has to poop, but no. Did he poop in his pants? No. Then what is the problem? Z points me to the side of the house.
The good thing about boys is that they can pee outside. When I was potty training the boys last summer it was too hard to haul all 3 in at once if one had to pee, so I designated a pee spot on the side of the house. They are all allowed to pee out there (we warned our neighbor), but ONLY in that one spot. Why fight it if you can control it, right?
So I head over to the side of the house where Z is pointing...the pee side. And yes, you're guessing right...this child had in fact dropped his drawers and taken a load off in the "right" place in the backyard.
Sigh....ah, the glamorous life of a mother.
You have me rolling with this one. It's evidently not uncommon, Katie. When Tom and I worked with 7th grade boys they would routinely clog the camp toilet so badly that Tom had a regular "dig it out" time each evening. I've had many mothers say this too. It's also true of puppies, evidently. Makes me wonder if it has to do with (in)efficiency of processing food. TMI, but Tom eats way less than I do and has to go several times a day. The mass equivalence just doesn't add up. Good luck with the "pee is ok but no pooping outside" talk. :) You are the best mom in the world!
ReplyDeleteSo funny...and yucky! I'm related to someone who keeps a large knife (no small children in the house) wrapped near the toilet to slice and dice her husband's poop before flushing. Blech. But I guess when you're desperate...
ReplyDeleteon a related note, we have the Champion toilets, and have only had to use a plunger once or twice in over four years! Even when relative mentioned above comes to visit...without his knife. ;)