The Park Poop Scene

08/07/2014

I sat at the park the other day, watching my inquisitive toddler put sand in his mouth for about the 30th time, and smiled to myself (knowing that if this had happened with our first baby, I  would be at her side, sanitizing her tongue and hanging her upside down to try and get the sand out).  I heard a small whimper and turned around to another park momma, holding her newborn at arm’s length.  The said newborn was covered in poop.  It was a doozy of a poop explosion (and I’ve seen a few!).  I ran over to see how I could help, as a table full of day campers nearby held their noises and their teenage counselors looked on in a mix of awe, wonder and fear.  We tackled the situation as 2 moms would, with a stack of wet wipes, a receiving blanket and a soothing song for the newborn.  We had that baby cleaned up, the poop covered momma wiped down and dirty diaper ditched in now time.  We even got a few applause from the group of gawking day campers.

Rewind 4 years.  Me, pre-kid (maybe at the park with a friend’s child, or leisurely drinking a coffee and visit uninterrupted…).  Would I have ran over to a mom who was covered in poop and sprang to action?? Not. Likely.  I may have offered a sympathetic smile, but grab a poopy newborn, no way.  I wouldn’t even know where to start!

This whole park poop situation made me realize that moms, in general, have each other’s back. Caring for another little being, and going through those hairy situations like poo explosions in public places (not to mention the whole birthing process), makes you empathetic in a way that is hard to word.  You just get it.  I for one am thankful my 2 little peanuts are through the poo explosion stage, but after tacking the explosion in the park, it made me realize that the “mom group” is a pretty awesome group to belong to!