Bath Time!

We are back from Oley and had a wonderful time in Saratoga Springs. The best part was being able to connect with so many families. Even though we may not share the exact same diagnosis alot of what we deal with day to day is the same. It was also nice to see our care team in Boston in attendance as well. I did miss most of the main sessions but they were recorded so I can catch up on what I missed. The breakout afternoon sessions were the most valuable to me.



Overall the most exciting thing we discovered is that Juliana's bags will hold up in the bath. We were always told not to get them wet or they will fall right off. For the last two years Juliana has been sponged bathed on a waterproof pad on the floor with multiple containers of water for washing and rinsing. It's not the easiest way to clean a baby but it worked for us. She would occassionally get a bath when the bags had leaked and she was due for a dressing change. That has probably happened only a few times and she would get so upset it seemed not worth it. Now that we know we will be living in ostomy world for at least another year, it seems appropriate for Juliana to experience bath time on a regular basis. After talking with a fellow ostomate we found that the bags could get wet without the risk of losing a perfectly good bag. I still expected to need to change her bags following the bath so I had all the materials ready to go. Well the bags didn't leak for two days which is a record for us.



We bought her some new bath toys in celebration and are now on a schedule that revolves around dressing and cap changes rather than dressing, cap and ostomy bag changes. Much easier to plan this way and is wonderful for Juliana's development. She is at the age where bath time is fun and she does really enjoy it.