Bye pool!

***TMI TMI TMI*****
UGH. Jenna was coming for therapy at 11a and it was around 10:30a that I noticed Nikko was hunched over an ottoman with a strained face. I was wondering about his state of constipation because this was about 1.5 days without a solid movement. I knew that I would have to help him again, so I quickly assembled the diapers and wipes, vaseline and suppository and got to work. My mind was turning over where I had gone wrong this time. He has been drinking juice, straight and watered down, mostly peppered with Benefiber at every meal. He is still on the digestive enzyme, which I'm really wondering whether or not it's helping. I've given him some Fiber One pop tarts, even though he mostly gnaws on the frosting so he's not getting 100% of the promised 5 g per tart. Nikko had a kiwi-sized poo that was compacted but still pliable, and then he had two movements after that which seemed to clean out any excess. Per his pediatrician, I will have to go back to using some MiraLAX, and will alternate it with Benefiber. She asked if I was giving Nikko the full recommended dosage of MiraLAX and I told her I was only giving him 1/4 capfuls, which rendered smears. His doctor also told me that she'd rather he utilize the MiraLAX right now instead of having to resort to the painful suppository treatments. When asked if helping him poo will ruin his muscles so that he can't do it anymore, she said that wouldn't be the case. Lucky Jenna came at 11a, after Nikko was in tears and mad at me for putting him through the trauma. They had one visit back upstairs for one of his two post-trauma bowel movements, but according to Jenna he ended up having a really good session. In particular, when they were playing with a ball back and forth, she paused at one point and Nikko said to her, "My turn." I wonder if I can help him generalize this by emphasizing this phrase when he plays upstairs, not just downstairs.

Denis took the afternoon off and we took the kids to the pool at Flick Park in Glenview. Nikko was so excited to go swimming, and indeed he reverted back to fish status in the pool. Flick Park has an enclosed zero-depth kiddie pool which is perfect for the three kiddos, even though after the first hour we moved to the bigger pool that had splashier features. Nikko didn't care either way, but Ronin has a big dislike for the splashy, shooting water apparatuses. I noticed that Nikko was climbing out of the pool, standing at the edge and taking a small jump into the water. He'd land on his feet and be to his mid-thigh or waist upon impact, but it is a progression nonetheless. I wonder if he'd really flourish when he learns to be a better swimmer. Despite our two hours in the pool in perfect weather, sunny and warm with no humidity, the best part of the outing was when we were in the Pilot, pulling away from the park. Nikko looked out the window and said, "Bye, pool!" He repeated this a few times, then his siblings started chirping in so that all three of them were saying "Bye, pool!" I loved that Nikko said it on his own, with no prompting, as if his experience was really memorable and saying bye gave it meaning. I heard him say "ool" instead of "pool" a few times because he was searching for the word in his head and wrestling with the recall. We headed home, showered the kids and ourselves, then headed back out to go to the in-law's house for Friday dinner and to blow candles for Ronin's birthday. Nikko had been sporting a bug bite on his arm that I didn't notice until Jenna pointed it out today, saying he had been picking at it. It reminded me of the spider bite he got on his leg last year, red and raised center, swollen with a lighter outer right. Nikko doesn't have a temperature or anything, but I'll bet the bite is painful because the venom has made the swelling hard. The bite was still large tonight, but my FIL said that if it were really large then we'd have something to worry about. I really hope it doesn't grow.