Pondering on Poop

So I have tons of pictures and stories from March, especially Easter, but right now I'm gonna muse about poop a little. If you find such things offensive or of poor taste for proper blog discussion, you should probably just come back after I've put up the adorably-crazy-looking-children-being-posed-in-coordinating-Easter-outfit pictures I'll post in a few days.

Like most Moms of young kids, I feel like a lot of my day revolves around other people's bodily fluids and excrement.  And, I'm not trying to garner sympathy (but kinda think I'll get it anyway), but on any average day I change Owen-poopy-diapers 3-8 times, and Isaac-poopy-diapers 5-10 times.  Yep, on an average day, I can easily expect to change 10 poopy diapers or more.  Some days, a lot more.  Add to that, poor Ellie's been having poopy accidents anywhere from 1-4 times a day (5 or 6 on vacation, which is super fun).  To me, this seems like an alarming amount of poop.  I've brought it up often with my doctor, who has basically just told me that Isaac has 'toddler tummy', and the loose to watery stools multiple times a day are just his normal.  And for Ellie, she recommended an adult size dose of Miralax daily for the next year or so, as treatment for constipation.  I did push a few times with Isaac to talk about food allergies/insensitivities and parasites, and some stool samples were done, but revealed nothing new.  With Ellie I was especially frustrated by the 'constipation' diagnosis, as I've never once seen Ellie strain or produce hard or large stools.  And she regularly eliminates her bowels once or twice a day.  I raised my concerns, tried to take her off the Miralax and try more natural 'constipation-cures', but the accidents went from once a day back up to a few within days.   We tried several chiropractic appointments, visiting a naturopath, putting her on herbs and supplements, added even more expensive probiotics to her daily routine (on top of the magnesium, fish oil, Vitamin D supplements and L-Glutamine she was on), and basically anything I could throw money at.  But, as her accidents increased once again, I took her back in to see her pediatrician and get another stomach x-ray, which showed her backed up and my pediatrician once again said she needed to be on daily Miralax.  My last appointment, nearly in tears I told the doctor that I hated keeping her on Miralax when it just felt like a band-aid and we weren't getting to the root of the problem.  She kinda laughed off my 'overly concerned mother' thing and informed me that it's no big deal, and one of the doctors in her office keeps his own 2 and 4 year olds on daily Miralax because 'it's just what some people need' and Ellie may just need to take it the rest of her life to keep regular -- and at that point left the office, found a new pediatrician and called a pediatric gastroenterologist.  (Who informed me that they don't even do stomach x-rays, 'cause they tell them next to nothing and often pediatricians mistake the results for backed up, constipated colons, when they're not.  Good to know.)  (I want to go on record here -- I think daily Miralax may be a complete blessing to some people and children, but I always knew it was the wrong call for Ellie -- as she didn't have any constipation.  The gastroenterologist has confirmed that she is not having issues with constipation and she has excellent muscle control and reflexes, so basically the antithesis of what my pediatrician was telling me, that she was just so backed up she was 'leaking' stool due to pressure and poor control.)

Since then we began a battery of tests on poor Ellie -- tons and tons of blood taken, stool samples tested and another visit with the gastroenterologist.  Her blood tests are showing positive for celiac disease, something her doctor strongly believes she has.  We're getting an endoscopy done on her this Friday so they can take some biopsies and confirm the diagnosis.  (Or hopefully disprove, but the doctor says it's highly unlikely. I'm keeping all my fingers crossed 'til then.)  All the allergy tests came back negative (egg, soy, whey, dairy (which is crap, she's totally allergic to dairy), wheat and several others), but we were also informed how horribly inaccurate the blood tests are for allergies.  Once Ellie was testing the way she was, it was time to bring in the other kids.  Annie got blood work yesterday (the one they're least concerned about), after all four kids met with our new gastro doctor.  (The boys were both flagged as 'quite possibly celiac' due to their symptoms and history.)  Isaac will get blood work done today once I bring in stool samples for both boys (Owen's being spared blood work, 'cause even though he's showing some real strong indicators of celiac, not the least of which is his slow growth and frequent loose stools, but he's so young she said the blood work is ridiculously ineffective at this age).

Can I just tell you how much fun stools samples are to get?  :-)  The ironic part this morning, is I'm having these two little boys tested, 'cause usually by 9AM I've already changed 1-3 diapers on EACH of them.  So far this morning, neither of them have pooped yet.  Of course.  In fact, I'm a nervous ball of energy, as we have Isaac diaper-less so he can use the potty with the 'poop measuring cup' (as he calls the clean catch toilet insert).  So far he's peed in the potty about 6 times this morning, but poop has been allusive.  And for the most prolific of my poopers, this is kinda surprising -- and a little amusing to me.  (As amusing as poop can be, of course.)  So, we wait.  Nervously, while trying to keep him off the carpet and sitting on towels.  I thought we'd make some progress when he got all excited because I brought his little potty downstairs and put it in the kitchen.  He squealed with delight and exclaimed, "I get to poop in the kitchen?!  Hey Ellie, I get to POOP in the KITCHEN!  How cool is that?!?!"  But, even with happily sitting on his newly relocated potty for a good 10 minutes, he only produced a teaspoon or so of pee ('cause again, he's peed like 6 times already in the toilet.) 

But seriously, how is it neither of them haven't pooped yet today!?  They're messing with me . . . :-)


edited to add: and essential oils.  On the list of things we've tried/currently use for Ellie's bowel issues.  Just thought I'd make sure that was there . . . :-) 

edited again to add:  Yes, DoTerra ones.  :-)