Pajama Party
I change everyone’s diapers before naptime. I usually only change diapers when necessary due to concerns about the environment and the checking account. Pre-naptime definitely counts as “necessary.” I don’t want one of those suckers to leak; I’d have to clean up a big mess, and that’s assuming only liquids broke the elastic barrier. Worse, yet, a leaky diaper could prematurely end the nap, making the child and the caregiver cranky.
“Before naptime” means minutes before the nap for the boys. They chug seven-ounces of milk at every meal plus whatever they can suck from Abbie’s thrown sippy cup before I catch them, so they have enough fuel to wet a diaper at any time.
“Before naptime” can mean sometime in the last 90 minutes with Abbie. She usually only wets her diaper shortly after lunch. When I change her diaper after the post-lunch poop, it usually stays mostly dry until after naptime. As a child ages, she gains control over her bladder and liquid intake. I have no problem leaving a slightly moistened diaper on her through naptime so long as there’re no solids in it; it’s better for the environment.
Such was the case yesterday. I was preparing for naptime by changing the boys’ diapers. Abbie had pooped after lunch, and had been sitting in her mostly-fresh diaper for about an hour. That didn’t stop her from climbing on the changing table and removing her pants, though.
Abbie usually only removes her pants when poopy* or bored. Her book bin was lying on the floor, so she couldn’t be bored. A quick sniff confirmed that she wasn’t poopy. I shrugged and assumed that she wanted her diaper changed like her brothers. I finished with whichever beloved son I had on the table, set him on the ground, and turned to grab an Abbie diaper.
When I turned back around, Abbie was holding her pajamas. That’s when I realized that she didn’t remove her pants because she wanted her diaper changed, although she did remove her diaper anyway to pass the time while I grabbed a new one. She wanted to wear her pajamas during naptime, and taking off her pants was the best way to communicate her desire without using actual words.
This was new. I’ve always put her down for a nap in whatever she was wearing, saving the pajamas for nighttime. She might get a little cold during the day, but she needs some incentive to learn to properly sleep under a blanket. I recently tried using a new pair of pajamas on her at night to keep her warm. It’s a blanket sleeper, the kind with a zipper up front that she can’t leave alone, thus negating its warming benefit when she slips it off and onto the floor. It’s been frigid here recently, so I tried the blanket sleeper to keep her warm at night, hoping she’d leave it on this time. I made sure to point out that only big girls get to wear those pajamas, so she has to leave the zipper alone.
My maturity guilt trip must have worked, because she’s left her pajamas on all night ever since. Apparently, it worked too well, because now she wants to be a big girl during naptime also.
Fair enough. I changed her into her pajamas, finished the naptime routine, and set everyone down for their nap. She quickly fell asleep, and enjoyed her best nap in days. I enjoyed it too, but for different reasons.
Abbie woke just in time for supper. I changed her out of the pajamas to keep them clean since she wants to wear them for a couple more hours a day. If she’s that attached to those pajamas, I’d better make sure the diaper doesn’t leak or I’ll have to do an emergency pre-bedtime load of laundry.
* Some people take this as a sign she’s ready to be potty trained. I take it as a sign that she knows when she pooped. I remember from my potty training days that there’s a big difference between knowing that you have to poop, and knowing that you did poop.
“Before naptime” means minutes before the nap for the boys. They chug seven-ounces of milk at every meal plus whatever they can suck from Abbie’s thrown sippy cup before I catch them, so they have enough fuel to wet a diaper at any time.
“Before naptime” can mean sometime in the last 90 minutes with Abbie. She usually only wets her diaper shortly after lunch. When I change her diaper after the post-lunch poop, it usually stays mostly dry until after naptime. As a child ages, she gains control over her bladder and liquid intake. I have no problem leaving a slightly moistened diaper on her through naptime so long as there’re no solids in it; it’s better for the environment.
Such was the case yesterday. I was preparing for naptime by changing the boys’ diapers. Abbie had pooped after lunch, and had been sitting in her mostly-fresh diaper for about an hour. That didn’t stop her from climbing on the changing table and removing her pants, though.
Abbie usually only removes her pants when poopy* or bored. Her book bin was lying on the floor, so she couldn’t be bored. A quick sniff confirmed that she wasn’t poopy. I shrugged and assumed that she wanted her diaper changed like her brothers. I finished with whichever beloved son I had on the table, set him on the ground, and turned to grab an Abbie diaper.
When I turned back around, Abbie was holding her pajamas. That’s when I realized that she didn’t remove her pants because she wanted her diaper changed, although she did remove her diaper anyway to pass the time while I grabbed a new one. She wanted to wear her pajamas during naptime, and taking off her pants was the best way to communicate her desire without using actual words.
This was new. I’ve always put her down for a nap in whatever she was wearing, saving the pajamas for nighttime. She might get a little cold during the day, but she needs some incentive to learn to properly sleep under a blanket. I recently tried using a new pair of pajamas on her at night to keep her warm. It’s a blanket sleeper, the kind with a zipper up front that she can’t leave alone, thus negating its warming benefit when she slips it off and onto the floor. It’s been frigid here recently, so I tried the blanket sleeper to keep her warm at night, hoping she’d leave it on this time. I made sure to point out that only big girls get to wear those pajamas, so she has to leave the zipper alone.
My maturity guilt trip must have worked, because she’s left her pajamas on all night ever since. Apparently, it worked too well, because now she wants to be a big girl during naptime also.
Fair enough. I changed her into her pajamas, finished the naptime routine, and set everyone down for their nap. She quickly fell asleep, and enjoyed her best nap in days. I enjoyed it too, but for different reasons.
Abbie woke just in time for supper. I changed her out of the pajamas to keep them clean since she wants to wear them for a couple more hours a day. If she’s that attached to those pajamas, I’d better make sure the diaper doesn’t leak or I’ll have to do an emergency pre-bedtime load of laundry.
* Some people take this as a sign she’s ready to be potty trained. I take it as a sign that she knows when she pooped. I remember from my potty training days that there’s a big difference between knowing that you have to poop, and knowing that you did poop.
posted by Matt at
11:52 PM
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