I like to think I'm an experienced mother. I've had four babies, been changing diapers and feeding kids and cleaning messes and washing clothes for 7 1/2 years now. I've had more than the usual motherhood experiences too, since I have two kids with medical needs. Especially when it comes to diapers and their contents, I've seen it all.
At least, I thought I had. Until today.
I took the three youngest kids to a park today to play. The city had replaced the old playset, swingset, and wood mulch with concrete sidewalk, brand new playset, and recycled rubber mulch. Unfortunately, this park has only a portable toilet -- no running water of any sort.
While the older two kids played, I chose to bottle-feed Little boy. A dad was there with his kids and I didn't have my super-large-but-lightweight blanket to cover up with. At one point, he (Little Boy, not the dad) grunted and I heard some rumbling. Nothing to get my attention though.
I turned him around to burp him when he finished the bottle and felt a wet spot. On his back. I pressed it.
It. Squished.
He had somehow pooped up. It reached all the way up to between his shoulder blades. And he was wearing a onesie that would only come off by going over his head.
Now I've seen poop go up before. But I don't remember being away from home and having only wipes at my disposal for the clean-up. This was a hose-him-off-in-the-tub kind of mess. And the onesie issue was the biggest challenge of all. I really didn't want to smear poop over his head, face, hands, or all over me during the removal.
We headed to the van and I set out all my supplies like a surgeon prepping for a procedure.
Change of clothes. Check.
Clean diaper. Check.
Wipes, with several pulled out already. Check.
Spit-up cloth laid out as a changing pad. Check.
Plastic bag for the mess. Check.
I decided to try to reduce the amount of poop on his person before attempting onesie removal. I removed the diaper, dropped it on the parking lot, wiped as much off as I could, put a clean diaper on, and then sat him up. He's holding his head up well, but at 2 1/2 months old, is still quite floppy when sitting up. So he was draped over one arm while, with one hand, I tried to roll up the onesie, thereby containing the poop within its folds, and wipe. I rolled it up an inch at a time, wiping as I went. He got quite upset because he was suddenly cold. I struggled to hold onto him, as his body was slippery with poop and the moisture of the wipes. And yes, I had poop all over my hands.
I finally pulled the onesie off completely. Despite my best efforts, the mess was so great that I still ended up smearing poop up his back, into his hair, and onto both arms. I'm not sure how much came from the onesie and how much came from my hands. It took about 7 wipes to get us both clean enough to redress him.
I poured about a cup of hand sanitizer on my hands once I had all the disposable mess in a trash can and all the washable mess in a plastic bag. It seemed rather silly given what I had just dealt with, but without running water, it was the best I could do!
We headed straight home where I scrubbed and scrubbed... and then scrubbed the clothes and spit-up cloth to try to prevent the standard newborn-poop yellow stain. Little Boy will get a bath tonight.
He would have gotten one earlier, but he pulled the same stunt at his next feeding, just after I got the older two down for naps. I had to clean carpet this time! He shot poop up his diaper, onto my jeans, and onto the floor. So I'm waiting to bathe him until tonight in case he has any more tricks up his diaper,
