Why I hate Cheerios

Anybody remember my "Banana Poop" post? (Which gets a surprisingly high number of hits from searches, by the way!) Well, banana poop is like a fresh spring breeze in comparison to...

Cheerio poop.

Now, Bug has been eating the little round O's of oaty goodness for quite a while. He actually prefers the honey nut variety (which I willingly buy, because I'll eat them, too). For the past several months, Bug has actually succeeded in eating a toddler-sized bowl of cereal for breakfast, complete with a couple tablespoons of milk in the bottom of the bowl. He even uses a spoon...er....usually. Some mornings, he will eat oatmeal, which he actually loves! Some mornings, I (or, more likely, the hubby) get fancy and make eggs, toast, hash browns, bacon, ad nauseum. But, Bug doesn't eat the eggs. Some mornings, I make crumb cake, which I promise is a legitimate breakfast, or pancakes. Some mornings, I peel the kid a banana. But, most mornings, I give Bug a bowl of honey nut flavored, toasted oat O's.

And, most afternoons, I regret it.

I don't know how to honey nut coat it, but it causes the most horrendous diaper changes...other than those other horrendous kinds, because we all know if there are solid foods making poop, it is never pretty. Let me just give you a brief idea of how it goes: mom sits down with a full container of wipes and a fresh diaper. Mom opens up diaper and uses one wipe. Two wipes. Three wipes. Four wipes. Five wipes...By this time, mom starts weighing the cost/benefit of just sticking the kiddo in the shower for a while. Mom figures she will try two more wipes. Please note that majority of the poop was wiped off that cute little bum with only two wipes. The remaining wipes are being used to try to remove the stubbornly sticky poop flecks. The damning characteristic of Cheerio poop. Mom wipes. They stay. Mom wipes again. They move over an inch, but do not come off the kiddo's rear. Mom wipes with a pinching technique. Two come off. Twelve million remain. Seven wipes later, mom sticks kid in the shower. Mom remembers next time to not sit down with a fresh diaper and wipes, but to go straight for the fresh diaper and towel.

You'd think I would just stop feeding him Cheerios for breakfast...and snacks throughout the day. But it's the easiest, cheapest, cleanest, minimal prep, most devoured snack/meal that I can find. What can I say? I'm a lazy mom. And Bug loves those showers.