Wednesday, February 09, 2005
When Tiernan grows up, don't tell him I said anything about this....
Tiernan has had some really weird issues about his diaper lately. He's been asking me to change it constantly, like it's bugging him. I just figured, Great! He's ready to get serious about potty training!
But, then last night he started crying during a diaper change, and was inconsolable for about 45 minutes. He kept saying, "My penis hurts, owie owie owie!" I offered to let him go naked, but he wanted a diaper on, even though he couldn't seem to get comfortable in it. Finally I stripped him down and tossed him in the tub and that seemed to help.
This morning he started crying and saying his penis hurt again, so I called and made an appointment to see the doctor. There was an emergency at the doctor's office so we waited 45 minutes before we could see anyone (did I mention I ended up babysitting my friend's son at the last minute, so there were 6 of us in an exam room the whole time?) The doctor came in and said that everything looked fine and that he wanted me to get a urine sample from him before we left. Good thing Tiernan's pretty happy to pee in stuff!
I took his diaper off and threw it away so he'd have to use the cup, and I was giving him cups of water to drink. Every 10 minutes or so he'd say he was ready to pee and we'd truck down the long hallway to the bathroom where he'd say, "I all empty!" and then try to play with the faucets. After a couple of trips, we were back in the exam room when all of a sudden he said, "MOMMY! CUP!" and I saw him trying to unscrew the lid and pull down his pants at the same time...
I got the cup open and he immediately started to pee in it, RIGHT THERE IN THE EXAM ROOM. I watched the cup fill higher and higher and realized, oh crap, if he overflows this thing he's going to end up peeing on the doctor's carpet! I asked the other kids to grab me another specimen cup, as if there were really any hope of making a smooth transfer, but luckily Tiernan stopped just short of the top. That's my boy!
The nurse took the cup and said she'd be right back with the results, and I went to put another diaper on Tiernan and I didn't have any! All I had was a Little Swimmer! So, I put that on and then spent the next 30 minutes while we waited for the results explaining to him that, no, we weren't going swimming. No, we're not going to go swimming. Yes, Tiernan, I know you're wearing a swim diaper, but we're not going swimming. No swimming today. You get the picture...
The doctor finally came back (we were in the office 1 hour and 45 minutes at this point) and told me that the urine sample was just fine, no infection or anything. He said that boys Tiernan's age are starting to get erections, and sometimes it freaks them out a little because that's unexpected. He explained that, when your arm hurts you rub it to make the hurt go away, but when this happens to boys rubbing it only makes it WORSE and then compounds his anxiety and frustration. It's not painful, just worrisome.
I just stood there feeling so completely shocked that I'd just spent $20 and nearly 2 hours to find out that Tiernan's just a "regular guy" that I forgot to ask what we're supposed to do when this situation "pops up" again? Saltpeter? A cold shower?
Don't get me wrong, I'm glad that we went in so that we know he's OK, and I'm glad he doesn't have an infection and isn't in pain. But, MAN this boy thing is weird. Everyone says girls are more difficult, but everything they do at least makes sense to me....
But, then last night he started crying during a diaper change, and was inconsolable for about 45 minutes. He kept saying, "My penis hurts, owie owie owie!" I offered to let him go naked, but he wanted a diaper on, even though he couldn't seem to get comfortable in it. Finally I stripped him down and tossed him in the tub and that seemed to help.
This morning he started crying and saying his penis hurt again, so I called and made an appointment to see the doctor. There was an emergency at the doctor's office so we waited 45 minutes before we could see anyone (did I mention I ended up babysitting my friend's son at the last minute, so there were 6 of us in an exam room the whole time?) The doctor came in and said that everything looked fine and that he wanted me to get a urine sample from him before we left. Good thing Tiernan's pretty happy to pee in stuff!
I took his diaper off and threw it away so he'd have to use the cup, and I was giving him cups of water to drink. Every 10 minutes or so he'd say he was ready to pee and we'd truck down the long hallway to the bathroom where he'd say, "I all empty!" and then try to play with the faucets. After a couple of trips, we were back in the exam room when all of a sudden he said, "MOMMY! CUP!" and I saw him trying to unscrew the lid and pull down his pants at the same time...
I got the cup open and he immediately started to pee in it, RIGHT THERE IN THE EXAM ROOM. I watched the cup fill higher and higher and realized, oh crap, if he overflows this thing he's going to end up peeing on the doctor's carpet! I asked the other kids to grab me another specimen cup, as if there were really any hope of making a smooth transfer, but luckily Tiernan stopped just short of the top. That's my boy!
The nurse took the cup and said she'd be right back with the results, and I went to put another diaper on Tiernan and I didn't have any! All I had was a Little Swimmer! So, I put that on and then spent the next 30 minutes while we waited for the results explaining to him that, no, we weren't going swimming. No, we're not going to go swimming. Yes, Tiernan, I know you're wearing a swim diaper, but we're not going swimming. No swimming today. You get the picture...
The doctor finally came back (we were in the office 1 hour and 45 minutes at this point) and told me that the urine sample was just fine, no infection or anything. He said that boys Tiernan's age are starting to get erections, and sometimes it freaks them out a little because that's unexpected. He explained that, when your arm hurts you rub it to make the hurt go away, but when this happens to boys rubbing it only makes it WORSE and then compounds his anxiety and frustration. It's not painful, just worrisome.
I just stood there feeling so completely shocked that I'd just spent $20 and nearly 2 hours to find out that Tiernan's just a "regular guy" that I forgot to ask what we're supposed to do when this situation "pops up" again? Saltpeter? A cold shower?
Don't get me wrong, I'm glad that we went in so that we know he's OK, and I'm glad he doesn't have an infection and isn't in pain. But, MAN this boy thing is weird. Everyone says girls are more difficult, but everything they do at least makes sense to me....
