Crazy expensive rash cream

I don't think I've talked about this before, but when baby gets a diaper rash it hurts for everyone. Thankfully little baby hasn't gotten too many (knocking on wood now). But my toddler used to get them, bad! I think some of that might have been the season - in the winter time in northern Alabama, it is cold! They don't get a whole lot of time to run around sans diaper, or even just air time on the changing table. And I think the lack of exposure and airing out caused some diaper rashes to be worse than they otherwise would be.

     Eventually we asked the doctor for help. The topical creams are great at prevention, but not excellent at curing one, and curing it fast. So he wrote up a great prescription for something we didn't know and sent it off to the pharmacy. To this day I have no idea what is in it... but man does it work! It's the thickest paste concoction I've ever seen, and once slathered on, the rash disappeared. Wonderful!

     What wasn't wonderful was the price tag. Even with insurance, it was around $50. For a small tub of the stuff! Granted that's more than a little tube of diaper cream off the shelf, but it still hurt our checkbook. I think the reason it's so expensive is that the pharmacy has to actually make the stuff. It doesn't come in pill form for them to just dispense, so all that extra effort involved drives the price up. It's what they call a compound prescription (I think).

     Now since then we've been told some suggestions to make a homemade diaper cream. These usually involve combining neosporin, diaper cream, and anti-fungal cream. We haven't tried that, but it might work. If things get terrible again, though, I will probably shell out the cash for the good stuff. It's worth it not to have a child who screams every time she wets herself.

Fast fingers

So my little baby is growing up and discovering the world. And with that comes some tricky situations... like diaper changes. Now the trick is to be quicker than she is.... ready, set, GO!

     I imagine this is the case for both boys and girls, but all I know is girls. If I'm wrong, let me know. With my girls, they hit and age where they try to grab and touch everything. This goes for their own body parts, too. We've all seen the little boys who constantly grab at themselves and know that it's just a stage everyone goes through. Well, even before that age, they eventually discover that there's stuff down there; even girls do it. And when it happens, it makes diaper changes tough.

     So now we've got a baby who just wants to walk around everywhere, which means diaper changes are unpleasant to begin with. She doesn't want to lie still and let me change the diaper. And NOW she's decided that if she has to be there, she might as well try to explore what's under the diaper as soon as I remove it. And she doesn't care, or realize, that she's getting in the way. Nor does she care if it's a dirty diaper; all the more to explore, right?

     So parents, this is normal. And it will probably mean that you get messy and end up cleaning both yourself and baby (especially baby fingers). Not to mention that diaper changes have now become a race. Who is faster? You or her fingers? Ready, set, GO!

Parents are people, too

It's amazing how wonderful it feels to take a break from the daily routine sometimes. I'm not trying to say that I'm not happy with the daily routine and what my life is. I love my family and the ability to stay home with my girls. But taking a break and reminding myself that I am more than just "mom!Mom!Mommy!!" is important.

     We have some wonderful friends. We have an incredible church family. And last weekend a couple from our church offered to spend 24 hours with our girls so we could go do non-kid, non-parent stuff. Wow. Since all of our actual family is on the West Coast, we don't have the opportunity to "send the girls to Grandma's" ever. If they go, so do we. And chances are, we want to see the grandparents too, so we aren't about to drop the kids off and leave. All the more reason why this weekend was such a treat.

     What did we do? Kinda nothing and it was beautiful. Well, we got coffee and donuts in the morning, went out to eat a LOT, did some disc golfing and checked out some other places around town, but the main essence of it was that we didn't do much. We didn't even leave town, although we could have. But just staying here, seeing our town from a different perspective than a parent of young kids, and not having to constantly check the clock to ensure we were on schedule was WEIRD. In a wonderful sense, of course. I didn't have to change a single diaper in more than a day; I can't remember when that has happened before!

     And by getting a full night of sleep without having to wake up for midnight feedings or nightmares meant that when we did wake up on Sunday (at a very late 8am!), we were smiling instead of groaning. So now I feel a bit more refreshed; the patience meter is not hovering on empty. And with Spring Break this week, it was a perfect time to fill up the reserves. Moreover, it reminded me that parents are people too, and we deserve to be an adult sometimes. It's good for everyone when we do.

Plus, I'm pretty sure that our kids had fun too. They came home and each took a 3 hour nap. Not to mention that it sounds like they watched a whole lot of Frozen, so it was a win win all around. 

Never forget the diapers. Never

My sister shared this story yesterday, and it was just too perfect not to mention here. 

My sister was at the airport in Santa Barbara. Now as my sister was sitting at the gate area waiting for her flight to board, she noticed a dad with a baby flying alone. No one is quite sure what the scenario is that caused this to happen, but let's hope that they were on their way to someplace fun and relaxing.

     So apparently Mr. Dad took baby and stroller et al into the bathroom to change baby before the flight - so far, so good. And then moments later, Mr. Dad reemerged from the bathroom with baby not yet changed, because Mr. Dad FORGOT TO BRING DIAPERS!!!!!

     Perhaps you have to be a parent to appreciate the horror of this situation, but believe me - this is BAD. What do you do with a baby with a wet (or heaven forbid, a dirty) diaper when you are about to be on a very cramped plane with lots of people? And chances are pretty high that Diaperless Dad wasn't just going on this one flight, but that this was merely a connecting flight to another, probably longer leg.

     I know that in my family, I tend to be about as anal as possible when it comes to packing. I pack days in advance; I pack three times as many diapers and clothes as I will need. Did you see my post about traveling with babies and kids and all the stuff I mentioned? Yes, I'm nuts. But I'd rather be nuts than be this guy.

     Poor baby. Poor Diaperless Dad. I can imagine that there were several moments of sheer panic happening as he struggled to figure out what he could possibly do to handle this. After all, there aren't a whole lot of things that can double as a makeshift diaper when you're at a gate and I doubt there's even a convenience store in the airport (and if there is, it's incredibly unlikely that they have diapers, being in Santa Barbara and all).

Sadly I don't know what the ending was to this story. But it still serves as a wonderful reminder to anyone ever flying with a child. DON'T FORGET THE DIAPERS!

Shower time

I love showers. I think I have always liked them, and I remember taking way way way too long showering when I was a teenager. But I don't know if I've ever enjoyed showers as much as I do now that I'm a mom. They are my escape. For a few moments, I can't hear anything but the rushing water, the heat helps relieve some of the knots in my back and shoulders, and there is peace in the world. Well, in the shower anyway.

     Unfortunately, my opportunities to enjoy showers like that seem fleeting these days. First, our morning routines are getting earlier and more rigid, so I often find I need to shower the night before rather than try to fit in a rushed 90 second shower in the morning. Then there's the fact that my toddler doesn't like to let me shower on my own. To her, the shower is a group activity.

     So I now find myself, more often than not, taking a shower at odd times, accompanied by my toddler. Just imagine trying to figure out how to shave your legs while avoiding the water sports going on below me. It's a bit of a balancing act. Literally.

     And then there's the dreaded potty incidents. Yes, when she first starting accompanying me in the shower, my toddler had the occasional whoops moment where she didn't realize we weren't in a giant potty and decided to go. And we've dealt with it all. Thankfully it doesn't happen so often anymore (perhaps my shrieks and yells had something to do with that).

     But we do still deal with the occasional pee in the shower. I think it's still a novel idea for her - the fact that she doesn't get in super trouble for peeing in a place that isn't her diaper or the toilet. Oh well, I'd much rather wash that down than the other stuff that could be happening. And if I'm not having my peaceful nirvana away from reality type showers, what's a little more to deal with?

I'm making cupcakes

We have had a break-thru people! My darling 3-yr old has finally taken that first step (again) and gone #2 in the potty (again). We are OVER THE MOON! 

     I would love to say that I know what we did and could repeat it easily. I haven't a clue. I sadly have to agree with the multitudes of parents who told me "it'll happen when it happens, and not before." The worst thing to hear, but sadly very true.

     And I will admit that we aren't out of the woods yet. We can see the end, but I don't know how long it's going to take to get there. Here's the play-by-play... she went last night, flushed, then announced to us that she did the deed, followed quickly by, "can I get ice cream now?" (Yes, we had returned to the bribe tactic, since neither my husband or myself really wanted to try that plan B from the pediatrician). We explained to her that we actually had to witness that she'd gone poo-poo in the potty before we'd jump in the car for ice cream.

     Then off I went to a meeting at the church. And while I was gone, apparently she got back on the potty and brought herself to tears attempting to recreate the scenario and get some ice cream. So my husband finally took pity on her, and acceded that it's doubtful she was making all of this up and working that hard at it, and they went off to ice cream. yay!

     But my little toddler has developed a memory like a steel trap; at least when it comes to things she wants. So this morning she announced to me that I owed her cupcakes. Yes, I admit at one point I even threw those into the bribe kitty at a low point. Since we had acquieced the first time with a little doubt hanging on, I told her that she would have to repeat the act in order to deserve a cupcake. 

     And would you know, by 10am she had! I was so excited! Of course making cupcakes first required a trip to the grocery store, but she didn't have a problem agreeing to that. And after lunch she even repeated the act... followed by requesting a diaper... bummer. I was somehow hoping that once she did it once, she'd never go back to a diaper. I guess that's not true. However, I'm going to continue to ride this excitement and hope that it'll just take a couple more cupcakes.

     Which is good, because I now have 3 dozen chocolate cupcakes baking in the oven.

Riding along in the car

We've all been there. We're out on the go (whether running errands, being the family shuttle service, or just out for a drive), when all of a sudden there is a need for a diaper change. Pronto. Usually these come on with little advance warning, and rarely can you throw the kid back in the carseat and make it all the way home without causing damage.

     So what is there to do? Diaper change on the go, of course. And what better space to do this than on the tailgate of the vehicle? If you have a truck, then it's super simple. But I don't; so up goes the tailgate, down goes the shelf, and out comes the changing pad from the diaper. 

     And a couple of other tips that I've found extremely useful in these situations...
-- A toy to occupy baby's attention so she doesn't try to roll over or squirm
-- Easily accessible wipes. My current diaper bag has a wipes container in a side pocket that I can access without having to remove them from the bag. Genius. If you don't have that, then get a couple out and ready before laying baby down and beginning the process.
-- Fresh diaper
-- Plastic bag - this is a must for the stinky diapers. You can double wrap the diaper and toss it in the car or the bag without worrying that it'll leak everywhere. Plus, if you wrap it well, the stink seems to stay contained, too.
-- Change of clothes. Well, if she has leaked everywhere, it's nice to be able to put on a fresh pair of pants on the go. Otherwise wherever we were intending to go next turns into HOME. 

Most moms have probably already figured all of these things out. But maybe not. So here you go.

Tee-pees

Because I have girls, I have not encountered this personally, but feel that it might resonate with some of my friends (and my 2 readers out there). Apparently with boys, right from the beginning, there is danger when changing those diapers. If not timed exactly right, the moment the diaper comes off, a firehose erupts and gets EVERYWHERE.

     Now girls are known to pee on the changing table, too. And perhaps the frequency isn't any different between boys and girls. The biggest difference is probably the fact that with girls they flood the table and whatever they are wearing, but the person changing the diaper is relatively safe from getting wet. Not with boys. Boys have aim (or lack thereof), and so the stream will get everyone nearby, just like an unattended garden hose. 

     I have heard that the reason babies almost always pee when the diaper comes off is due to the rush of air. When that warm, wet diaper gets replaced with a cool rush of air, it automatically triggers them to pee. Not sure why, just that it does. So that would suggest there is very little you can do about preventing these episodes; the only thing to do is be prepared on how to handle them.

     And my favorite solution on how to handle these is the pee-pee tee-pee. It's a tiny little cloth cone (shaped like a tee-pee) that you hold in one hand while you remove the diaper. As soon as the diaper exposes the little boy parts, you drop the tee-pee on him and voila! The tee-pee will soak up anything coming out and protect everyone around. I have to assume they are machine washable, of course. Here are some you can check out from UnCommon Goods, although several online retailers sell them these days.

     I don't know if they truly are as effective as it sounds in theory. I'd love to hear from someone who has used them and whether they are realistic, but they are cute. Especially when they have them around the holidays and they're red with a little white ball on top, so they resemble Santa hats. If you have tried them, please comment below and tell me if they work. 

Please stand up

I have girls. And as we all know, girls don't stand up while using the potty. However, this is not something that they accept "just because." As soon as a little girl who is potty training learns that boys get to stand up, they want to try it. And boy is it a mess!

     Although frankly, it can be a mess even without standing up. I always thought that with girls there was never an issue about aim, and therefore it wasn't something I needed to think about. I was wrong. I have learned through countless wet pants and panties that girls need to practice aim as well. Who knew?

     Yes, even while sitting on the toilet, it is possible to miss the toilet bowl. So we have practiced lifting our knees and sitting up straight so we don't accidentally get our pants all wet even when we've made it to the potty on time. Thankfully it happens rarely anymore.

     And for those with boys, good luck! I haven't had to learn what to do yet, so I welcome any comments or suggestions to share.

The tinkle fairy

Well, we haven't made much headway in the potty training lately, but there has been one development. My toddler has started asking to go without a diaper overnight. Not every night, but at least a couple of times a week she asks to wear panties instead of a diaper. 

     Depending on our energy level, we usually protest and she stays in a diaper overnight. However, on occasion we have given in and let her go to bed without. And the couple times we've let this happen, we wake up to a wet bed. Interestingly, she seems to only wet the bed right before waking up in the morning, so it hasn't been a catastrophe. Plus, I have tried to be smart and either double make the bed (see my double it up blog post for details) or when sheets are in short supply I at least put an extra waterproof sheet and a towel down under her. That way a midnight sheet change is a quick effort.

     The fact that she's asking for this her self (vs us encouraging her), and that she doesn't appear to wet the bed throughout the night, makes me wonder if she really isn't ready. Maybe. Perhaps she'll master the nighttime tinkle fairy before she masters the rest of it. Wouldn't that be a kick?

     Who knows... life seems to be funny that way - it's never straight forward and never ever the way you think things ought to happen. Oh well, that's part of the adventure, right?