ok, so two interesting developments from later that night:
1. obviously, after the "incident" i put him back to get to cleaning - better part of a bottle of carpet shampoo on the couch and my shorts soaking in soapy water in the poo-poo bucket that i luckily still have from potty training my oldest- but upon revisiting him to see if he had left any more in his tank (and to call him hurtful names) i could see clearly that he had given himself a bath in his water bowl, it is big enough to soak in, but he never actually goes in except after smearing poop all over me and my furniture apparently. So bully for him; being the middle of the night, i had to settle for a Pur'ell sponge bath.

2. After said sponge bath, and sheepishly admitting to my wife why i was so late to bed, my newborn daughter wakes up for a feed and diaper change. So, of course, she pooped on me. And not to be too graphic, but it was really more of a loaded fart (parents, you know how bm's are the first few weeks) so it actually sort of sprayed me - prompting another hand-sanitizer spa treatment and my third change of pants for the evening.

So yeah, good times... good times.