Diaper Difficulties
Abbie is an expert at making diaper changes difficult. She’s honed several effective techniques over the months including the Rollover, the Scoot off the Pad, and the Stick an Appendage in the Mess.
The boys are still mostly immobile, so changing their diapers is fairly simple. They can rollover, but I don’t think it’s ever occurred to them to try it while on the changing table. They can’t really scoot on their tummies, much less their backs, so they still stay on the pad. They’re not very flexible or really even capable of deliberate movement, so they can’t put an appendage in the mess unless I leave the dirty diaper close enough for them to inadvertently kick into, which I too often do.
They still have a couple of tricks, possibly learned under Abbie’s tutelage. They squirm, especially Tory. They seem to have just discovered that they can flap their arms and kick their legs, and resting on the changing table seems to be the ideal place to practice this newfound skill. Tory takes particular delight in flailing his extremities like an poorly coordinated Olympic backstroker from one of those small where the largest body of water most inhabitants ever see is within a carafe. Tory seems so much stronger than his brother, possibly because he has to haul around an extra 20% in body weight, or maybe just because he has to be able to consume enough food to sustain his spare mass. While they’re waving that hard, it’s difficult to slide a diaper into the proper position and hold it there, plus it keeps their wipe targets moving.
Of course any child’s most powerful weapon during diaper changings is peeing. Even a newborn can pee during a diaper change, a fact the twins reminded me of by hitting the wall soon after we brought them home. I adjusted my tactics, learned to cover the appropriate parts with a wipe, diaper, t-shirt, or whatever was handy, and went on with life, minimizing the damage done. As they aged, they seemed to gain the ability to hold it while the diaper was off, going several days even weeks between peeing episodes, and I stopped concerning myself with fountains.
Then yesterday Tory peed twice with his diaper off. He’d been building up to this for a couple weeks by peeing once every day or two. I remember Abbie went through a similar phase, mostly holding it for a couple months before letting it fly again. I swear she went for two straight weeks peeing at every diaper change. Perhaps Tory is at the same developmental stage. Or perhaps he just likes having his onesie removed; he giggles every time I pull one off his body.
I’m sure they’ll regain control of their bladders soon, and I can stop running for cover during every eruption, only to return and discover how far away they can soak things this time. I can’t even remember the last time Abbie peed on the changing table with her diaper off. The boys should hit that stage soon, probably about the time they can start standing every time I try to attach a diaper.
The boys are still mostly immobile, so changing their diapers is fairly simple. They can rollover, but I don’t think it’s ever occurred to them to try it while on the changing table. They can’t really scoot on their tummies, much less their backs, so they still stay on the pad. They’re not very flexible or really even capable of deliberate movement, so they can’t put an appendage in the mess unless I leave the dirty diaper close enough for them to inadvertently kick into, which I too often do.
They still have a couple of tricks, possibly learned under Abbie’s tutelage. They squirm, especially Tory. They seem to have just discovered that they can flap their arms and kick their legs, and resting on the changing table seems to be the ideal place to practice this newfound skill. Tory takes particular delight in flailing his extremities like an poorly coordinated Olympic backstroker from one of those small where the largest body of water most inhabitants ever see is within a carafe. Tory seems so much stronger than his brother, possibly because he has to haul around an extra 20% in body weight, or maybe just because he has to be able to consume enough food to sustain his spare mass. While they’re waving that hard, it’s difficult to slide a diaper into the proper position and hold it there, plus it keeps their wipe targets moving.
Of course any child’s most powerful weapon during diaper changings is peeing. Even a newborn can pee during a diaper change, a fact the twins reminded me of by hitting the wall soon after we brought them home. I adjusted my tactics, learned to cover the appropriate parts with a wipe, diaper, t-shirt, or whatever was handy, and went on with life, minimizing the damage done. As they aged, they seemed to gain the ability to hold it while the diaper was off, going several days even weeks between peeing episodes, and I stopped concerning myself with fountains.
Then yesterday Tory peed twice with his diaper off. He’d been building up to this for a couple weeks by peeing once every day or two. I remember Abbie went through a similar phase, mostly holding it for a couple months before letting it fly again. I swear she went for two straight weeks peeing at every diaper change. Perhaps Tory is at the same developmental stage. Or perhaps he just likes having his onesie removed; he giggles every time I pull one off his body.
I’m sure they’ll regain control of their bladders soon, and I can stop running for cover during every eruption, only to return and discover how far away they can soak things this time. I can’t even remember the last time Abbie peed on the changing table with her diaper off. The boys should hit that stage soon, probably about the time they can start standing every time I try to attach a diaper.
posted by Matt at
11:14 PM
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