The thrill of 'I pooped!' Moments of growth discovered during paternity leave

There is a moving experience involving 'poop' that I could only have encountered during my paternity leave.

This is a story about a period when I was worried because my child had been constipated for about three weeks, starting after they turned one month old.

*To those who are facing the same problem: please read this as just one person's experience. If you feel anything is even slightly abnormal, please be sure to consult a specialist.

The beginning of constipation

Until about one month after birth, my child had been pooping at least once every one to two days, but then I started worrying about a period of constipation where they wouldn't poop even after two or three days. I looked it up online and tried things like exercises to relieve constipation, but there was no improvement. I ended up using a method of stimulating the anus with a cotton swab to encourage bowel movements.

Days of excessive worry

Even after searching online and consulting the doctor at the one-month checkup, I received information that I shouldn't worry too much unless the constipation lasted for five days to a week, and the child would poop if I stimulated the anus every two or three days.
Even though I knew I was worrying too much, I couldn't help but wonder: what if they never poop on their own again? It was a period when such anxieties were mounting.

■ The moment of growth | They pooped on their own!

One evening, I wasn't doing anything in particular, but while I was watching over them, I heard a sound—I thought it might have been a fart. I let it pass, but after a little while, I checked and, to my surprise, they had done it themselves...!
The thrill of realizing, 'They finally pooped on their own!'
The next day, I was there for the moment they pooped again. It was a moment where I felt a huge sense of relief, knowing that yesterday hadn't just been a fluke.

I said to them, 'You've learned how to poop on your own,' and
I truly felt the growth of my child, realizing how happy such a thing could make me.

My commitment to not missing growth during paternity leave

I think this moving experience was only possible because I was on paternity leave.
The magnitude of the emotion is surely different between hearing a report during the day that 'they pooped' and actually being there for the moment it happens.

It is a small commitment I have during my paternity leave, but I try not to spend time in the other room where I keep my desk and gaming chair for remote work.

Even when the child is sleeping or when my wife is nearby, I make an effort not to create 'time to shut myself in another room.' Even if it's quiet, I stay by my child's side. This is my small commitment during my paternity leave.

I hope you don't worry too much and instead turn these moments into opportunities to enjoy their growth.

Even if you are told not to worry too much, you inevitably will.
I hope you don't worry excessively, but instead embrace this opportunity as a time to witness your child's moments of growth in a positive way—that is the kind of event that made me feel this way.

As an aside, if there was one (?) good thing about this period, it was this:
Since we assumed there would be no bowel movements, the check before changing diapers was over in an instant.

If I hadn't taken parental leave, I might not have been able to witness such moments of growth.

I hope you, too, find moments of growth that you can only experience because you are on parental leave.

▽ I have written other articles about my realizations regarding childcare as well.