A lookback on the diaper daze of old
This time last year, my family was beginning our potty training journey. And this journey was filled with highlights, lowlights, setbacks, long stretches of greatness, occasional meltdowns, and eventual success. The funny thing about it is that it seemed to be much harder on us as parents than it was on our kid. After all, he didn’t seem to feel pressure about it like his mom and dad. He just did what he did until one day he just didn’t want to use the diapers anymore. Once he made that decision – that was that.
And as I look around my diaper-genie-less bathroom and fill the shelves of the change table with regular blankets and excess stuffed animals, I can’t help but look back at the last few years of diapering.
Because…(and I know it’s strange to admit) there are moments when I kinda miss it.
Let’s be clear. I do not miss all of it. I do not miss the smell or the constant planning of any type of activity around when the next diaper change would be needed. I certainly do not miss the expense of buying diapers and wipes on a regular basis. But the fact that I no longer have any need to browse the diaper aisles in stores is an often jolting reminder that my son is growing up out of a significant part of his life (up until this point).
I’m reminded of being pregnant with him, and making the decision about whether we were going to use cloth or disposable diapers. The choice was a tricky one – and one that most parents-to-be tackle in the lead up to the due date of their little one. Both offer pros and cons – and I’m not in the habit of deciding one is better than another. However the fact of the matter is, each parent has to decide what they think will work best for their child and their family.
I remember hearing both sides of the debate from friends and family. One friend of mine swore by cloth diapers – not only for the environmental aspects of it, but also assured that the larger upfront costs paid for themselves rather quickly and ended up saving quite the pretty penny in the long run. Ashley, another friend and local mother of two adorable boys, doubled down on this – saying that she found that the cloth diapers led to less diaper rash for her little one who had very sensitive skin.
In the end, we wound up going with disposables – as it was something I was more familiar with (and honestly, as a first time mom, familiar sounded great). Plus, it helped that we had loving family members send us enough of them that we were sure not to run out any time soon. It worked for us – and as I said before, you just have to do what works for you.
And for the most part, I think my husband and I were lucky. We didn’t have many blowout situations (I thanked my child for that each and every day), and the process of a diaper change quickly became something I could do in less than two minutes.
I have to admit I became pretty cocky with my ability to change a diaper. Nasty stuff aside, it became a moment of connection where I could chat with my little boy, make him giggle and sing a song. I didn’t get the fight I had with meal or bed time – he was usually pretty relaxed.
Until those few months when, as a toddler, my child suddenly became what equated to a gator on steroids during diaper changes. My goodness, that boy was strong. And when he wanted to roll, he rolled. Being about 5 feet tall, with a toddler nearly half my height, doing changes on anything but the floor became dang-near impossible. Luckily, it was a phase and didn’t last too long. I don’t think my back could have handled any longer than that.
And as we finally moved into the potty training phase, I’d be lying if I didn’t long for the ease of diapers. There wasn’t the worry of accidents in the car, and I didn’t see the irritation in my son’s face every time I asked him if he wanted to try the potty again. I suddenly had to take a back seat, and learn to trust my child to take over control of this part of his life. And in his own time, at the right time, he did just that.
So, do I really want to go back to the good ol’ diaper daze? No. Of course not. I gave the diaper genie away with a smile on my face, and donated the last of the night time diapers to my son’s early learning program with glee. We’re moving on. He’s growing up, and I’m happy to leave all those diapering dilemmas behind us.
