Natalie, my 4 year old wonder, is a stunningly sensitive child. Her little heart bleeds for others, unless they have the "Lego" piece she wants or are on the computer when she could be using it for "Webkinz". She is so sensitive even her skin has reactions.
I'm used to rubbing things all over little squirming bodies. I've been doing that for 7 years now. For those without kids: Applying any topical ointment to a child is like oil wrestling an octopus on anabolic steroids. And imagine having to clean up the ink.
Early in parenting we had a "change table". This was in fact effectively a padded bookshelf for $70. We learned that this wasn't going to work because it wouldn't fit in our room, we didn't want to hike upstairs to change the kid and then down with the present to dispose of it, so we sold it for $10 (or gave it away) and put a change pad on our bed.
There are 2 flaws in this design. One is back pain. Gently lowering a hyperactive 20 pound weight to mid thigh height is not good for your back. Kneeling only puts your face in the line of fire. The other is that I like to sleep in my bed, and knowing that the top layer is smeared in child slime is unsettling. Smelling barrier cream messes up the dreams.
So now my darling Nat walks into the kitchen as I'm trying to clean up from supper. She's in her pj's, and says "I'm itchy", and then vigorously scratches the offending area. This would be fine if it weren't her crotch.
Now this is what I expect to deal with in many years with my Dad.
Seeing my face take the grimace of suppressed laughter, her little eyes twinkled, and she assumed an expression reserved for Calculus exams and telekinesis. This broke me, which now has reinforced her little brain that scratching crotch + funny face = people laughing.
Tucking her in tonight (after a wrestling match with barrier cream) she informed me that tomorrow is show and tell.
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