Trusting My Gut

I don't know that I've ever been one to trust my gut, but, as a mother, I'm learning it is something I need to do. Robbie has had diarrhea since we arrived in Lexington nine days ago. I didn't actually think there was anything wrong with him. He plays, laughs, dive in train-shaped ball pits in my mom' house, climbs stairs in record speed, generally drives me crazy. He doesn't have a fever; he isn't pulling at his ear. The only symptom the kid has is explosive diarrhea. Three times a day.

It's been so bad on occassion that Hilary has had to yell for me to come as back-up. She stripped Robbie down, and I held him Superman-style in the shower in an attempt to not use every baby wipe in the county to get him clean. Tonight, Mom pulled his shirt over his head, not realizing he had pooped up his back. We change his sheets and pajamas every morning. It's been a long week, fecally speaking.

I finally decided to take him to the doctor this morning (mostly to quell Justin's concerns that he could have salmonella poisoning from eating dog food or the egg recall, since we often give our baby uncooked eggs). Robbie and I waited over thirty minutes to be seen at The Little Clinic in Kroger. Keep in mind that my son does not like to be held and did not want to walk. I wasn't going to let him crawl all over Kroger, although I was tempted around minute nine but too many people were watching.

The lovely nurse practitioner called us in and was perplexed by Robbie's lack of symptoms (not a good sign in my maternal opinion). She told me the only variable in Robbie's life seemed to be his location and deemed the culprit allergies. Seriously? Diarrhea-inducing allergies? I knew pollen was bad this year, but that just seems ridiculous. The nurse decided to "phone a friend" (yes, those were her actual words), and the third friend finally picked up. This friend said she certainly did not think it was allergies and recommended that I take Robbie off dairy for several days (please note that I suggested this before it was recommended to me).

So, we can rule out throat and ear infections. We can rule out the flu. And, by the skin of our teeth, we can rule out the dreaded salmonella poisoning (thank God Justin had me ask about that!)... But I still have a kid with explosive diarrhea who hates Gatorade and Pedialyte equally. Oh, and I'm out twenty bucks.