Golden Pig Tales

Yesterday morning Valerie noticed Ezra hadn’t pooped much for the past day. Ezra was also very fussy and crying a lot. Of course, like any concerned parent, this caused concern and worry. For me, my worry, was that something was wrong with his intestinal track or sphincter and that major surgery could be needed. When I had a chance search the U.S. Intranet I found two pages:

http://www.drhull.com/EncyMaster/C/constipation_infant.html
http://www.drhull.com/EncyMaster/D/dyschezia.html

The latter was the one that actually gave a description of what Ezra had been doing and what he looked like when he was fussy and what he looked like before he cried and cried and cried and cried and cried and cried and cried.

I came home early from work because both mom and baby were beyond fussy. Ezra did poop a little during the day, but he was still not sleeping much and there wasn’t much poop coming out. And he was still crying an endless oscillating wail of the need of relief. Between a sleepless baby and a sleepless mom, things were very intense.

Valerie was fussy. I was fussy. And Ezra was just plain crazed with emotion.

Ezra wanted to poop, but couldn’t.

Later in the night some grand parents arrived to help hold and walk and talk a crying Ezra to calm him while Valerie and I tried to get some sleep. I got some sleep, but when I woke in the morning I found Valerie downstairs with Ezra. An Ezra, from what I was told, was a poop factory during the night.

Though Ezra has had a crying session this morning that matches any crying session of a normal day, he is now a sleep (so is Valerie) and calm.

I still have the echo of baby cries in my head.

I woke at 1:30 A.M. (after three hours of much needed sleep) to be a good father and husband by changing Ezra’s poopy diaper. The reason I was awake, in fact, was because I wasn’t sleeping well and the sound of Ezra pooping poop woke me up, so I felt connected to the poop, and I wanted to help.

I got up. My head was still full of sleep. I was thinking it was going to be a quick change: take the diaper off; clean Ezra’s butt; apply the diaper rash cream; put the new diaper on; give Ezra back to mom.

Everything was going good until I was applying the diaper rash cream on Ezra’s butt. Before the cream was applied, my hand was full of poop.

Things fell apart. Ezra woke up and began to cry. I woke up and began to get fussy (saying fuck more than once). I cleaned my hand while Ezra began peeing all over him and his onesie.

Through deep breathing, focus, and the knowledge that soon I’d be able to give Ezra back to mom, I was able to clean up and change Ezra into clean cloths.

Before everything was said and done. We were both fussy, and we were both trying to get back to bed.