This is Everett:
This photo was taken mere moments after putting a new diaper on his bum. The child is ecstatic!
Granted, he's a pretty happy baby overall. And he definitely has his fair share of smiley-time when Jason and I are playing with him. But there are those times when we try in vain to get him to "perform" in front of a live video camera, or we're trying desperately to capture the picture-perfect grin on his face... *sigh* ...to no avail.
Too bad we didn't figure out sooner that the best way to get this kid to smile is to give him a clean, dry diaper! He LOVES having clean drawers on!
Seriously, Everett has a problem with dirty pants. Yes, if I was sitting in my own filth, it would surely bother the heck out of me, too! But most babies will sort of tolerate a wet diaper...at least for a while. Jason and I thought in the beginning that we could really get our money's worth out of every single diaper -- maybe don't change it the second it's wet; maybe wait until it's poopy, too -- brilliant!
Um, no.
Everett is one of those "high maintenance" babies when it comes to diapers. There are times when he will be crying inconsolably, and we start going through the checklist: we just changed him, he just made a big poopy so we know he's not struggling with that, he just ate, he hasn't been awake long enough to need another nap, he's dressed comfortably, we're holding him at this very minute so we know he's not lonely... And then we check his diaper (just in case). And it's wet. Again.
And it is not uncommon for a diaper-changing session to go something like this: Everett pooped (diaper #1), so we take off the dirty diaper, clean his bottom and slide a clean diaper (diaper #2) under him. Just as we're fastening the new one onto his body, he poops again (I guess he wasn't finished). So we repeat the previous step of cleaning him and getting a new diaper (diaper #3) to put on him. But wait -- just before we close up the newest diaper, the wind blows just right and Everett starts to pee all over the place. (We usually do a pretty good job of blocking, but sometimes we get so caught up in the multiple-diaper changes that we forget about that little guy down there.) So now this newest diaper (still #3) isn't wet or dirty on the inside, but it's now drenched in pee, and we just can't bring ourselves to towel it off and fasten it onto his body. So we have to throw that one away, strip off all his pee-soaked clothes, and get out yet another diaper. *sigh* Finally, we're looking down at our very, very happy (now naked) little baby, and we're closing up diaper #4. That's right -- four diapers in one change! And this is how we can sometimes go through 100 disposable diapers in a week. (We should have bought stock in Pampers.)
So whether we're using four diapers at a time, or just changing the boy every half-hour, it seems like we really do use a lot of diapers. Which is why I've decided to employ cloth diapers for some of our at-home time. Jason and I are both of the opinion that cloth-diapering is a bit fussy to mess with when you're out running errands, but it's really not so bad when you're just hanging around the house all day. And believe me, it definitely saves us from buying disposables as frequently!
One thing I really don't mind, though... I LOVE seeing that gummy smile on his face! I never get tired of it, even if it is just from the simple pleasure of having a clean tush. I guess maybe it's the "little things" that really please us both. :)
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