A Spring of Joy

Well, I had my first real taste of being at home with two boys by myself yesterday, and laughing about it is really the only way to cope.

So it happened like this…Asher had finished his lunch and was awaiting a stinky diaper change. He was beyond ripe, so I took him into his room where he promptly began to squirm and wiggle trying to find an Elmo diaper to put on. Mid-change, he decided it was more fun to play than to get a diaper change. I found myself in the midst of a mess, most of which had been smeared from inside his diaper onto his legs. Fortunately, it was bath night, so I just cleaned him up and got him back together. His normal diaper change of 2 minutes had turned into 10 minutes of smelly frustration.

In the meantime, Micah had awakened from his nap, and was crying his “I need a diaper change” cry, so when I finished with Asher, I figured there was no time like the present, and I took Micah into his room. Asher of course tagged along to “help”. No sooner did I have Micah all ready for a change, then Asher started to climb the changing table, shaking it, etc. I finally made Asher sit on the floor to watch and turned back to the task at hand. I was prepared–tissue to cover the possibility of pee, and clean diaper under his little (and it is a very little) bum ready to be put on immediately. I removed the old only to have Asher up and climbing again. Distracted, I failed in my task w/ Micah to the tune of pee flying over my head and a massive amount of baby poop squirting all over the changing table, walls, etc.

I think I screamed, but the events are foggy to say the least. I sent Asher off to his room to get his wipes–which he did quite efficiently–and quickly cleaned up Micah’s mess. Then I removed the second diaper and was positioning the third one only to have him squirt again. Fortunately, I was prepared, so it all went into the diaper. I finally got him changed (four diapers in all!) and in his crib 15 minutes later.

I sank into the rocking chair and picked up Asher to snuggle, rock and read before naptime. As we rocked, Asher kept squirming and then a familiar odor came wafting up to my senses. All I could think was, “You’ve got to be kidding me! Not another stinky diaper!” But alas, my olfactory nerves had served me well, and Asher had filled his diaper once more. That one was changed with no problems, but by the time I got Asher down for his nap and could get my bearings, I realized that I had spent the better part of an hour just changing diapers! Do you think it’s time to potty train Asher yet?

Oddly enough, when I look back on it, I even love those times. It’s all part of being a mom, and being a mom is what I love best. I never thought I’d find changing diapers a joy, but it truly is!