Anatomy of a Fruit Basket

Do you remember in your fifth grade science class when you got to dissect owl pellets (you know, like their poop) and how much fun it was?  Just me?  Well, huh.  Anyhoo, I enjoyed dissecting the pellets and being able to tell exactly what the owl had been eating recently.  I was the Sherlock Holmes of science.

This is a total aside, but did you know that you can tell quite a bit about a calf's diet by observing their manure?  You can see if they are getting too much or not enough protein, carbohydrates, etc.  Pretty neat the things you can learn if you just learn where to look.

So I told you those little stories in order to tell you this story. Let me state for the record that I do not make a point of dissecting my son's poop on a daily basis.  I do; however, make general observations about his bowel movements every time they happen.  Much like checking out cattle manure, you can tell quite a bit about your child's health by checking out their stools.  (I bet my mom is having a ball reading this story.  Nurses everywhere are enthralled by this type of weird stuff.)

I changed Kenyon's diaper the other day and noticed that there were several small, clear, sac-like structures in his poop.  Much like egg larvae (for those of you that were sleeping during that day of livestock entomology class).  I instantly freaked out.  Where did my son become infested with eggs?  Do our dogs have eggs?  Are we going to get them - do we already have them?  Do I need to call the doctor?  Can I look on Pinterest for a homemade remedy?  

I tried to make myself calm down.  I tried to keep telling myself that this surely couldn't be anything as serious as an egg infestation in my son, but there was a nagging voice in the back of my head I just couldn't shake.  I told myself I could finally break down and call the doctor if the problem still persisted after 24 hours.

24 hours later...... the 'eggs' were still in his poopy diapers.  I was officially a basket case.  I knew this must be the reason he was starting to become so skinny (never mind the fact that he is a toddler that runs every waking moment).  That was the final straw and I decided to call the doctor for an appointment.

I started to clean up a few things in the kitchen before we made our trip into town.  I opened the fridge to return the milk and noticed something funny.  On a shelf in the fridge, right at eye level, was a jar of mandarin oranges that were nearly all gone.  Hmmmm.  Kenyon had been eating quite a few oranges lately.  Hmmmm.  Oranges are comprised of 8 or so slices, also known as segments.  These slices/segments each contain many tiny little juice sacs.  After running through the digestive system of a 14 month old boy, these juice sacs become quite clear.  Hmmmm.  Clear enough to perhaps make someone think that their son was perhaps infested with eggs.  Hmmmm.  It was at that moment that the little light bulb came on in my head and I was sooooo glad I decided to wait 24 hours before calling the doctor.  Although I'm sure she would have enjoyed laughing at my expense.