Cloth Diapers and the Law of Poorly Timed Poop

If there is one universal truth that all cloth diapering mamas know, it's that your child will always poop on the maiden voyage of any new diaper. In the past year and a half, this has happened literally every time I've put my boy in a new diaper.

Tonight, I learned the rule of the poorly timed poop extends to all new (or newish) diapering situations.

I've never been one to use fitted diapers. I had a couple hand-me-down fitteds from my sister and I bought one (a popular brand that I can't quite recall at the moment). But they never seemed to fit my little guy right and I just couldn't get the hang of them. But there was a really good deal on babysteals.com a few weeks ago, so I bought a couple. They fit okay, and tonight I decided I was going to try one out for nighttime use.

Now I've only been back to using cloth at night for a month or two. We had horrible leak issues for the longest time, then I just got lazy and got in the routine of using sposies at night. So tonight I took one of these marvelously soft bamboo fitted diapers, laid an extra bamboo/cotton insert in it, added the extra insert that came with the diaper, lined the whole thing with fleece for that stay dry feeling and wrapped the whole thing in a Bummi's Super Brite cover.

This was a lovingly and carefully constructed diaper. And it was a bit of an experiment as I really wanted to know how long it would hold up before getting soaked.

What does that mean? Why, of course, my darling son pooped about five minutes after I put it on.

It could have been worse, right? He could have pooped before I put it on.

The Magic of Motherhood

You know the saying, "I was a perfect parent, and then I had kids"? It's so true. When I was just an Auntie and not a Mama, I had my game down. My nephews and niece were like my own little fan club; I could do no wrong in their eyes. At the same time, I wasn't one of those aunts who feeds the kids nothing but cake and ice cream and lets them rule the roost. I did my best to uphold my sister's values and rules when I babysat...maybe with just a little extra leeway.

When I had my son, it's not that I thought it would be easy, but I thought I'd be better at it.

It was such a slap in the face when, at about two weeks into motherhood, I realized that I was fumbling through everything. As a person who was always good with kids, the fact that I was struggling so much with my own child was hurtful. The worst part was that I had no one that I could look at and say, "Stop hurting me!" I mean, it wasn't the baby's fault; it wasn't my husband's fault (though he took the brunt of my frustration).

Was it my own fault?

Wasn't I supposed to be the one person who could calm my baby better than anyone? Wasn't I supposed to be the one person who knew instinctively what my baby needed? Wasn't I nursing and using cloth diapers? Wasn't I putting everything of myself into this kid?

And somehow, my mere presence wasn't enough. He cried, I nursed. He cried, I changed a diaper. He cried, I swaddled.

He cried, he cried, he cried.

The fact is, some kids cry more than others. Whether you call it colic, a high needs baby, or spirited, the fact is, sometimes babies cry. But it is painful when you feel like you don't know how to sooth your own child. The other fact is we're not magical. We really want to believe that the bond between mother and child will be there instantly, but sometimes it's not. And that's so hard to admit. You feel deficient saying that...I feel deficient saying it, and this all happened a year and a half ago!

So I want all the soon-to-be moms out there to know, motherhood is wonderful, special, surreal, but magical? No. It's hard work, it's labor intensive, it's long nights, sore nipples, poopy diapers, showerless days. And that's where the bond happens. In the midst of constantly putting yourself second to a tiny dictator, somehow, you start to feel it and your baby responds to you feeling it. And it gets easier...slowly, but surely, it gets a little easier.

And then your baby smiles a goofy, gummy grin right at you...and that's magical!

Milestones Galore!

So tonight, my big boy peed on the potty for the very first time. Oh my...where did my baby go?

The look on his face when he realized what he was doing was priceless. He looked so proud of himself and so surprised. Like he was thinking, "This is what I do on this crazy chair? Weird." But I could tell he was very pleased with himself.

I gave him an M&M as a reward then he got to play in the tub for as long as he wanted...which, I'm sure, felt amazing on such a hot day!

Every time I turn around lately, my boy is doing something new and different. So far, this has been my favorite stage. He still needs me and loves to cuddle and nurse, but he's also so adventurous and curious about everything. It's the best of both worlds...a baby on the cusp of being a big boy.

Is there a magic button to slow time down?