(for those who think I've got this gig mastered...each child brings something new and exciting to the table...not always what ya want at the table...but new.)
I wondered if my writing this should be channeled into a letter to manufacturers of baby gear, or if I should vent to other moms dealing with life's sometimes unexpected challenges. I chose the latter. Seriously, baby gear makers don't want to hear this particular story. Then again, perhaps you don't either. I'm gonna tell you anyways.
Last week one day, as I was cleaning up after another not-particularly-interesting lunch, Anne decided to shake things up a bit. The rest of the lunch crowd had scattered, leaving Anne and I at the table to finish nibbling and begin the process of clean-up. This means I throw the dishes into the dishwasher quick before unbuckling her from her highchair to avoid her climbing into the racks and licking them all clean. She LOVES helping with the dishwasher.
Anyhow, as I approached her with a warm washcloth to begin cleaning her tray off, working my way towards her hands and face, I noticed an odor. And even commented..."Whew Annie...you smell stinky." Not unusual for her to take care of business just after eating. What can I say, you eat-you poop. All washed up, I lifted her out of her chair to finish what she'd started and noticed as she took several steps to walk away, she left footprints on the hardwood floor. Weird. (clearly not registering with me what happened)
I grabbed her hand to keep her from walking further, still not clear on what she was tracking around. It was then that I caught a glimpse of her highchair seat out of the corner of my eye and spotted a whole pile of mushy poo in the seat, dripping down to the floor below like chocolate pudding...only it was NOT chocolate pudding. Ewwwww.
My baby just had a poop-splosion. Unlike anything I'd seen in a LONG time. Maybe since Alice and Emma were babies and they had a twin-poop-splosion in their carseats...synchronized. And memorable.
After plopping her right into the shower for a hose-off followed by a bath, I moved on to the kitchen to tackle the rest of the mess, starting with the footprints/floor-scrubbing, and backtracking from there. As I began to remove the mess from the chair with clumps of papertowels, I realized that this was going to take some doing...cloth seats. Uggh. I tried every possible means of disassembling the chair only to discover that the cloth was not removable. double uggh. Seriously...do manufacturers not know the possibilities?! This was way beyond the tags recommended "spot cleaning." And yet, here we were...what to do?! I ended up scrubbing with a bleach cleaning solution, till the fabric faded, and the stink was replaced with that hospital-clean-scent.
And I spent the rest of the day frustrated with the way things are made "now-a-days."
And didn't solve a single problem of the world.
And so I'm sharing my change-of-scenery with you...hoping that if you're having a particularly frustrating day you might smile knowing...yep...there are other passengers on this crazy train called motherhood. No such thing as coach or first class...we're all in for an adventure!
Cheers!
