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Every mom has a story about a dirty diaper. Remember the last time you were peed on? Or the time that somehow poop escaped the diaper and went everywhere? The crazy thing is we love to share these stories with each other. You wouldn't just go up to a stranger and start talking about this kind of stuff. But, get a room full of moms together and eventually you'll start hearing these kinds of stories. There are certain rites of passage as a parent and many revolve around bodily fluids.
Here's my story behind one very dirty diaper....
With our firstborn, Luca, we thought we were on a mission to save his tiny bum from the chemicals in plastic diapers. We chose cloth diapers and with the help of our trusty high efficiency washer and dryer, we set about saving some money and the Earth.
At 11 months old, our little smartie pants started to notice and play with the tabs along those cloth diapers. Because of regular (read, DAILY) washings the velcro closure tabs were kind of curling up at the edges. That was fine. Just as long as we kept him clothed, it wasn't a big deal.
This day, we were out running errands and were home by nap time. My hubs changed Luca into a fresh diaper and put him down quickly. He forgot to put bottoms back on over the diaper. Oops.
Luca was still in the two-nap-a-day phase. We were also in the middle of a "cry it out" period. Luca would fuss himself to sleep which usually wouldn't take more than 10 minutes or so. But let's face it, listening to a baby cry for several minutes, let alone twenty or thirty is annoying! You just can't hear your child cry and not want to go in and help them stop or at least calm down. This day, one solid hour of babbling, protesting and occasionally loud crying had passed. We seriously kept thinking, he's gonna go to sleep soon. We were wrong.
My I Guess Im Due moment came when I finally gave in and opened the door to his room. The stench hit me first. My eyes did not want to see what I saw. I swear I heard him almost giggle as the door opened. My sweet baby, had taken his dirty diaper off by pulling at those curled Velcro tabs. There he stood, my little naked Picasso.
Luca painted his crib with the foulest poop I had witnessed. It was everywhere. The wall, crib railings, sheets and even his face contained traces of his artwork. There was poop literally on every possible surface he could reach. I even remember poop in the corners of his mouth. My stomach turned. I yelled for back-up and the next hour was spent cleaning up a very disgusting mess. My husband kindly cleaned the bedroom while I cleaned the baby. I gave him the soapiest bath you can give an eleven-month-old. We busted out the Clorox spray. We googled "remove poop smell from fingernails." And the very next night, we installed our shiny, new video monitor. I kicked myself for not getting that gem sooner!
The last four years have brought lots of messes. When Luca was 20 months old, his brother arrived. The two of them love creating a path of destruction wherever they go. But I will never forget that day and that mess.
Here's my story behind one very dirty diaper....
With our firstborn, Luca, we thought we were on a mission to save his tiny bum from the chemicals in plastic diapers. We chose cloth diapers and with the help of our trusty high efficiency washer and dryer, we set about saving some money and the Earth.
At 11 months old, our little smartie pants started to notice and play with the tabs along those cloth diapers. Because of regular (read, DAILY) washings the velcro closure tabs were kind of curling up at the edges. That was fine. Just as long as we kept him clothed, it wasn't a big deal.
This day, we were out running errands and were home by nap time. My hubs changed Luca into a fresh diaper and put him down quickly. He forgot to put bottoms back on over the diaper. Oops.
Luca was still in the two-nap-a-day phase. We were also in the middle of a "cry it out" period. Luca would fuss himself to sleep which usually wouldn't take more than 10 minutes or so. But let's face it, listening to a baby cry for several minutes, let alone twenty or thirty is annoying! You just can't hear your child cry and not want to go in and help them stop or at least calm down. This day, one solid hour of babbling, protesting and occasionally loud crying had passed. We seriously kept thinking, he's gonna go to sleep soon. We were wrong.
Luca painted his crib with the foulest poop I had witnessed. It was everywhere. The wall, crib railings, sheets and even his face contained traces of his artwork. There was poop literally on every possible surface he could reach. I even remember poop in the corners of his mouth. My stomach turned. I yelled for back-up and the next hour was spent cleaning up a very disgusting mess. My husband kindly cleaned the bedroom while I cleaned the baby. I gave him the soapiest bath you can give an eleven-month-old. We busted out the Clorox spray. We googled "remove poop smell from fingernails." And the very next night, we installed our shiny, new video monitor. I kicked myself for not getting that gem sooner! The last four years have brought lots of messes. When Luca was 20 months old, his brother arrived. The two of them love creating a path of destruction wherever they go. But I will never forget that day and that mess.
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In the midst of being a full time mommy, Nicole owns Page Four Creative. This boutique design studio specializes in helping busy moms document their stories of messy children through custom photo albums. Her goal is to learn your story, your style, your vision; then create a unique photo album for you to enjoy. To learn more check out www.pagefour-creative.com and show her some love on Facebook!
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