not what I had in mind

We are 8 days post op.

We have been home 2 days.

And we are potty training.  What??  This was definity NOT in my game plan, but Kemeri's incision is not looking good down towards her bum.  I have kept her as dry as I can by changing her diaper frequently, but even a dry diaper traps in her natural moisture, & about an inch of her incision sight is not looking good.  After speaking with the nurse, & the nurse even having trouble with a good solution, I decided to "temporarily" put Miss Thing in big girl undies until I heard back from the nurse about any possible course of action.  McGyver mom that I am, I cut off the back part of a pull-up to put inside the undies to avoid constant clean-ups on aisle 6 to catch any accidents. 

This whole thing is significant for a couple of reasons.  First of all, this mama doesn't just jump into potty training on a whim.  I mean, we need to mentally prepare, stock up on undies (b/c I don't use pull-ups...I just happened to have some from when we went to Ethiopia, but didn't need them), prepare the potty prizes (read: M & M's), & just try to be strategic about this big step.

Second, & most important, is that we really have no idea what Kemeri's bowel/bladder functioning is.  Some children with spina bifida have trouble with continence, so they have to develop a plan to manage it.  Honestly, I'm just not sure I was mentally ready to delve into this for fear of finding out this is yet another hurdle our sweet girl has to overcome.  You know, ignorance is bliss?

I heard back from the nurse with a few possible strategies to keep moisture off the incision, but guess what?  After we got going this morning, Kemeri is doing so well that we ditched the partial pull-up.  Even more exciting is that her incision is already looking better!!!!  How awesome is that!?!  AND she thinks big girl panties are just fabulous.

Please pray that this continues to go well.  What an amazing blessing it would be for all systems to be working!!!  And I just have to share how cool God is...He truly is in every detail.  A friend stopped by to drop off a form for a camp Kade is going to, & she brought by a stuffed animal & some M & M's for Kemeri.  Just what we needed!!  We are potty training, baby!!! :o)