Day Thirteen: Now...We're Parents

We had our first gross diaper experience and there are a couple lessons learned from the day.

WARNING: I'll spare the details, but you may get a little grossed out.

On Gotcha Day we were told Daniel goes No. 2 twice a day. He has only gone once per day for us, but we didn't mind because at least he was going and it could be worse. Stress for recently adopted children can really affect them; two options being either constipation or the other alternative. Thankfully, Daniel has been normal, albeit not as frequent.

Friday was one of those days. He only did a little poop during the day. The evening was a different story.

Meal time at Casa Lanthana is hectic. There are three other families with children eating in a small room. One family in particular constantly has issues with their children running around the table, in and out of kitchen and other various things. Feeding Daniel has become difficult because of so many distractions. We decided to take Daniel early to dinner before the crowd.

It was a great plan. While feeding him, we saw and heard him give signals that he was doing his business at the dinner table. As the other families entered the room, we smelled our confirmation. Claudia and I looked at each other and laughed. The entire room smelled of a dirty diaper.

We typically feed Daniel before eating ourselves. So I asked, "When he's done, do you want to take him upstairs to change his diaper and then come down and eat?"

"No. We'll stay down here and eat first," said Claudia.

Okay, so that's lesson No. 1. When the kid does No. 2, there is no waiting. Go change the diaper immediately.

To Daniel's credit, he didn't seem to mind while we ate that he was sitting in his own... well, you know. He clapped. He cooed and giggled. He laughed and smiled. And, he bounced.

Once in the room we immediately grabbed the changing pad, diaper wipes, diaper and laid Daniel on the bed. Like a tactical military team we ripped off his sweater, took his shirt off and tore open both of his onesies around his legs.

The evidence was clear. We should not have waited.

Okay. Plan B. We took off both onesies. You know what streaked across his side. It was on his legs and as he moved his arms it was difficult to make sure they didn't also get any of, well, you know what. The room really smelled and we hadn't even taken the diaper off.

Daniel during this time was crying and moving about like a fish out of water. That boy can move. We thought back to all the people who saw his first picture we showed people in Nashville with his hands blurry and said, "That boy is going to be active."

Then we thought to Gotcha Day, when the nutritionist said, "He is a very active boy. He'll climb up your chest and try crawling over your shoulder."

Yes. He is active.

When we finally peeled away the diaper we saw a lot of, well, you know what. Did I mention it smelled? We realized the magnatitude of our mistake now. We should not have waited. It was everywhere and wipes weren't going to be enough.

Okay. Implement Plan C!

"He needs a bath," I said.

"No. I'll use the wipes to clean him off," Claudia responded. We both felt like we had been tear gassed.

"Um... no. He needs a bath. It's everywhere," I insisted. By this time, it was on the changing pad also. Since we were laying him on the bed, there was nowhere safe to put him and clean him up.

We grabbed Daniel who was yelling, kicking and moving his arms wildly to the bathroom sink. I held Daniel in a standing position on the bathroom counter. Claudia turned the water on and made sure it was warm. Daniel continued crying but now was also focused on the variety of bathroom items on the counter like toothpaste, brushes, toothbrushes, etc.

Next thing you know, the boy has turned into his own little fountain. Pee is going everywhere. I scramble to move the toothpaste, brushes, toothbrushes, etc while holding Daniel. That means, I might as well have been aiming a spray cannon at everything!

By this point, we couldn't help but begin to laugh. We broke down and Daniel stopped crying.

"Now we can say we're officially parents," I said and Claudia agreed between laughs.

We bathed him, dried him and changed his clothes. Within an hour or so he was sound asleep. It wasn't until several hours later we realized we were using "diapers size 3." That was the size everyone had told us he was using. Well, now we know lesson No. 2: sizes are different between Colombia and the United States.

Size 3 in Colombia is big enough for a three-year-old! Now it's off to the drug store to buy some more appropriate diapers for the little guy. And yes, when we're at the cash register we'll be official parents.