Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Bad Mom Story #458


Hen Ben has had runny diarrhea poops for about a month now. I know, it’s been a while, but when I called the doctor a while back, the nurse said that unless it lasted more than 2-3 weeks, it was likely just a virus anyway. The poor kid’s bottom has been red and raw…with diaper changes resulting in ear piercing cries and clearly very painful (and even bleeding sometimes). SOOOO sad. I just wanted to cry every time he needed his diaper changed, which was like 6 times a day.

Finally, on Saturday, I told Andy that I was fed up with it, and was going to take him to the doctor this week. Andy looked at me and said “Have we been feeding him anything different lately? Are you sure it isn’t a food reaction? He's not sick in any other way...how long ago did you start giving him peanut butter?”

I looked over at Henry happily munching away on a peanut butter sandwich and immediately reached for the peanut butter jar to read the label.

SOY. THERE IS SOYBEAN OIL IN PEANUT BUTTER!!!!!!!!!

I am a moron. I got so lax in my obsessive label reading, that I completely missed it. It never occurred to me that good ol’ PB would be a no-no. Luckily, the label says that the soybean oil is there to “prevent separation” so I’m hoping that maybe the old fashioned peanut butter that has that icky layer of oil on top is missing soy.

He hasn’t had any peanut butter since Saturday. Almost immediately his bottom is completely healed, he’s down to only having 1 poopy diaper a day, and it’s not icky (well, as non-icky as a poopy diaper can be).

If you don’t already have the CPS phone number stored in your cell, go ahead and do it now. I’m about to call it on myself!

10 comments:

Aron said...

oh no!! well at least you figured it out!

i know at TJ's their PB is pretty much only peanuts, so maybe try that out? it doesnt taste quite as yummy as skippy but it works! and its better for you anyways :)

Carrie Haughey said...

you could try New Frontiers (do you have that in SM?)or another health food place, and get the fresh ground stuff, it's tasty and you can get Honey roasted so it's sweeter like Skippy. If you get it home soon enough and in the fridge, it won't separate so that you don't have to mix it (my least favorite part of "real" peanut butter)

Jacquelyn said...

I have the Trader Joes PB in my fridge - it's not so bad. Eliannah had the same problem for a month before I figured out that she was lactose intolerant, fortunately she outgrew it. Hope Henry does as well - how can you have a normal childhood without peanut butter!!!!!

Kristen Borland said...

i'm so sorry about little henry's bum! i know what it feels like to suddenly realize what's causing the problem and know you could have prevented it. (for instance, it just dawned on me last night that my nehemiah has been cranky as can be and unable to handle life because he is way too constipated--as in i can't even remember when the last time he pooped was--and normally i'm so on top of that because this is a big problem for him, and i'm usually always giving him pear juice or something to help him get his poop out. i feel so bad!)

when i started reading your post, i was thinking, "no, no, no! she needs laura scudders peanut butter!" ingredients: peanuts and salt. i am soooo against jiffy and skippy type peanut butters and don't even consider them real peanut butter. so what if you have to stir it up! it's so much better for you, and since it's what i grew up with, it tastes better to me too.

Kristen Borland said...

oh, and you can find laura scudder's peanut butter anyway, including a two-pack at costco.

Brianna Heldt said...

Oh Jeannett I'm sorry! I looked on my all-natural peanut butter today and there's nothing but peanuts and salt in it. (You can also buy it unsalted.)

Kristen Borland said...

opps, that's supposed to be "anywhere" not "anyway".

Joanie said...

Bummer! Thank Goodness for the new generation of old fashioned Peanut Butters.

joy said...

wow--you're on #458 already? you better slow down--didn't you say you wanted 4 kids? just kidding. poor little henry's bottom! it's an honest mistake jeannett. go andy for helping you get to the bottom of this. oops--i swear i wasn't trying to be funny just there.

Mary Kay said...

Henry comes by the red bum naturally. Both Andy and Duncan suffered from terrible diaper rash - not all the time, but when they got it, it was the worst ever, including bleeding. Betadine wash worked wonders, as did Desitin for protection. Hope all is better now. Can't wait to see you all tomorrow!