1 Mother 2 Another

A couple weeks ago, I’d had a
loooooooooong day, and rushed through the bedtime routine with
Cora. I’d come home from work to find her disguised as Naked
Girl, so I threw a nightgown on her and called it a night, already
dreaming of crashing in my own bed.


Twenty minutes later, I was replaying the bedtime scene in my mind
and realized Cora had not been wearing a diaper – she was
wearing pull-ups. Pull-ups that had been on her for several hours,
and were at least a little wet. Pull-ups, as many of you know, are
not designed to hold as much liquid, and though Cora does not pee
most nights, she does as soon as she wakes, usually in her diaper.
And it’s a lot.


Which meant that, if left in a wet pull-up all night, she’d
most likely pee again and leak all over the bed, necessitating a
complete sheet and nightgown change.


Which meant that I had to go wake a sleeping baby.

My mom happened upon me in the hallway,
diaper in hand, trying to psych myself up for the next thirty
minutes – wake-up, diaper change and wailing, followed by
another twenty minutes of snuggling and stories.
“What’s up?” she asked, concerned.


I looked at her. “Cora still has her pull-up on.”


Nothing more needed to be said. I saw my mom make some mental
calculations, then nod briskly. “Right, then. If you’re
going in, I’m going in for back-up.”


We sketched out our plan, and crept stealthily into the room, a
low-watt flashlight pressed against my side for the bare minimum of
light. Cora snored gently on the bed, arms thrown akimbo and head
tilted back. I tiptoed over to her, relieved to note that her
nightgown was already obligingly around her waist.


As I approached, Cora stirred but didn’t awaken. Barely
breathing, I ripped the sides of the pull-ups apart, lifted her
legs, and slid it out from underneath her as my mom prepared the
fresh diaper. The second we got the clean diaper under her, Cora
rolled onto her left side, giving us her hiney view. We pulled and
tugged and got the diaper in place, fastening the Velcro mere
moments before Cora obligingly rolled to her right, offering the
other side for us to fasten. After she was all snapped shut, I
lightly pushed her left hip and she toppled onto her back to her
original position, knees splayed, snores still playing loudly. Mom
and I crept ninja-like out of the bedroom, then did our (silent)
victory dance in the hall.


Yes, ladies and gentleman, I can change a diaper on a sleeping
toddler without awakening her. A sleeping toddler who rarely sleeps
through the night and can smell mommy a mile away.


Who says miracles don’t happen.