POOP

I'm starting to realize that I have a weird fixation on poop. When my kids say, "Mom, I don't feel well", my automatic response is "Do you need to poop?" Then when they tell me that they already pooped, I ask them what it was like. Was it diarrhea or normal? If they answer diarrhea I find myself asking how bad it was. Just a little mushy or total liquid?

This fixation seemed to start when they were born. I have many memories of examining the contents of diapers and trying to relate it to the health of the baby. Were they constipated? Wow, I didn't realize that pineapples could turn a butt so red? Turns out that Thomas's stomach doesn't agree with oranges.

What's worse, now that the kids are older and they don't want to discuss their poops anymore I've been following the dog around and examining his! In my defense, he has had bouts of diarrhea for the past few months. This has required intense monitoring! Hmmm. They start out kind of green and sometimes are just a weird yellow. What could this mean? Turns out he can no longer tolerate his regular food. The new prescription diet has not only firmed them up, but has also made them a nice brown color! Quite bulky also, since the new food is high fiber! You never realized just how fun poop watching could be!

I'm glad that Beau is feeling better but have no fear, since I am acting as a foster mother to the abandoned cat and kittens, I have four new digestive tracts to follow! As I guessed, the mother's postnatal diarrhea seemed to clear up once her system settled down. I think the one kitten that also had diarrhea was just having a reaction to the antibiotics I gave her to clear up an upper respiratory infection.

All systems are now running smoothly. Although....I'm feeling a bit constipated!