On Urinary Functions and Toddler Goo...
Wednesday, November 01, 2006

I am in the process of overcoming what I think may be a urinary tract infection. Ick. Apparently, pregnant ladies are especially prone to these infections because the ureters that lead from the kidneys to the bladder stretch out and get a little "wavy". The wavy ureters provide the perfect place for harmful bacteria to settle, and that's one reason it is so important to drink a ton of water and keep oneself adequately flushed out. It's amazing how the human body works. The ureters get elongated because everything in a pregnant woman's abdomen is getting stretchy and limber to make more room and also to prepare for birth. At least, that's what my midwife told me.

Here's a pic of how your ureters NORMALLY look:

Now imagine that the ureters are wound like old, loose spiral telephone cords. No, not really....but you get the idea.

So, I've been downing water like crazy and also drinking plain unsweetened 100% cranberry juice by the quart. If you've never tried PLAIN cranberry juice w/ no sweeteners or other juices added, whoa! It is SOUR! I'm actually beginning to like it, though. I called my midwife this morning to find out if she could recommend anything else, and she said to add a lot more vitamin C to my diet. So that's what I'll do. I don't want to resort to antibiotics so I just want to get rid of this junk NOW.

Bob has a very congested sounding cough and snot pouring out of his nose continuously. Of course, I feel bad for the little guy....but I'm also selfish and don't want his little mucous-y munchkin face anywhere near me. I know I'm not going to be grossed out by my own child's bodily fluids....so I'm not sure why other people's snotty kids bother me so much. He is currently running around the house making strange gurgling sound effects in addition to his normal cute jibber-jabber, all while blowing snot bubbles from his nose. Ughhh....yuk. It sends shivers down my spine. And then if I don't get to him with a warm wash cloth fast enough, he'll rub the snot all over his face with his hands and then touch everything in sight. The fact that he takes a nap in my bed everyday also....(gag!)....excuse me while I go burn my sheets.

Labels: babysitting, pregnancy whining

posted by Unkempt Mommy @ 10:35 AM,

3 Comments:

At Wed Nov 01, 07:34:00 PM CST, Anonymous said...: Feel better soon! The only times I've ever had UTI's are after surgeries when I've had catheters, ie. both c-sections and my hysterectomy, and I was pumped full of antibiotics and pain killers. I hope you get over this QUICKLY!!!

With regards to BOB's snot issue, I've been a mother for going on 6 years, and I am STILL grossed out by other people's children's bodily output. Dh and I realized that we were real parents when we could A) wipe our infant's nose with the back of our OWN hand in a pinch and then go wash our hand, B) catch our OWN child's spit-up in our OWN hand mid-sentence and wipe it on a diaper and not stop talking, and C) put our hand over boy-child's mid-stream tinkle so as not to have the freshly painted wall soiled! Things that do not bother you about your OWN child...lol

~Shawna Lee
http://shooflypieandgrits.blogspirit.com
At Thu Nov 02, 04:57:00 AM CST, Danielle said...: Ha, ha, ha, ha!!!! I'm so there with ya. I hate snot on other kids. I actually gag and have to turn away when I see green snot oozing out. I'm gagging right now thinking about it!!! Yucko!

However, it makes me appreciate Max all the more, because when he is snotty, he says, "help" and then waits till I get there with a rag. If he sneezes and a long string of snot is hanging out of his nose, he says, "help" and I come running. So you can teach your baby to wait for you to come. Everytime you see the snot start, you say, "Do you need help?" and then wipe. If you are consistant, Bob may catch on.

And we are in the process of teaching him to wipe his own nose with a rag when he is sick now that he is older.

Sorry about your infection! I pray it passes quickly.
At Fri Nov 03, 06:58:00 AM CST, Sorlil said...: ooh UTI's - you have my sympathy :)