My very least favourite parenting episode: the sequel

Last year, Liam had a problem with some of his innards deciding they wanted to become outards instead, a tribulation described here and here. It was exactly a year ago, in August 2008. I took him to the doctor who prescribed a laxative for him, which I wasn't comfortable with. So we sat on the issue (no pun intended) and watched and waited. We were good for a year. And then, a few weeks ago, it happened 4 times in one week.

This time I requested another doctor, the same one who diagnosed Liam's hip problem so quickly last winter. I had to wait a couple of weeks to see him, but I wasn't too worried about that. I had that mother's intuition thing going on, telling me that despite the fact that it looked bad, I didn't think it really was bad. The problem also coincided with the gastrointestinal upset thing Liam picked up from daycare, so it's not like it was happening completely out of the blue.

As I thought would happen, the doctor confirmed for us this week that this is something Liam is likely to grow out of (he pegged the odds at 60-80%) and that not only can it be caused by constipation - which we have never noticed Liam having a problem with - it can also be caused by having a build-up of pressure in the abdominal cavity. As was the case with his stomach upset. And as can also be the case when we are in situations away from home, because Liam has an aversion to pooping in strange or public bathrooms. He is slowly coming around in this regard, but it's true: despite the number of hours he logs there, Liam has not pooped at Cindy's house pretty much since he was toilet trained. The holding it causes the pressure build-up, which in turn causes... well, you know. The first time this happened was when we were away from home at a cottage, and wouldn't you know it... Liam was making efforts to avoid that bathroom.

I'm not entirely sure how we cure him of this aversion (I don't even know what caused it in the first place) or if we even need to. I hope it is something that he will outgrow on his own. I do sometimes worry that he will wind up like Finch in American Pie. I guess time will tell.