Sunday, August 10, 2008

Talkin' Shit ... Literally

Way before our daughter was born, I was on a mission to have my first child potty trained by the time s/he was one. I mean, so many places around the world train their kids by six months. We Americans, on the other hand, wait until our children are out of college before we teach them shit from Shinola. I felt it was my patriotic duty.

Nothing reinforced this conviction more than those first, fecal diapers. Parents/caregivers, you know what I’m talking about. That grey/green/yellow/brown slop (all the colors of the rainbow!) that runs like a mighty river all over the damned place. And like napalm, it sticks to everything. There are days when you, the baby, the walls, your neighbors, innocent bystanders are just covered in shit. You’re scouring your hands with Brillo, hand-washing everything your baby’s ever touched, sterilizing entire communities, and cursing Luvs for the crap diapers they truly are. Like Sherman heading to Atlanta, I was fierce and determined and had a fire in my eyes that would scare Al Sharpton’s hair curly. My girl would be potty-trained!

Now, some nine months later, I’ve relaxed a bit. Now that our girl’s eating solid foods, I just don’t feel the same urgency. I never realized how convenient a turd really is. Small, compact, easily flushable. Absolute genius! I will never look at shit the same way again.

Of course, it wasn’t that way at first. The transition was rough, and our poor, little baby spent those first few days constipated … and miserable. She would strain and strain, her face cherry-red, and would cry in frustration and pain. It was so hard to watch. We were powerless, and those pureed prunes didn’t seem to be working.

Then, on the third day, it was finally starting to happen. I was holding her, walking through the apartment. Her face started turning red, and she started trembling and grunting. I knew the look.

“Oh, crap,” I said. “Ha, ha. I’m funny.”

The grunts quickly gave way to ear-piercing screams. I set her on the changing pad. The poor girl started thrashing around frantically. Her face was so red and hot I contemplated setting up solar panels and powering the neighborhood. I ripped off the diaper and looked.

There it was. A little brown round turd. And it was stuck. And she was screaming. And I was a first-time father. I’d never dealt with this shit before. No, not funny this time.

“WAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!”

“Oh, it’s OK, baby,” I soothed. “It’ll be all right.”

“WAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!”

“Uh … push? … push? Naw, that was for your mother.”

The damned thing wasn’t moving, and my words weren’t going to push it along. It looked so damned painful. Finally, I grabbed up my baby’s little legs and pressed them against her belly. I thought the pressure would help. It didn’t. I had to do something.

And I did it. Something I’d never thought I’d do. Something I’d never once in my life contemplated. But what could I do? My baby was in pain. So, I did it. That’s right, I did it.

I pulled a Bobby Brown.

I grabbed a baby wipe and gently placed it over the turd. She screamed and squirmed. I ignored her and carefully, slowly pulled. It finally came out, and my girl instantly forgot the terror and torture—as only babies can do. I gave her a new diaper, snapped up her clothes, and disposed of the little, brown terrorist. I placed my giggling, babbling daughter in her crib, and headed to the bathroom to wash my hands.

Soaping up and listening to my little girl’s “goo goo gah gah,” I looked up at the mirror and smiled a little proudly, thinking, “Damn, I’m a father.”



PS. Yes, I will be saving this blog entry for when somebody thinks she’s grown enough to start dating. Some lucky, little boy is going to have some reading material on his way to the movies. :)

11 comments:

Gine said...

This story reminds me of a book I'm reading: Daddy Needs a Drink.

Oh, and, of course, my own experiences (with my daughters, I mean) in toilet training.

Jess Riley said...

"I never realized how convenient a turd really is."

Hilarious!!

Unknown said...

You gotta do what you gotta do when it's your kid.

Michelle said...

This had me laughing so hard! I have been through this with my son, but have never pulled the turd out! Now i'm waiting for my daughter to start potty training. Uh oh....

grant said...

Potty trained by 6 months, really? Hmm, I think we'll get there before 24 months but damn...

Pamela Johnson Parker said...

Hilarious post.

Don't forget to save a picture of your daughter's face smeared with green peas and/or sweet potatoes, and display it prominently when the prom date shows up.

(My daughter, age 11, lives in fear of this day of embarassment arriving).

Ron Strelecki said...

Well, that was funny.

"pulled a Bobby Brown..."

Just perfect.

Skyler Grey said...

Bill, that was hilarious! I'm happy to see a grown man step up to the plate for a change when it comes to diapers, poo or not. lol

I enjoyed your blogs, thanks for sharing! :)
*hugs*
Skyler

Bliss said...

LMAO!

i've had to do the turd-pulling job with a nephew (who is now a cool-ass teen and would DIE if i ever told him!).

thank God i didn't have any poop-y or potty training horrors with baby bliss.

yeah, i got fed up with Luvs too. inexpensive but not a good option for the heavy drinkers/big bladders or dookie queens/kings.

trying to be an eco-momma, i used cloth diapers for a while. um, yeah...

by age 1, baby bliss was using the potty sparingly. then size 5 diapers were created and i exhaled for a bit.

pull ups got my goat tho. too much $$ and not enough in the pack!

finally, when she was 2, we went to a head start interview and they said, "send her in panties and we'll do the rest".

heading home, baby bliss said: no more pull ups mommy. panties.

and that was it. potty training was DONE.

Tara S Nichols said...

Ohhh dear. I've heard of days like those. I have a three year old son and we are potty training our butts off. Diapers have got to go.

yes, puns intended.

and yes, that is truly what defines a parent, delving into poo with barely a second thought for the comfort of our little ones.

Yasmin said...

Po baby thank God her dad was there to the rescue...and she will continue to think you're super dad until she's eight and then all bets are off...hehe.
xoxo