Thursday, April 8, 2010

It's All About The Poop

With small children around, it's hard not to get excited about the little things in life. Whenever I'm on a kid-free outing, I have to seriously fight back urges to point out every choo-choo train I see, every airplane in the sky, every bug on the ground, every dog with his owner, every motorcycle, truck, tractor, you name it. This has probably been the best part of being a mom for me. Taking pleasure in the little things. Stopping to smell the roses, instead of rushing past the beauties of this world without taking notice.


I love the excitement little ones experience when they see, or try new things for the first time. My two-year old thinks I'm the luckiest person in the world just because I get to push the buttons to turn the dishwasher on every day. And I get to pour the laundry detergent into the washer. I get to spread the peanut butter on the bread. When I hand these small tasks over to her, she is literally on top of the world. This is what being a "big girl" is all about. That, of course, and pooping in the potty.


Remember when I shared some of my potty-training woes with you? After a year-and-a-half of unsuccessful potty training, we put "P" back in diapers. A few glorious weeks ago, however, he finally decided on his own that he was ready to be a big boy. He'll turn four in May, and I am thrilled that I don't have to send him to college in diapers. And my two-year old? She jumped right on board, and decided on her own that she is out of diapers. I was too emotionally scarred from our first round of potty training to even consider her requests to use the potty, but she decided on her own, and is doing amazing. So within weeks, both children are out of diapers. I'm not holding my breath, but I am thrilled that I will actually only have ONE baby in diapers come June.


So added to the list of excitement over airplanes and bugs: poop! You know it...we all poop–and how horrible would life be if we didn't?!?! Trust me--I've had my own fair share of painful troubles in the poop department (I'm talking painful hemorrhoids that made pooping worse than childbirth), so good poops are a big deal for this mama! If you're like me, you analyze your eliminations on a daily basis. If you're like my sister's husband, you want to throw up just reading this post. But wherever you land on the poop scale--let’s be honest--the satisfaction of a great poop cannot be underestimated!


When my kids poop in the potty, they get terribly upset if I flush the toilet before they can admire their work. And my two-year old is so proud of me when I poop. Good job, mommy...that was a big one! Honestly, one of the main motivations for me to eat a healthy diet is just that...the very thought of hemorrhoids makes my spine tingle. I have to eat healthy. I need fiber. I freaked out during my last pregnancy when my husband brought home the wrong kind of bread. I literally can't handle unhealthy poops. In my mind, I am just one hard poop away from a bloody, feels-like-you're-pooping-glass, ouchy bum.


If you're not getting enough fiber, chances are, you're not having healthy BM's. So where do we get the fiber we need for a good poop? We get it from fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and grains. It's the indigestible (cellulose) part of these. Fiber is VITAL for not only a healthy poop, but a healthy body. The colon needs enough fiber to automatically contract and push the poop down the colon and out of the body (and into the POTTY! Not the diaper! Woo hoo!) Fiber IS the thigh master for the colon!

One last thing...if poop is ANY indication of whether I'm really on the right track with my new plant-based diet? Let me just say...hallelujah, and yes! In my little world where I take pleasure in the little things, pooping on a FLEXITARIAN diet is fabulously satisfying! (And I'm calling myself a flexitarian to take the pressure off...I'm mostly Vegan, and haven't had meat for a few weeks, but I won't beat myself up if I happen to take a bite of a nice, juicy burger...say after giving birth!)


How about you? Where do you fall on the poop scale? If you're still reading at this point, I'm guessing you're not totally embarrassed by the mere mention! As my husband likes to say, NEWSFLASH: EVERYONE POOPS! And thank goodness!

4 comments:

Michael said...

You should count how many times you just said poop. Also, I enjoy that you abbreviated/euphemized bowel movement while shamelessly throwing poop out at least one hundred times.

Judi said...

My husband always says children of all ages are fascinated by the word poop! :)

First off - congratulations on potty training! What will you spend your money on that you used to spend on diapers? We went nine years buying diapers! But as of this time last year no more diapers!

Now poop - well I too always know when I am eating well - then I poop well :). Pregnancy was horrible and I too suffered from hemorrhoids! I couldn't even take my prenatal vitamins because the iron level made things worse.

Anyway, fiber has become a very important part of my diet along with exercise and drinking a lot of water!

Have a great weekend!

Anna said...

I love that you did a whole post devoted to poop!!! Thanks for the tips :)

Shirley said...

I had those horrible poops for years. I had to take miralax to help. It went well, but after Miralax went over the counter it was too expensive to buy and back to ouchy poops. Oh, just thinking about it hurts!!

I now eat whole wheat bread and drink lots of water and I have very healthy poops! Although, healthy poops means clogged toilets in our house. That I don't like so much. Even Ryan clogs them. Anyway, I just wanted to say I feel your pain. Not now, and hopefully not ever again! :)

Oh and Ryan is having a hard time drinking milk, and I've been thinking about you and what you said about replacing fatty foods so I am trying that. If you have any suggestions, let me know. :) Thanks! Your blog is great!