The past week of my life has been consumed by thinking about poop, both toddler and canine. The canine stuff is easier to explain, so I'll tackle that one first.
When we moved into our house, we were lazy and let the dogs do their business wherever they wanted to in the backyard. Now that we are putting in a garden and (if the weather ever cooperates) some landscaping, we don't want them going just anywhere. Plus I want Ella to be able to run around the backyard without worrying she is going to fall over into a doggy minefield.
Because of that, we're trying to teach the dogs to go to the bathroom in one corner of the yard. The one dog is sort of getting it, although if he's off the leash he'll still go where he pleases. The other dog is entirely resistant to the idea. At least half the time when we bring her out there she sits down and refuses to do anything.
Thus my worry about dog poop. If Jim doesn't have time to walk them before work, and if she refuses to go outside, that leaves one place left for her to poop: the house. Thankfully so far she has not had any accidents. I feel like I have to be super-vigilant, though, about keeping an eye on her whereabouts in the house. I hope the dogs figure out the new bathroom stuff soon. I can't constantly be sniff-testing the air in my house for any trace of poop smell.
The canine poop is a small problem compared to the toddler poop issues. For the past week or so we have been dealing with constant poop- like we're talking 4-5 times a day. I know some toddlers go this often and some parents have told me not to worry about it. But while that may be normal for their kid, it's not for mine.
In my desperation, I spent over two hours last night researching toddler poop issues. Gluten? Lactose? Molars? Seasonal allergies? I turned off my computer last night more frustrated than anything, because nothing seemed to fit what was going on with her. My frustration increased when she woke up this morning with a horrendous diaper rash.
I still have no idea what is causing it. I put her on a bland diet today (which she is not a fan of) and that has seemed to help a lot. But she can't go on eating toast and crackers for the rest of her life. The only semi-possibility we've been able to come up with is a citric acid sensitivity. It doesn't quite fit, though, so I'm still on the hunt for the answer.
If anyone has thoughts as to what could be causing her issues, I would be more than happy to hear them. I'm willing to pretty much try anything at this point to get her digestive woes sorted out.
If someone told me a few years ago how much time I would devote to thinking about poop, I would have laughed.
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