Poor Leiden

Miriam 1/12/11: At the doctor's office with Leiden.



Leiden has been complaining that her stomach hurt for about 2 weeks now. It started right around the new year, and I thought it was a reaction to all the junk of Christmas. Then I realized she was always complaining at night right before bed, so we thought it was a stalling tactic. Then she started complaining about it in the mornings, and her complaining seemed a bit more serious. Then came the night where she woke up in the middle of the night several times crying because her stomach hurt. We finally clued in and made an appointment to go to the doctor. We went, and she suggested we get an x-ray of her tummy to see more. Here she is, in her funny little gown, post x-ray.



She got an awesome sticker that they (obviously) only give to x-ray kids.



And here's the x-ray that confirmed what the doctor already suspected--constipation. What?! I was absolutely floored. She eats so much fruit and vegetables, raisin bran or oat bran for breakfast, whole wheat bread, the whole bit. The doctor explained that it only takes a short time to begin the process of constipation--it only takes a couple days of poor eating and ignoring signs to head to the bathroom because you're busy or don't want to be bothered. (All of which I'm sure happened in Utah!) Then it gets uncomfortable so you don't go. And repeat. So here we are, at least with a legitimate reason for her abdominal pain. We'll start a regimen of supplements and high fiber diet to try and get this back to normal. I feel terrible that we didn't listen in the beginning, but I'm sure it won't be the last time I do something less than exemplary as a parent. I guess the dark spots are more of what you want to see scattered around the whole abdomen--they're air. No air means lots of stuff that needs to come out.



Anyway, you'll pardon the less than appealing content of this post--I never would have imagined how much I would talk about bodily functions as a parent. Unmentionable topics all of a sudden make up the content of long conversations and discussions--and it starts almost as soon as they're born!