The Mop lay on the adult-sized table, looking small and vulnerable, yards of pink taffeta tucked up under her chin. She looked at Hayley with her enormous grey eyes.
'Are you the doctor?' the Mop asked her. 'You are, because you're a girl.'
I'm glad that at the tender age of three the Mop knows that girls can do anything and she doesn't assume that doctors have to be men.
The sonographer just smiled. 'I am going to take some pictures of your tummy. I will start by putting some of this jelly on it.'
The Mop sat up a bit to watch the goo being squeezed onto her tummy. A towel had been tucked into her Beauty and the Beast knickers. Knickers I only put on her because I knew that she wouldn't wee.
We were in the bowels of the hospital. So far from daylight that the air was thick with the silent hum of recycled air. We were getting an ultrasound for the Mop's bladder and kidneys, checking if there was a medical reason for her extraordinary inability to wee.
When toilet training, most mums put knickers on their kids and pray that they won't wee. I have gotten to the stage that I hope she will wee. I am aching for an accident, begging for a puddle on the floor. The Mop sometimes won't wee for 12 hours. Daycare is concerned. The family is concerned. It raised a red flag with my GP.
I am concerned, because if there is no medical reason, that only leaves psychological reasons. You have to love it when the doctor uses the word 'neurosis' about your three year old.
I couldn't stop yawning though. 'Mummy needs a coffee,' I said offhandedly to the Mop.
Mop turned to the sonographer. 'Do you have a coffee for my Mummy?' she asked politely.
We both laughed. 'That's very thoughtful of you,' Hayley told her. I didn't get a coffee though.
'Is that a TV?' the Mop asked pointing to a blank screen on the wall.
'It is. Would you like to see the pictures of your tummy?' The sonographer pulled out a remote control, turning the screen on. 'That's your wee,' Hayley told her pointing a large black section.
The Mop regarded the spotty black and white images for a few minutes before lying back and closing her eyes. 'I like Dora better,' she announced.
After a very thorough examination the sonographer went to discuss the results with the paediatric radiologist. The wait felt excruciatingly long as the Mop had been fasting for hours and was desperate to go home.
It was all clear. No observable obstructions. Just a bladder like a steel trap apparently.
I wonder if that showed up on the scans.
'Is my tummy okay?' asked the Mop.
'Your tummy is fine,' I reassured her.
Now I just have to figure out what to do next.
Hi, I just want to encourage you - my son had no 'wee' issues, but pooing was a different story. I don't mean to gross you out, but he could hold it for over a week easily, his record was ten days (by which stage I was frantic)... nothing medical was found wrong, and those glorious words "psychological issue is the problem" were uttered... Yep, it was psyhological, but with the excellent help that was provided by a psychologist and a child behaviour specialist, it is a problem no longer. It has taken a while - pretty much 12 months now (and my son is now 4 1/2 years old). Just recently he managed to poo in a toilet that wasn't at our home! What a magic day that was - I think all of our extended family received a text message about the event, so excited was I!(If anyone had told me ten years ago I would be celebrating my child pooing I would have laughed at them..) I am glad there is nothing medically wrong with your daughter, and if it is psychological there is excellent help out there.
ReplyDeleteI know, Anon, so true!
DeleteHere I am writing to the world about my daughter's wee (or lack thereof)... the ridiculous things we find ourselves doing as parents...
Thanks for commenting
I am toilet training my three year old and she tries to keep her favourite knickers dry and then sits on the potty "I'm waiting for the wee mummy" up to an hour. She is trying so hard. She won't wee to keep her pants dry. So I am wondering whether Mop is just really trying to train but hasn't quite got it yet. But can hold really well! How I wish I had a magic wand to make toilet training happen smoothly. Great to get tests done to rule things out. Best of luck!
ReplyDeleteThanks Zoe, I used to think it was just when she was wearing knickers that she wouldn't wee, but then I found out from daycare she wasn't weeing in her nappy either, and they hadn't changed a wet (or dirty) nappy since the beginning of the year. I am sure our three year olds will sort themselves soon, right?
Deletethanks for commenting... nice to know I am not the only one with these issued :o)
Absolutely! So good to know I am not alone. Today I told her (after a Niagara Falls incident) That if she learnt to do all her wees and poos in the potty she could go to the playland at IKEA.Something she dearly wants as she watches her big sister happily skip in there. Fingers crossed it works!
ReplyDelete