Our "Just in Case Box" and the Tale of Jo's Public Blowout

I had a very poopy situation on my hands last week. If you don't have a weak stomach, you can laugh at my predicament and read my story below. Then, I'll share with you what I did to make sure I'm never in that situation unprepared again!

I took Oliver to his gymnastics class this morning (he's doing much better in it). I took Jo out into the hallway with a bag of toys that I'd brought, and we began playing with her blocks. Before too long, she started grunting, and I knew she was pooping. The class is only 45 minutes long, so I didn't have a bunch of stuff with me, just an emergency diaper in my purse. I waited a minute to make sure she was done, as there's nothing worse than changing a diaper only to have your kid finish pooping in the new one. 

After about a minute, I noticed things were smelly. I mean they really stinky. Jo bent forward to grab her toy car, and that's when I saw it: it was a blowout.

Poop had come up out of her diaper, over the top, and down the back of her jeans. She'd been kneeling, and it smeared all over the back of her legs and on her shoes. It was clearly up on her back, too. 

I tried to decide if I should take her home or not. There was 25 minutes left in class. The drive home is about 10 minutes. I decided it wasn't an option. I picked her up by the armpits, grabbed our stuff, and ran to the bathroom. There was no changing table! I ran next door to the family bathroom, which I knew didn't have a changing table since we use that one regularly. I know, what kind of family bathroom doesn't have a changing table, right? But at least it would give me some privacy! 

I stood Jo up and carefully lifted her shirt off of her. Miraculously, there was only a little bit of poop on the bottom of her shirt. I got her shoes off and set them on the sink, and then I peeled her jeans off and did the same. It seemed like the mess was mostly localized to the outside of her pants, so, thankfully, it didn't smear down her legs. Her socks managed to stay clean. I didn't have any wipes with me. I started to wipe her with those brown paper towels, but they only smeared the mess. So, I held her over the sink and washed her as she wailed in anger. Once she was thoroughly clean, wet, and mad, I set her down on the floor in just her socks. I went to go throw the diaper away but found there was no liner in the trashcan! I didn't want to have someone reach in and grab the mess, so I wrapped the diaper as best I could in a bunch of paper towels.

Then came time for damage control. First, I washed the small bit of poop off the shirt. I was lucky, and it came off easily. The shirt was only wet at the bottom, so I put it back on her. I washed her shoes and put those back on her, along with the fresh "emergency diaper." Then, I scrubbed and scrubbed at her jeans in the sink. They were soaking wet, but I stuck them at the bottom of the bag of toys I'd brought for Jo. Next came my own shirt. I had a disgusting poop streak down one sleeve. I couldn't exactly walk around topless, so I was stuck washing that in the sink, too, and then I had to put it back on! I rolled up the left sleeve as best I could. I then walked around the bathroom, cleaning up any poop spots on the bench and stuff. I used soap and paper towels to scrub the sink. I got the sink pretty clean and then washed my hands and Jo's hands. The whole bathroom stunk like poop. It was so embarrassing. I grabbed a few paper towels and walked out of the stinking bathroom. We walked along the hallway, looking for any poop spots to wipe up. I didn't see any, but that just might mean I missed some. 

Jo had to hang out in just her diaper and shirt. If there are any poop spots I missed anywhere, I'm sure they will know it's us! We're regulars, so most of the people recognize us there. If there's any poop, they're going to think, "Oh, it must be that kid who was hanging out in her diaper." Urg, I'm so embarrassed!

That's the story I shared with all the ladies in my MOMS Club. They were able to laugh at my story and assured me they've been there. They also gave me a recommendation that seems so obvious now: keep a spare outfit, diapers, and wipes in the car. As one mom put it, even potty trained kids can have accidents. It's better to be safe than sorry!

That same day, I put together an "emergency" box (which I've dubbed our "Just in Case Box," so it's not confused with, say, a first aid kit or something). In it, I put an outfit for each kid, two pairs of undies, two spare diapers, wipes, and plastic bags to bundle any soiled clothes and any icky diapers & wipes. I sealed it with a single piece of tape so it won't spill all over the car but will still be easy to open if and when I need it.

Troubles in Gymnastics Class

Urg, I am having a rough time with my favorite 3 year old. I feel so helpless sometimes, trying to figure out what to do when he acts out.

He started a "big kid" gymnastics class last month. Instead of me being in the class with him, I sit on the bleachers and observe. The first class went so well! Here he is with one of his coaches on the balance beam:

It's been downhill since that class. He's been throwing tantrums, picking up items and throwing them and kids, and hitting other children! The worst part is, when he does it, he looks right at me. I know he's testing to see what happens. Although I want the coaches to be in charge, I also don't want to make them figure out what to do with a child who is hitting other kids. When he hits or throws things, I intervene and put him in time out. That causes him to cry, and then he is a helpless case for his coaches the rest of class. He's had four classes now, and we've left two of them within the first ten minutes because he just breaks down, throws a tantrum, and throws things at other kids. I'm trying to be consistent: If he is going to act out and throw things, then he gets a time out. If he keeps it up, then we have to leave. He loves gymnastics class (we'd done the parent-tot one for a while), and cries the whole way home because "he lost it." Yet, as soon as we get back to this class, he's up to the same behavior. I keep telling myself my consistency will pay off, but I'm disheartened.

I love watching the Olympics!

Yes, I'm hooked on the Olympics. Every summer, I make sure to catch as much of the women's gymnastics as possible (winter games, I love figure skating!).

Before the individual uneven bars today, I got the chance to watch some of the track and field events. I discovered the pole vaulting is an incredible sport to watch. Thankfully, I also had the opportunity to watch the American men sweep the 400 meter hurdles event.

There's one aspect of the games this year that's bugging me, though. Every single women's gymnastics finals, the announcers seem to accuse the Chinese women of not being 16. It really hits a nerve with me, maybe because I was always so young looking at that age. These women clearly look 16 to me. Their passports say their 16. The Olympic committee says their 16. Drop it already. I'm not sure why, but it really, really bugs me. They're all at least 15. Let's get over that issue and enjoy the gymnastic games already!