Diaper Freedom

As of two weeks ago, Meips has been officially off diapers. Both in the day AND night. I think that is a milestone worth recording.

It didn’t feel like that long ago when I was talking about starting potty training. And in truth, Meips’ journey to diaper freedom hasn’t been all too difficult. Perhaps it is selective memory on my part!

This was certainly one area in which I was grateful for her strong independent streak. Wanting to do everything like the “big girl” that she insisted she was, she progressed to being diaper-free during the day in August, about few months after we started potty- training. She was even able to take her afternoon nap diaperless and she has never wet bed. We progressed to bringing her out without a diaper, and while we’ve had make a mad rush for a toilet more than once, there have been very few accidents. (Of course the ONE time she had to have a major accident was when I was out alone with both children in a nice-ish restaurant. She didn’t pee despite making me bring her to the toilet twice, only to pee all over the floor of the restaurant shortly after. Argh.)

For the past few weeks, she’d been asking to go to bed without her diaper. I was very very hesitant, since she had not presented me with a dry diaper at that point. Her father was much more enthusiastic. “I think she’s psychologically ready,” he said. “Anyway, if she wets the bed, she wets the bed.” I tersely reminded him that it was always I who had to get up in the middle of the night to change the sheets and clean up whenever there was a pee accident, so no, I did not regard bed-wetting as a non-event like he obviously did.

Meips kept resisting wearing a diaper though, so in the end, I told her that if she presented me with a clean diaper in the morning a few nights in a row, I would let her sleep without a diaper. Obviously I didn’t expect her to do it, but obviously again, I underestimated my strong-willed daughter.

I’ve always been amazed by how Meips is an incredibly conscious sleeper. She’s the sort of child who would remember exactly what she took to bed with her and would be incredibly unhappy with you if she woke up to discover that the item had been removed. If I promise her a swim after a nap, you can be sure she’ll wake up from her nap and immediately ask to swim. So perhaps I should not have been surprised that after our deal for diapers was struck, my little girl woke up everyday and telling me that her diaper wasn’t wet.

Off came the diapers, as promised. That very first night, I hardly slept a wink. I was so sure she was going to wet the bed so I kept checking her, through the night. But what can I say? My daughter is a pro. She was dry and has been dry ever since. I almost cannot believe it myself.

So we officially have no need for diapers any more in this household. Well done my big girl!