Here’s yet another example of why I’ll never be mother of the year. Last night as I sat Peanut in the car seat after daycare pickup, he started to cry and pull at his diaper. I asked if his bum had a booboo, but all he did was point and say “bum”. (He’ll normally answer yes and point to the booboo, if he has one, so I wasn’t sure what was up.) I asked if his peepee hurt and didn’t get an answer. So I finished buckling him in and made a mental note to change his diaper when we got home.

About halfway there, Hubby called to let me know he had just been called out. This threw me off track and I forgot about the diaper. Daycare changes him shortly before pickup, so unless he has a poop diaper, I don’t change him until bedtime. I did the usual night time routine and discovered his reason for crying. His bum was speckled with rash, and his scrotum was completely red and irritated – I’ve never seen it so bad there. No wonder he was hurting. He cried all through the change while I gooped diaper cream on. Afterwards, he clung to me and cried for a few minutes more. I nearly cried with him. He was still red and uncomfortable this morning.

I left a note for the teachers to be sure and use diaper cream. I think the problem is two-fold: they don’t always use it (we always use it at home whether he’s rashy or not) and sometimes he stealth-poops, then gets a rash from sitting in a poopcake. I’ll talk to his afternoon teacher today and see what she has to say. Then I’ll decide what to say to the director. We’ve been going rounds with rashes since he moved up to the new room. Both Hubby and I have spoken with the teachers, but nothing seems to change. He clears up over the weekend when he’s with us, only to start up again during the week.

The reason I feel especially bad? Friday night during dinner he started wiggling uncomfortably in his highchair, then pointed to his butt and said “bum”. I had no clue what was up, but Hubby asked if his bum hurt and if he had a poopie diaper that needed changing. Emphatic head nods for yes were Peanut’s response. Sure enough, he was sitting in poop with the beginnings of a rash.