Holy Moly Diaper Changes!!

Why did nobody warn us?! Why do people not talk about it more? Why is it not the hottest topic of discussion amongst all the parents who have new born boys? Or have I been visiting all the wrong forums?

Diaper changes for boys are drastically different from diaper changes for girls. Fact.

During Samaira’s diaper changes, all I had to make sure was that I have a new diaper underneath the old one before I start cleaning and wiping and changing her. That pretty much would ensure almost no poop & pee related accidents during diaper changes.

Come Rehan’s turn, things are massively different. When Siddharth was changing Rehan’s very first diaper at the hospital, our nurse looked at him and said “your older one is a girl, isn't she?” With a surprised look on his face Siddhu asked “yes, how do you know?” That’s when she showed him the right way to put diaper on boys. That was Aaaa..haa moment for us!!!  Subsequently, we were exposed to this other world of pee-like-you-are-spray-painting while changing Rehan’s diaper. You would think that it will take one pee-spray-during-diaper-change incident for me to figure out the right way to do it. Not true. It took me at least one instance of pee-spray for a several days to somewhat avoid it from happening for the next few days. I tried all permutations & combinations of the order in which I must do things during diaper changes, but tiniest of the window is enough for spray painting. Rehan has done the honor of spraying his pee on our bed-sheet, quilt, pillows, clothes, at our pediatrician’s, in the car, you name it! And when it sprays it really goes far! We go through batches of laundry at a legendary speed now. I tried so many different techniques to prevent it from happening but just at the last moment when everything was done and all I had to do was seal the deal – Rehan decided to pee. At some point, I figured if it is meant to happen, it will. So I decided to risk it every time, not be over-precautious, and accept my fate of being peed on any time it does happen. Until...a friend of mine, AP, decided to gift me this divine product called Peepee Teepee for the Sprinkling WeeWee. What a genius idea! Simple pleasures of life that make you smile! Granted that a lot of times I forget to use it…but whenever I do use it, it totally works!

Peepee Teepee for the Sprinkling Weewee (Picture from here)

I am normally not the kind of person who gives advice to people. That’s not because I don’t want to share my wisdom. But it is because in most cases I assume I don’t have the kind of wisdom that I can preach and advice. So most of the times, I share, but don’t give advice. But next time I have a friend who has a new born boy, especially after a girl – these words of wisdom will definitely be shared. Everyone in this scenario deserves to be explicitly told about the intricacies and nuances of diaper changes and the differences between diaper changes for a girl versus a boy. This advice, I will give. For sure.

For some strange reason, making a public declaration of my deepest personal feelings about diaper changes has turned out to be very cathartic. I feel like I have done my bit. It has also given me the mental space to think about other important things that have happened over the last few days…

…like Rehan’s first month birthday on June 29^th. While he slept through our cake cutting ceremony, Sammy ensured that she massacred the cupcakes sufficiently.

…like Samaira’s new haircut. While we have received all sorts of reactions to her haircut, the underlying theme is that it is taking everyone some time to get used to the fact that Sammy doesn’t have her ponytail anymore…at least for some time!

...like 90 degree temperature in Seattle. It is rare. It is treasured. It is praised. It also gets the flak for being too hot because we Seattle folks are not used to it. It also means that all the stores will run out of fans and air conditioners…whatever they have anyway!

…like our EIGHT year marriage anniversary on June 30^th. Every year brings new joys, new adventures, new challenges, new fears and new experiences! Feel so blessed to share this journey with my best friend!