Hard Knocks

The last few days have been a little rough for the J-man. The poor little guy’s diaper rash came back all of a sudden! We cannot pin down what is causing this. We are starting a food diary to try and see if we can figure it out. In the mean time, it is getting better slowly, but was quite bad there for a bit. He would not sit down, and would hold his legs in the air when laying down, and would cry when he expected a diaper change, and would cry when any type of cream or ointment was applied till it was washed off.

This morning he woke up babbling happily. I went in to get him, and at first thought he had thrown up. But when I looked closer I saw that his diaper had EXPLODED! LOL. For all you mommies who remember cloth diapers or old school disposables, let me explain the current leak-free diaper technology: Diapers are now filled with tiny little crystals which absorb moisture and become tiny bits of gel-like substance. When a diaper becomes overly saturated, it no longer simply leaks moisture out the side. What happens is, the side of the diaper tears open and out spills at least half a cup of these sticky little gel crystal things, which then go everywhere and stick to everything. That is what I found when I went in to pick J up from his crib this morning! Can anyone say YUCK? So I just unfastened the diaper and left it in the crib, and J went straight to the sink for a morning bath! Even his hair was filled with stupid pee crystals! EEEWWWW!

So we finally get J all clean and diapered and dressed, and get his bedding changed, and I finally get myself dressed and my hair washed, and it is past time to leave…….. and I smell something….. Yup, he’d filled his diaper already. And it is difficult enough to change a squirmy and distracted one year old’s diaper. But try a scared, hurting, writhing one year old wanting desperately not to be touched! It’s a trick when you’re by yourself. Finally we headed out the door. Went to the convenience store to get me a soda (BADLY needed at this point……… smokers imagine all the above with no cigarette, coffee drinkers imagine all the above with no java….you get me?) and some breakfast.

We got to my mom’s house, and as I am telling her about our adventurous morning, J asks for his bottle and I hand it to him without thinking twice. He toddles away (yes, he is quite the little walker now) sucking up his milk, and then BAM! He stumbled and fell with that bottle jabbed right into his little nose. And immediately WAILED! My mom was closest and scooped him up, and when she turned around where I could see him, his nose was already PURPLE! At this point I am freaking, right? I NEED to hold my baby, so I take him from my mom, and she goes for a cold cloth to put on it. Of course, he refuses to be touched. But the purple faded away as quickly as it had surfaced, thank goodness. After much hugging and comforting by me and Gammo, he finally began to calm down some, and took his bottle again and was quiet. Right in the middle of all that drama was when my dad showed up to pick me up. So I had to leave my poor little baby hurt and upset and just walk out the door. Absolutely broke my heart! Now for all of you who are laughing at me right now, and saying that Gammo can do a perfectly good job of caring for and comforting my child, lemme just quote Claire Huxtable from the Cosby Show: “I know. But I wanted it to be done by me.”

The good news is that at last report, his nose was only slightly red and didn’t seem to be giving him any trouble, and the diaper rash is slowly slowly fading. I am looking forward to a nice quiet weekend of being home with my guys and going nowhere! We will relax and play and maybe go swimming, and just enjoy each other. Oh, and probably squeeze in mowing the yard and doing laundry somehow.