Be Very Very Quiet
Abbie had a poopy diaper this morning. There’s nothing unusual about that, but today she decided to poop while the twins were napping. Usually she’s thoughtful enough to poop while the twins are awake so I don’t risk waking them by changing her in the same room while they sleep. I had no such luck today, so I had to enter their room very quietly.
I have two diaper changing stations; one is in the living room, and the other is in the kids’ room. This coincides with the twins’ sleeping stations; one is in the living room, and the other is in the kids’ room. It probably isn’t optimal to make the twins sleep in two different beds in two different locations everyday, but I want the twins to sleep in their theoretically long-term crib in the kids’ room, but I’m not quite brave enough to try having all three kids sleep simultaneously in the same room. Somebody, probably all three on a rotational basis, would keep the other two awake at all times. So I have the twins sleep in the kids’ room while Abbie is awake, and make them sleep in the living room over night and while she naps. These are the choices we have to make when cramming five people into a two-bedroom home.
Since Abbie was awake, the twins were asleep in the kids’ room next to the primary diaper changing station. The secondary station in the living room is just a pad on top of the Pack ‘N Play, which is inferior in several ways. I have to strain my back leaning over the pad while changing them. Abbie is probably over the pad’s weight limit. Our only wipe warmer is in the kids’ room, and her tush is used to warmed wipes. Changing a poopy diaper in the living room means I have to throw away a poopy diaper in the living room, and even though we have a diaper pail in the living room, those things contain odors like the second hour of the Oscar telecast holds viewers. Most importantly, all the size 4 diapers were in the kids’ room, and while a size 1 diaper might look cute on her, she would severely test its claim of “superior leak protection.”
I quietly entered their room. The twins were fast asleep, which was a welcome change from those “naps” where the only thing that keeps them quiet are the pacifiers that keep falling out of their mouths. I lifted her onto the changing table, and began stripping her. Sometimes she howls as soon as I lift her, but today she obliged by being quiet. I worked as quickly as I could while Abbie was content, pulling, opening, and wiping. I soon had to add deflecting to my duties, as in deflecting Abbie’s hands from personally inspecting whatever I was wiping up down there. After a few parries, her patience wore out and she screamed in frustration. She may not talk yet, but if screaming counted as communication she’d be conversing at a teenager-with-a-cell-phone level. All four baby eyeballs popped up like they were peak lights on a decibel meter. I tried to calm her back down, but she continued screaming.
I hurriedly finished wiping, threw the diaper away, grabbed a new diaper, and hauled Abbie’s naked tush out to the living room. After she had a fresh diaper, she returned to playing calmly on the floor, and I returned to the kids’ room to insert some pacifiers. I grabbed a couple of size 4 diapers while I was in there.
I have two diaper changing stations; one is in the living room, and the other is in the kids’ room. This coincides with the twins’ sleeping stations; one is in the living room, and the other is in the kids’ room. It probably isn’t optimal to make the twins sleep in two different beds in two different locations everyday, but I want the twins to sleep in their theoretically long-term crib in the kids’ room, but I’m not quite brave enough to try having all three kids sleep simultaneously in the same room. Somebody, probably all three on a rotational basis, would keep the other two awake at all times. So I have the twins sleep in the kids’ room while Abbie is awake, and make them sleep in the living room over night and while she naps. These are the choices we have to make when cramming five people into a two-bedroom home.
Since Abbie was awake, the twins were asleep in the kids’ room next to the primary diaper changing station. The secondary station in the living room is just a pad on top of the Pack ‘N Play, which is inferior in several ways. I have to strain my back leaning over the pad while changing them. Abbie is probably over the pad’s weight limit. Our only wipe warmer is in the kids’ room, and her tush is used to warmed wipes. Changing a poopy diaper in the living room means I have to throw away a poopy diaper in the living room, and even though we have a diaper pail in the living room, those things contain odors like the second hour of the Oscar telecast holds viewers. Most importantly, all the size 4 diapers were in the kids’ room, and while a size 1 diaper might look cute on her, she would severely test its claim of “superior leak protection.”
I quietly entered their room. The twins were fast asleep, which was a welcome change from those “naps” where the only thing that keeps them quiet are the pacifiers that keep falling out of their mouths. I lifted her onto the changing table, and began stripping her. Sometimes she howls as soon as I lift her, but today she obliged by being quiet. I worked as quickly as I could while Abbie was content, pulling, opening, and wiping. I soon had to add deflecting to my duties, as in deflecting Abbie’s hands from personally inspecting whatever I was wiping up down there. After a few parries, her patience wore out and she screamed in frustration. She may not talk yet, but if screaming counted as communication she’d be conversing at a teenager-with-a-cell-phone level. All four baby eyeballs popped up like they were peak lights on a decibel meter. I tried to calm her back down, but she continued screaming.
I hurriedly finished wiping, threw the diaper away, grabbed a new diaper, and hauled Abbie’s naked tush out to the living room. After she had a fresh diaper, she returned to playing calmly on the floor, and I returned to the kids’ room to insert some pacifiers. I grabbed a couple of size 4 diapers while I was in there.
posted by Matt at
11:07 PM
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