The dreaded call - part 2

[sigh]

I took Baby C to school this morning, armed with my note from Dr. W. My little baby is congested, anyway (though not running a fever), so I wanted to make sure everyone knew that Baby C was totally healthy.

So, I took him to his classroom, signed him in, put away his food and enough diapers for the day and all of next week, then left Baby C with his teachers. Then I brought his doctor's note up to the front desk and waited to speak with one of the directors.

The policy at school, apparently, is to call when there are three stools, one after another, that are runny. I explained that Baby C is strictly on breastmilk, and she said the teachers know the difference between breastmilk poops and diarrhea. I then said that his doctor checked him out thoroughly - including the congestion - and found nothing wrong with him. Even his stool, I told her, was not out of the ordinary. Then she replied, "It may not have been runny for his doctor, but it was runny for us."

Let's pause for a moment to reflect upon that statement.

If my little 3-month-old son has the ability to choose the consistency of his stools at will, I will offer him up to science. Right now, even. I don't know of a single person able to do that, and I know of several people who would love to have the ability. Think about it. When grown-ups aren't pooping right, it takes a good long while to be regular again.

The other thing that irked me a bit was the second part of the policy: a child who is sent home has to remain home for at least 24 hours symptom-free. And the director explained this to me and was close to telling me that Baby C needed to go back home, until I reminded her Dr. W said the baby was completley healthy. After all, I think a medical professional - especially one who has seen him since he was only a few days old (Dr. W's associate, Dr. S, was the one on call when Baby C was born) - knows a little more about my baby's health than his teachers.

Anyway, the bottom line is that (a) they let him come back to school today, (b) I was warned that his stools would be closely monitored, and (c) if any of his stools are even slightly amiss, Baby C will need to go home.

So, I'll see him later tonight, after Chris picks him up at his normal time.