The Diaper Diaries

"Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore!" I don't think we're in reality anymore. All 24 hours of the day are now created equal. That means that at any given moment there could be a "poopy diaper" or a "poopy wet diaper" or a sound that comes out of the baby that resembles a helicopter taking off which is really just a false alarm. (Joe wondered what accoustical properties cause baby farts to sound 10 times louder than adult farts...) These poops have the appearance of French's Mustard and must be dealt with quickly before it runs down the legs and gets onto the clothing, the blanket, the couch, etc. At the pediatricians office we noticed the beginnings of diaper rash! So yesterday as I was about to give up diapering altogether and tell Harvey that he would have to walk around naked and that there would be a cat box for him to go poopy, my mother called to inform me about an article in the NY Times that discusses a "movement" away from diapers and getting to know our infants' grunts and grimaces so that we can race them to the bathroom and hold our bundle of love over the toilet so he can go potty sans diaper. Yes, folks, it's not hip enough to go with the supposedly environmentally conscious diaper-cleaning services. Now we have to litter train our wee ones. But think of the benefits as cited by the article: "...savings in the cost of diapers, which can reach $3,000 a child; less guilt about contributing to the 22 billion disposable diapers that end up in landfills every year; no diaper rash, and a nursery that doesn't reek of diaper pail." Harvey has VERY wiggly legs and he definitely is a challenge to change. But I think coaching him through 19-20 daily eliminations won't be part of our contribution to the ecology. Perhaps when Harvey becomes a parent himself, he will shocked to think that his parents were so backward.