Diaper Dilemma

Before having Harlan I never thought about how much diapers would consume my life. I have two little brothers that are 10 and 11 years younger than I am. I used to change their diapers when they were younger but I guess I was too young to remember just how many diapers they were using. When Harlan was born I felt like I was changing a diaper every two hours {I probably was.} Since she has gotten a little bit older our diaper consumption has slowly dwindled…until recently.

I’ve talked about our battle with the potty before. She wanted to use it, then suddenly she didn’t and it was a figment of our imagination. Recently the potty has come back into the forefront and has sparked Harlan’s interest yet again. Only now instead of actually going on the potty, she just tells me she has to go so that I will take off her diaper and she is free {she thinks she is anyway} to run around naked.

For the past week she has come into my bed to tell me she has to go to the bathroom. When I rush her into the bathroom strip off her pants and diaper she will sit on the toilet for 5 seconds and then laugh and run out of the bathroom. When I run after her in an attempt to put the diaper back on, she laughs hysterically running away from me. The other day I was cooking dinner in the kitchen and she comes in with her dress in one hand and her diaper in the other completely naked.

Her new “free spirited” nature has me begging {and sometimes bribing} her to wear a diaper and sometimes even put her clothes on. I am terrified that we are going to go out on a play date and she is going to strip naked in front everyone. Or even worse that she will do it in daycare while I am working out at the gym. This new little obsession of hers has me a nervous wreck!

There are many stages of toddlerhood that have caught me off guard, but this has trumped everything else!

Did your child go through this “free spirit” stage? Any suggestions on how to keep her from taking off her diaper?

{Yes, I know this story will embarrass her later on in life, but thats what makes this fun!}