Our Lifestyle Discussion

Chapter Thirty Eight     Rubbing his eyes as he woke up again, this time he was on the folded up comforter on the floor propped up against Xerxes. Still a good way to wake up. Not as great as earlier. But still two of his top three since coming here, and both in one morning.   Patting Xerxes for a bit, John stretched again and rolled over to stand up. When he was able to stand up at all, he realized that was in a rough pup and not the overnight diaper he couldn’t stand up in. And somewhere along the way he had been dressed in a onesie and some shorts.   Looking groggily around the house, he noticed that the door to the back porch was open, but the child gate was closed.   Mom was nowhere to be found inside. So he toddled over to the child gate to peek out onto the porch. He spotted her on the chair nearest the door.   “Mom?” he asked as sweetly as he could managed. He probably succeeded better because he was half awake.   With the tell tale clink of a cup of coffee being put down he could watch her stand up and turn around with a smile.   “There’s my little sleepy head! Would you like to join me for some coffee milk?” There it was, she was fully awake in the morning.   He simply nodded, and Mom immediately reached down over the gate and got him around the ribs and hoisted him up onto her hip before opening the gate and walking over to the fridge to pull out a bottle of coffee milk that she’d already had ready.   Within moments they were back outside and she was back in the chair and shuffled him around so that he was sideways on her and leaning back semi comfortably on the arm of the chair and her left upper arm.   Complaining about not getting to sit in a chair on his own would have to wait, addiction to Mommy’s milk and coffee was more urgent as the bottle was turned up. Five minutes later he was sitting on her lap feeling a bit giggly. The milk was starting to hit him a bit harder lately for some reason.   As he finished the milk, he noticed Mommy was looking at him a big different, which made him giggle some more. And when she tilted him over her shoulder and patted him firmly on the back he asked   “Hey *pat* what *pat* are *pat* yo…” and then he involuntarily issued out a long burp that left him giggling even harder still.   Smiling down at him, Mommy asked “Hey, do you want to help me pick and wipe off a few more tomatoes, or would you like to go play or read?”   For the first time he didn’t just answer that he wanted to go help, he had to think about it for a moment in his current mental state.   He still said “Yes please.”   “John … yes to what?”   He answered “Oh! To helping.” and he started worming his way off of her lap. She didn’t immediately let him down, but she after a moment she put the coffee cup and bottle down, got him under the arms and turned him right side up before depositing him on the porch.   The instant his feet hit the porch he made to bolt into the yard, but he was foiled as mommy grabbed the back of his shorts and pulled him backwards.   “And where do you think you’re going, young man?”   He turned to look up somewhat indignantly and explained “Yard.”   “Shoes.” was all she said.   “Don’t need em.”   “Shoes.”   “… Yes Ma’am.”   With a nod, she stood up and went inside, carrying the bottle and the cup with her.   Left alone he scooted closer to the edge of the porch. Every fiber of him screaming to jump off the porch and run into the yard. Oh it was so tempting. It was maybe his entire height from him to the ground. He could roll as he landed. It would be like in a movie.   As he started to instinctively lean toward the edge, Mommy came outside with a pair of socks and pointed below him.   “Park your booty.”   With a sigh at the lost opportunity to dive and roll, he sat down on the edge of the porch. He couldn’t stop from swinging his feet while he waited for her and then she had to grab one of his feet to put a sock and shoe onto it before pinning the other one.   She looked at her watch and said “Okay, you’ve got about twenty minutes to pick tomatoes. The little scissors and a towel are in your wagon.”   He looked a bit confused as he asked “What happens in twenty minutes”   She just stood him up and gave him a couple of pats on the bottom as she dodged the question “You’ll see. Just go be happy in the meantime.”   He just shrugged and set off with his wagon. Oddly, instead of joining him, she stayed by the porch. When he turned to look back she was sitting on the porch with a towel wiping off vegetables and seemed to just be preparing for something.   And she was conveniently seated where she had a perfect view of where he was going to be the entire time.   Whatever, Mommy was being weird. So he started looking through the vines to see if any tomatoes that weren’t ready yesterday were ready today. And much to his surprise there were a couple of dozen that felt about right.   One of them was shaped super wide like a UFO. So that set him back to giggling and making sound effects as it went into the wagon.   After just enough time for him to make a quick inspection of the entire row his insides went from nothing to panic, like flipping a switch.   He was so alarmed as the urge hit him like a freight train that he turned to look at Mommy and she was there looking at her watch and then looked up at him.   John wanted to run. To plead to make it to the potty. He wanted … anything other than…   There wasn’t even enough time to want anything else, his arms went around his belly and he doubled over. There was no stopping it, and it was completely demoralizing. Within seconds of the urge hitting him he was panting as warm liquid mush filled the back of his diaper, spreading out to fill every nook and cranny available, and then somehow finding or making more space.   Holding the side of the wagon, he steadied himself as a little more somehow came out of him. The sound of footsteps in the grass coming toward him was faint in what little attention he had to spare, but he looked up to see Mommy smiling down at him.   She held out her hand and asked “Would you like to walk, or do you want me to carry you?”   The answer was obvious “Please carry me, Mommy.”   She just nodded as she reached down and lifted him up, sliding her arm under him and lowering him onto her left forearm. He grimaced as all of his weight landed on that arm butt first.   His shoes were pulled off and deposited on the porch as they got to the steps, and he felt her pause to step out of her shoes at the top of the steps before carrying him in. He barely registered the child gate swinging shut in his peripheral vision as they went through the living room to his bedroom.   And so for the first time that he was awake for today, he was on the changing table with his shorts being pulled off and the weird puzzle snaps on his onesie being undone.   Before she laid him down she held out her arms in the silent offer of a hug. He reached out in return and was immediately wrapped up in a warm, comforting, hug.   She gave him a big kiss on the forehead before laying him down and getting to work.   “I don’t understand” was all he could really vocalize.   “What don’t you understand, sweety?”   “Why did … it was just …” He was breathing fast again, it was freaking him out a little.   “Twenty four minutes after you finished the coffee milk, you went off. I timed it last time, and this time you made it the exact same, down to the minute. Although…”   She looked at what she was cleaning up “This time you may have gone for a record.”   “So this really was the coffee milk?”   She just nodded while she scrubbed him diligently. “Yes.”   “I don’t want to have to give up coffee.”   She stopped wiping and rolled up the used diaper to deposit into the waste bin in the changing table.   “Lift.”   As he raised booty, she slid a clean diaper underneath him and patted him on the hip and said “Down.”   He flopped back down and as she set back about powdering him and taping him back up she explained “You don’t have to give up coffee. And every so often most littles get constipated from time to time and need an enema or a suppository. So at least it doesn’t look like you’ll be having that problem!”   He shuddered as she said two of those words and she re-snapped his onesie before standing him back up.   Instead of putting him down she picked him up in a big hug and held him to her chest with her cheek pressed against his.   She whispered “It’s okay. I love you.”   Hearing those words gave him butterflies in his stomach. (Thankfully just butterflies this time!)   Carrying him to the living room, still minus the shorts, she stood him up on the couch and ruffled his hair before asking “Okay, what would you like to do for a couple of hours?”   Without hesitation this time, he answered “May I play on my tablet?”   Not only did Mommy say “Absolutely!” but she handed it to him and went to fix him a sippy cup of water.   A few minutes later, John found himself leaning back against Xerxes, a blanket over him and the dog keeping him nice and warm. Staring at the tablet he was having a little bit of trouble focusing, but he found a neat little puzzle game that involved spinning discs to make a ball have a path to get out from the middle of the puzzle to the outside of the puzzle.   It was sort of like a round labyrinth puzzle, but every layer had to be turned. It was simple and neat. And for some reason, every time the ball rolled along he had another little giggle fit.   Without realizing it, his giggle fits were starting to subside as he wound down from his milk high. And he started to focus more on the puzzles and make more progress as he went.   With all of the windows open, it was easy to hear a truck coming down the driveway. As if prepared, Mom came in and turned on the coffee maker. John thought about hopping up immediately but wanted to at least finish this last puzzle first.   About the same time that he finished his puzzle, there were footsteps on the porch. So getting up, Xerxes stood up behind him and did a full body shake while he put the tablet back on the coffee table where Mom kept it.   John walked over to the door as Mom showed Mr Mike into the house. The man had to duck a little to step through a thirteen foot tall door frame.   Mr Mike smiled as he greeted Mom and held out a large (to John) container, cleaned and ready to return. On top of the container was a little cardboard box.   “What’s this?” she asked him.   With a coy smile he said “Well. I guess you’ll have to open it so that we can find out!”   Immediately Mom sat the container on the counter and opened the box to find what looked to John to be a large handmade mug. To everyone else around here it was just a normal sized mug.   The cool thing about the mug was that there was a stream painted all the way around it, and the handle was somehow shaped like a tree limb and painted accordingly.   Mom immediately stepped up to give him a big hug and a thank you.   “Mike! This is gorgeous!”   With a great big smile he nodded “Well, I’m glad that you like it! I know someone that teaches pottery and I called in a favor.”   Practically bouncing with excitement she held it from a couple of different angles now and complimented “Usually cups half this pretty are uncomfortable to hold. This is very good work!”   Mike held up a hand and said “One more thing. John, could you turn around for just a moment?”   With a nonchalant shrug, John turned around to look at Xerxes, who was standing behind him with a big happy dog grin on his face as his tail whipped back and forth.   John felt a tap on his shoulder and turned around to see a grinning giant man with one arm behind his back.   Chuckling, Mike explained "You know John, your Mom's not the only on that gets a present. I searched the entire store and this was the only thing I could find that seemed appropriate for you."   And without further ado, his left arm came around and John was presented with ... a stuffie. But this wasn't any stuffie. This stuffie looked like it was meant to be some sort of a lizard, a lizard that was then over filled to make it seem more welcoming.   It looked ridiculous.   It looked like someone started with a poorly drawn Godzilla that they then colored like an iguana. It was the size of his entire torso, and had legs that bent awkwardly in much the same way that a Vienna Sausage doesn't.   Reaching out silently, seemingly mesmerized by the unfathomably awkward appearance of this large stuffie, he grabbed it and squeezed it. It felt like a giant mutated marshmallow.   And all of it was somehow eclipsed by the eyes.   Those outlandish eyes. The two glassy eyes staring back at him were a small landscape of jade and caramel colored swirls that had a small black disc in them. The most elaborate googly eyes in either dimension were on this ...   John was at a loss for words. He found himself so lost in his search for words that he started with a little laugh. Then the laugh started to grow more and more until he could hardly breath for the laughter.   John, and his entire history of being able to react on the fly and make up anything on a whim were defeated by this stuffie. The single squishy embodiment of the word "Derp."   Standing there laughing so hard he was crying for easily two solid minutes, it took a while to regain any semblance of composure. The giggles he’d had since the milk this morning were more than back.   It took longer than he realized that the two bigs were kneeling down next to him and that Mommy had a hand behind him trying to hold him up while he had a full on laugh attack.   Eventually catching his breath he wiped at his eyes.   “Hahaha… oh my … Mister M… Hahaha Mist… Mister Mike he … hahhh I’m okay … I can breathe …”   The two bigs both seemed almost as amused by his reaction as he did by the … derp…. Derpasaur …   Interrupting his train of though, Mommy asked “Do you like him?”   Exclaiming “Are you kidding!? Look at him! He’s glorious! And Derpy. Derp…. Us … no …”   It was impossible to notice that the two bigs over him nodded at each other as he mulled over names.   Mumbling to himself, John tried “Derp … derpus? M… no … Godzi… no … Derpzi… no, too eas… Argo!...Hahahaha. Oh, Oh, this is great!”   Mr Mike ruffled his hair and asked “Did you name him already?”   “Yup!” John exclaimed proudly.   “What did you name him?” Mommy asked from behind him.   “Argo McDerpus!”   “…”

I have yet to try Trest diapers so that has to be on the list somewhere.  I kinda have my 'go to' diapers that I tend to stick with.  I'm still rockin the Abena L4 plastic backed even though the prices on them have increased significantly.  I like the Bedry diapers a lot as well.  You get a lot of diaper for the money with those IMO....

You said you are on a Medicare Advantage plan, which means you opted out of government coverage and bought private health insurance instead. So you can blame the private company you signed up with for your Medicare Part C plan. I'm not criticizing you, I know Medicare Advantage has a lower premium. But poor coverage is what you get for the savings. I hate that medicare has the "Advantage" option that locks you into a private company that just wants to profit off you. You may still be able to switch to Medicare Part A/B/D and be fully on the government plan. The premiums cost more but the coverage may be better. I've read articles recently about how Advantage plans often don't let you see your preferred doctors and will avoid it when my time comes to sign up for Medicare.

Near Tyler Tx here

Hey everyone! Whoops and so sorry for not getting this chapter out sooner. My weekend was much busier than I thought it was going to be and I didn’t sit down and edit nearly as much as I wanted to. I do have a nice backlog of chapters I’ve already written, so everyone can likely expect a whole bunch more to be dropping this week at some point. Next, as a reminder, I’m now polling between two stories to figure out what I should write next. The two choices are listed out in chapter 2, so be sure to check them out and let me know. As I will announce my winner in my last chapter, that would be the deadline for you to make your opinion known. As usual, I hope everyone enjoys this next chapter! Chapter 6: No More Strained Peas, Please! Ick! I hated being sick, but as I awoke before the morning light had even drifted into my bedroom window, that’s exactly what I was. So, nauseous, feverish, wet, and just crummy feeling all over, I cried out for Nancy from my bedroom. “Nancy! Nancy!” Now, today was likely the worst day to get sick in the history of ever as a Little, not that there was really ever a good time, but Nancy had a very early meeting today. She had made arrangements with Miss Mindy, the staff member who was staying overnight with some of the long-term stay Littles, to look after me early in the day as well. At one point, Nancy had suggested that I just spend the night instead but being a little scared of being practically all alone there and likely sleeping in the Burrows room, I shook my head about as hard as I could seconds after she suggested it. Back to this morning, seconds after I had called out, I heard the thumping of steps pounding outside and then saw my semi-cracked door burst open. “Emma! What is it, honey? Are you okay? Is someone trying to hurt you?” I shook my head and I wanted to explain what was going on at the unearthly hour, but I guess my body thought it could explain it better than I could. So, in seconds, what I thought was just a little burp maybe, turned into a scene from a horror movie as I helplessly puked right there on the bed. “Sick, Nancy…” I feebly said. Nancy’s eyes bugged out and she immediately rushed to me, her pajamas flapping loosely around her as she did. Then, using the near precise movements of some type of trained acrobat, she twisted around the muck I had just spewed and went to hug me. “Oh, you poor thing! This is just no good at all. You must feel awful, sweetie.” In that awful feeling state, I could only nod and take comfort in her embrace. It was kind of a weird thing happening lately honestly. Nancy and I had become closer, like friends would naturally do, but there had been a few times where I had almost scared myself with just how much I was relying on her for a few daily tasks now. For instance, ever since that first night of diapers, I had worn one each night afterward. I wanted to protest, but every next morning as well, I woke up wet. This morning was no exception. Nancy began fishing around my covers and started to unpeel the soiled sheets in front of me. After a moment though, her hand snaked between my legs. I almost asked what she was doing, but when she just prodded around the front of my diaper, from the past few days of this, I knew she was just checking me. “Wet again. I guess I’ve got a few messes to take care of this morning, huh?” I only nodded and just let Nancy go about her now almost routine morning business. My pajamas and sheets covered in my puke were different, but the rest seemed very much the same, including her helping me with my morning bath. Now, before I wore a diaper to bed each night, Nancy had given me some privacy, but she had been more insistent lately that to prevent infections and the like, she would help me with some of my harder to reach areas at first, but it didn’t take long until she just did the whole thing. Not wanting an infection or to smell like pee going to daycare, I had just accepted the help and now almost saw bathtime like a personal spa day. Today, feeling sick, I only luxuriated in her tender touches even more. So, after a warm bath where she left me to just soak for a moment, I felt a little better, but I was still nauseous, feverish, and just achy all around. Nancy saw and plucked me out before helping me back to my room. “Okay, sweetie. Now, normally, if you were sick, I would just let you stay in your pajamas, but we don’t have long even before I have to drop you off at daycare.” I nodded and saw the very beginnings of the early morning light begin to creep in through my bedroom window. Nancy seemed to hesitate and if I had been more conscious at that moment, I probably would have asked more questions. Instead, she then sighed and looked back at me. “Emma… it’s just for today, and I would keep you here at home if I could, but going to the daycare while you’re sick… they have a certain policy…” Even in my sickened state, my mind whirled with the possibilities of what that could mean, but my eyes only looked on in horror as Nancy produced an object that I had become distressingly all too familiar with at night. “No, Nancy! No diapuh. Please!” “Shhh, shhh,” she said, trying to calm me as she stroked my back. It helped a little, but the diaper today just felt like too much with everything else going on. ‘What would my friends at daycare even think? Would I even still be allowed to stay in the Canopy room after?’ As my head felt like it was about to burst, Nancy just calmly went about her tasks and in my weakened state, I just let it happen. In minutes, like before bed, I was thickly diapered once more. As she then began to dress me in a cutesy weather-themed shirt, skirtalls, and some white tights, she kept trying to soothe my jangled nerves. “It’s okay, honey. The staff has promised that sick Littles who are potty trained can still use the toilet if they feel the need. The diaper is there just as a precaution… nothing more. I promise. It will all be okay.” I sniffled and while a part of me definitely wanted to believe her, being a Little here and seeing all the consequences of being one in this society, I wasn’t sure if I could trust the daycare to keep that type of promise. Still, I didn’t have much else to go off or even a choice really in the matter, so I just let my hair be braided into two side pigtails and then be led out of the house as soon as my shoes were strapped on. Moments later, I was buckled into my newly acquired and more secure car seat, and Nancy drove me to daycare. I protested for a moment, but a quick video shown by Nancy over the potential fatality to me if we were ever in an accident without one, quickly persuaded me otherwise. As soon as we parked, Miss Mindy was already waiting for us at the front door with a blanket no less. Nancy then quickly handed off my bag and gave me a reassuring but quick hug. “I promise, Emma. Everything will be okay. Just go with Miss Mindy here and she’ll help you out, okay?” I felt like I was going to puke again and the roller coaster that was my emotions this morning and even lately prevented me from doing anything more than just nodding back to acknowledge what she said. As Nancy stood back up, Miss Mindy offered her own hand to me. “Come with me, honey. Let’s get you all settled…” I took her hand without incident as Nancy waved goodbye herself and then peeled out of the parking lot. Once her car had disappeared, Miss Mindy looked down at me and I think for the first time, I think I saw her flash sympathy my way instead of annoyance. “I heard you weren’t feeling well today, so I’m going to just be helping you out a little extra, okay?” Again, in my current state, I really could only nod. Then, out of nowhere, Miss Mindy scooped me up in the blanket and carried me back inside. I was so shocked, and her arms felt so comfortable and safe, I didn’t protest in the slightest.   To my despair, we then entered the Meadows room where I saw a single cot on the floor. “This is just temporary sweetie. Nothing permanent, but it’s closer to the Burrows room where I need to keep a pretty regular watch. I want you to go back to sleep for a little bit, but don’t hesitate to call me if you need anything… including a change.” I blushed heavily over her knowledge of my current padded state, but just allowed myself to be placed down on the cot. It was a little firm, but the bedding was very soft, and my eyes soon drifted closed. “Sleep tight, Emma…” With that, the door soon closed, and everything faded to black. Sometime later, I was reawakened by Miss Mindy rubbing me gently. “Morning, Emma. Come on honey. We’ve got things to do.” I began to stir awake, and Miss Mindy smiled back at me. “Sleep well?” In my still tired and sick state, I nodded. “Yeah… but I still feel weally bad.” Miss Mindy simply stroked my hair and then helped me get up. “Hmmm… I was afraid you might say that. Everyone else is just about to join us for the day, so let’s get you some breakfast. And if you had a little accident, I’ll just check you after, okay?” I blushed over the insinuation, but just allowed myself to be carried off and even be placed in a highchair. Not feeling the best, I just allowed yet another babyish event to happen to me. Feeling how I was, I wasn’t exactly sure if I could protest or not… at least until Miss Mindy returned with the nastiest green paste that I think I had ever seen in my life. “Wha is dat?” I asked, tired but now alert as to what had just been placed in front of me. “It’s a special mixture. A bunch of stuff really, but lots of peas and some ingredients that will make you feel just right as rain.” She then spooned a giant glob of the paste into a spoon and held it near my mouth. “Now, just open wide.” Seeing as it had the potential to make me feel better and knowing the far exceeding medical advancements of this society beyond Earth, I didn’t see it as a trick and opened my mouth. The goop entered and landed on my tongue. I nearly vomited right there. Now, before I’m written off as just some picky Little who wouldn’t eat their greens, I was very much the opposite back home. While a few foods could trigger my gag reflex, I was at least adventurous and tried most things at least once. With the increase of global trade in the past few decades, this meant that I had consumed most of the edible items that had ever crawled, slithered, or oozed at one time or another. This greenish blackish paste though, was something else entirely. Besides the revolting, almost pestilential smell wafting up toward me, the flavor was near indescribable. While I could detect a hint of peas in the gunk, it tasted like the smells one would get from dirty socks, pond water, three-day old trash, and maybe just plain mud that surrounded an outhouse. It was horrible, so I felt pretty justified in holding up my hand to stop Miss Mindy’s next spoonful. “Please… I’ll eat anythin’ else… just not that… please…” Miss Mindy stared back at me, unblinking for a moment, but then shoveled another spoonful right toward my mouth as if I hadn’t said a single word of protest. Unfortunately, she didn’t seem to take ‘no’ for an answer afterward either and the lower half of my face ended up smeared all over from the accidental spillage from my refusal. She tried yet again, but the results were only about the same. Miss Mindy sighed in annoyance; her previous cheery morning smile now vanished. Sadly, for me, she was notorious for her short temper with uncooperating Littles. “I’ll give you one more chance. Three strikes and that’s it… kind of like in your baseball games I believe? I think that’s more than fair in this case as well.” Normally, I would agree with her, but this watery paste was a different matter. So, for the third time, she scooped up the goop and held it to my lips. Not wanting to puke, I kept them sealed. She retreated and I waited for my ensuing punishment for my ‘bad’ behavior. Instead, beyond just smearing it on my lips again, I could see that Miss Mindy’s patience had run out, but she only placed the spoon back down on the tray in front of me. Further and to my surprise, she then just started tickling me. In seconds, I almost even felt better from the giggles that poured out of my mouth, but my it turned out my initial instincts were correct. I was totally vulnerable right then and I soon found out that it was all just a trap. “Got you!” Miss Mindy yelled out as she grabbed my right wrist and shoved it in a hidden cuff attached to the underside of the highchair tray. Before I could even let out a shriek of surprise, she already had my other hand attached as well. “Wha’ was dat fo’?” I asked, now trying to get myself out of the cuffs. “I just want you to eat your breakfast and feel all better, Emma.” She then offered the spoonful of gunk to me once more. “Now, please open up. For me? Please?” Despite being trapped, it had not affected my stance of the muck or my tastebuds, so despite knowing what would likely follow, I still shook my head. “No. I won’ eat it. You can’t make me!” A sly, cold yet playful smirk appeared on Miss Mindy’s face. “Wanna bet?” Her words and face froze my blood in an instant. Betting with Bigs always meant a trap, and I should have known better than to tempt fate. I had no idea what she planned, but I watched in horror as she then reached into her pocket and took out a small black device. “Wha’s dat?” I asked, my eyes growing wide at the sight of the unknown object cradled so delicately in her fingers now. She paused at her near marvel at the object and turned her attention back to me. “Do you still refuse to eat your breakfast?” Still fearful of the remote and her plans with it, but also still not wanting to eat the gunk, I shook my head. “Shame…” Without another word, she clicked the device. At first nothing happened, but then like a train out of nowhere, it hit me with its full force. Electric shots rippled throughout my body that I soon realized were coming from the cuffs. It wasn’t enough to be painful per say, but it almost felt like one of those prank balm electric buzzers… but running throughout all my body. Partially in shock and partially in just sheer discomfort, I let out a little squeal. Miss Mindy got closer to my face and held the remote up as she stopped it and let me rest for a moment. “How about now, Emma? Still feel like telling me ‘no’ over such a simple thing this morning?” I was afraid of the device she still held and that she would use it again, but I had just enough fight left in me to shake my head. I couldn’t give in and eat more. “I won’ eat anothuh bite! You can’t make me!” Miss Mindy sighed. “I guess we need to do this the other way then…” In moments, with me still helplessly trapped, she produced a pink and purple bib and attached it around my neck. “If you’re going to behave like a Little, sick or not, I’ll just have to treat you like one.” And so, she did. She tried spoonful after spoonful, but each just smeared along my face and dropped right into the pocket of the bib. At one point, she even tried the airplane method and tickling the soles of my feet, but I still wouldn’t give in. “Emma… please just cooperate,” Miss Mindy finally said again, this time almost seeming desperate in her pleas to me, as if she was almost trying to save me. By now, I felt it was a matter of principle and for my own safety to keep telling her ‘no.’ That mush felt like a trap if I had ever seen one, so my defiance remained just as strong as ever. “I won’t eat anothuh bite! You can’t make me!” I repeated, even scowling my face back at her this time. “Oh?” Miss Mindy asked a little sarcastically, her demeanor changing once again after hearing my continued defiance. She gave out chances and felt guilty about what she was doing, but once I kept refusing her, it essentially gave her permission, nearly guilt-free, to take all this to the next level. “Does the big girl think I can’t get her to eat her yummy num-nums? I guess a certain little miss is a bit too under the weather and doesn’t remember this little device, huh?” She then quickly popped up the small remote control again from where she had briefly store it before. “No…” I think my eyes must have bugged out of my skull right then. The previous shock wasn’t painful or anything, but it also felt highly motivating. I was so confused at why she was forcing me to eat all this to the point of shocking me, but in the end, I supposed that I was still just a Little around here. A Little just did not say ‘no’ lightly to a Big. I could see the determination in Miss Mindy’s eyes to push that horrible button again, but I wanted to try one more time to get out of this whole mess. “Please, Miss Mindy. Please. I… I didn’t mean it… I… I’ll be g…good for you…” Miss Mindy only stared back at me and sighed as she moved the remote up closer to my face to ensure I knew what was about to happen. “I’m sorry, honey, but rules are rules. You’ve been very naughty refusing to eat and making a mess this whole morning, and there are consequences for not eating your breakfast when you’re told to, little girl.” Almost with a resigned contempt for her job, she then clicked the button in the center of the device she was holding. This time, another huge jolt shot into my body. I went rigid for a moment, and I gritted my teeth to keep from crying out. I was diapered, covered in mush, wearing a bib in a highchair, but I wanted to at least control one part of my being right then. Not being able to control much else, I chose to control what came out of my mouth, obscenity or other. My body on the other hand… it had no such feelings, and if wasn’t for my two arms being strapped firmly to the tray, I’m pretty sure I would have shot right out of the chair from my response to being shocked. I could feel my muscles strain under the sheer load that was being amped into them. I just hoped for release… I couldn’t take another moment, and from Miss Mindy’s resigned expression, she could see it as well in my face. She knew that she had made her point to me and was the winner this morning. And like that, Miss Mindy clicked the button once more and my form slackened. I was in a pained daze as she even went so far as to release me, so I finally let out a little whimper. My mind was all a jumble and I swear I even saw that tattered old stuffed dog walking outside for a moment, but I just waved the thought out of my head. I had enough problems without thinking that I was losing it in here, despite the fact that I oddly wanted nothing more right then than to just give him a big hug.   Still, I knew I had to refocus, so I looked up at Miss Mindy after a moment, utterly defeated by her use of force on me. No spanking this round, but the harmless but painful shocks had done their work just as well. “Please… please, no mo’. I’ll be a good giwl… I’ll be a good Liddle. Jus’ please… no mo’…” Miss Mindy sighed and placed her tiny remote back in her pocket. “I’m sorry, Emma. I really didn’t want to do that, but you have to eat this stuff and learn your place here.” She spooned another helping of the green muck and held it near my lips. “Please. Just eat it. I don’t want to have to punish you again. Just be the good girl I know you already are…” I meekly nodded and slowly opened my mouth. Miss Mindy took no time shoveling the hunk of goop right onto my tongue. I nearly puked right there yet again, but I didn’t want to take my chances and kept swallowing about as much and as fast as I could.   Not long and 19 spoonful’s later, I was done, and Miss Mindy just wiped my face off and carried me over into the Canopy room to my relief. Miss Valerie was already there, and she immediately got me settled underneath the treehouse to the rear of the room. I used to go there to be alone when I read, but for today, it was just my sanctuary as I recuperated from being sick and my ordeal this morning. Feeling defeated, bloated, and still sick, I just laid there in resignation. Soon though, the rest of the Littles entered and both Mrs. Carter and Miss Valerie shooed everybody away from me ‘until the proper time.’ I wasn’t sure what that meant, but about an hour in, Miss Valerie came up to me and guided me once more into the backroom.   Thinking I was going to get a spanking from my naughty behavior, I began to shake and even whimper a tiny bit. Miss Valerie stopped and crouched down to my level. “What’s wrong honey? Are you going to puke again? Are you hurting still?” I shook my head tearfully. “I jus’ don’ wanna get spanked, Miss Valewee! I know I didn’t eat like a I was s’posed to dis mownin’, but Imma good girl. Weally! I pwomise now!” Miss Valerie seemed perplexed for a moment, but as if a light bulb suddenly went off in her head, she smiled and shook her head. “No, sweetie. You are a very good girl and I know this morning was just a difficult moment. We all have those, but no. Now, I’m just taking you to see the nurse. You’ve got an icky nasty bug in you. She’s going to help you get it out. Don’t you want to feel better?” It felt like the most stupid question in the world, but wanting to respond before Miss Valerie thought I was being rude to her, I quickly nodded my head. It only got a smile from her and an outstretched hand once she stood back up. “Come on, Emma. Just follow me.” I nodded again and took her hand. I just hoped the nurse here would be nice to me. Strangest thing though, as soon as we entered the clinic in the backroom, I could’ve sworn I had been there before. The walls, the posters, and even the doctor in her thick glasses all looked familiar, but I had never been in here before… right? Regardless of my own odd semi recollections, Miss Valerie then led me to a very soft reclining chair and propped me on top. “Now, Emma. This is Nurse Bee. She’s going to give you a shot, and it might sting a bit, but I’ll be right here for you. You can even hold my hand if you want.” Needing no other prompting, my hand immediately shot to hers. The two chuckled at the sight and Nurse Bee then walked over with a tray and a very large and scary looking needle on top of it. “Miss Valewee!” I cried out, clutching her hand tighter. “It’s okay, honey,” Miss Valerie tried to calm me. “It’s just a little shot. A tiny booboo and then it’s all over with, okay? You’ll feel much better after. Promise…” I did not believe that type of lie that it was just a ‘tiny booboo,’ coming from a Big or not, but I just nodded and stared back at Nurse Bee and the gigantic shot she was approached with. It glistened under the stark lighting in the room, and posters of ‘hang in there’ and ‘feel better soon,’ did little to comfort me. I squirmed a bit, but I could quickly feel the enrapturing arms of Miss Valerie keep me still. Nurse Bee grinned down at me and set the tray down before picking up the shot. “Now, no wiggles, you hear Emma?” I did, but that shot scared me more than just her words. Regardless, Nurse Bee approached and then held my arm in an even tighter vice grip and plunged the needle down into my soft upper arm. I screamed in pain as the needle entered. Tears soon followed. Oddly though, right as I thought I couldn’t take it anymore and hated the whole world right then, I just felt like hot chocolate had been pumped into my arm and an odd calming type feeling flowed throughout my body. Miss Valerie and Nurse Bee smiled at each other afterward. “Perfect. It’s already taking effect.” Miss Valerie let go of me and pulled me in tight. “It’s okay, sweetie. Soon, you’ll feel just as right as rain. I bet…” But that was the last I heard. Darkness quickly overtook me. When I groggily opened my eyes again, I felt different. Still a little foggy, but my fever and my nausea had vanished like some cool magic trick. I rubbed my arm and spotted an Adventure Sam band-aid where the needle had gone in. It was still sore, but the lack of achiness in the rest of my body almost made up for it. “She’s up! She’s up!” Anna soon cried out as she bounded over to me, now just realizing I had been asleep underneath the treehouse after getting my shot. “Anna… how long was I out?” I asked, still rubbing the sleep out of my eyes. “Uh…” Anna then stared over at the clock, but I realized to her, a borderline case for the Meadows room by now, reading the clock might as well have been me asking her to quote poetry in the strange Agnustralete language. “A secon’ maybe?” she clearly guessed. Miss Valerie was nearby and chuckled a little before ruffling Anna’s hair a bit. “Good try, Anna, but it’s more like just under two hours, Emma.” I stared at both in shock, and I worried if anything had been done to me. I still managed to avoid getting tricked around here ‘Right?’, and other than some fogginess in my brain and some of my abilities, I was still relatively unscathed. I didn’t want to break that record now. I think Anna saw my distress though and leaned in and rubbed my shoulder. “Iss okay, Emma… I looked ou’ fo’ you mos’ of da time, but comm’on! It’s weecess alweady now!” In a second, my dour demeanor lit up like a Christmas tree, and needing no other prompting, I ran outside with Anna to join the others already filing out. It was another beautiful day here and the clouds and birds all seemed to be out just for us Littles. Feeling the effects of near post-sickness happiness, my energy levels beckoned to be tested. With Anna by my side, we ran around and made full use of the nice day. Half the time we were just telling each other stories about something funny on TV or that we saw outside of daycare, but the other times were just filled with make-believe. It was a little childish, but I didn’t care. I just wanted more of this wonderful feeling that was now surging through my body at breakneck speeds. In fact, I was so preoccupied by our fun together that I kinda ignored two things. The first was another girl Little who kept staring at us from the corner of the playground. She seemed lonely and as if she wanted to join in with us. It was almost a little unsettling for a moment as she stared at me in particular, but the way she would avert her stares every time I looked back over directly, told me she was probably just shy. Secondly and more unfortunately, I ignored the full feeling I had in my lower gut. According to Anna, I had essentially skipped lunchtime, so I just chalked up the feeling to having maybe skipped a meal. I was wrong. Anna and I were climbing up to the top of the playground, or at least the second tallest tower, with the first being just a little too scary today for whatever reason. My diaper had been bunching up for a while now and the hot day and the sweat I could feel accumulating there was making it even more awkward. Still, I wanted to have fun, so I just ignored it as I stepped onto the rope ladder up to the top. I then looked up to Anna, who I was grateful hadn’t noticed or at least still hadn’t teased me about my diapers. “Hey Anna! You gonna watch Pwincess Poppy tonight?” She stopped for a moment on the rope ladder and looked back down at me. “Oh yeah! Fwankie said ih migh be a wepeat fwom a wong time ago, buh I never saw when dey wen’ to da bubbauhgum caves. Have you?” I shook my head. “No. I don’t think I…” Anna then looked at me curiously. “Emma. You ‘kay?” I nodded my head and strained a bit. “Yeah. Just a widdle… hawd getting’ to the top!” I grunted a little more as I lifted my leg to the next wrung up. “You sure ‘bout dat?” she questioned skeptically. “You almos’ wook wike… wike…” She then lowered her voice. “Wike you goin’ poopy.” I was about to shake my head my head about as fast as I could over such a ridiculous suggestion, but to my horror, a loud fart sounded from my backside. “I… no!” I farted again, and now that I was noticing, I could feel a lump start to push out of me. I tried to clench, to hold off, to will it back in, but it was all no use. “Look!” another one of the newer Littles shouted. “Emma’s pooping everybody!” I froze in horror and just wanted to bury myself in the ground as quickly as I could, but for now, like a bug caught in a web, I could only just freeze there in horror. “Pottypants! Pottypants!” “Stinky girl!” “What a baby!” and so many other insults being lobbed toward me began to ring out over the playground. In my defense, I wouldn’t have been the only one going potty in my diaper, but all of them were taking naps. As if my day couldn’t get any worse, that sudden realization hit me like a ton of lead. ‘There are other diaper wearers, but they’re all taking naps now because they’re in the younger classrooms… Does that mean I’m…?’ I didn’t have the willpower today to finish that thought. Fortunately, Miss Valerie was outside today, and I guess was on the watch for these sorts of things. As she came to collect me and then guided me back inside shamefully by the hand, I just ducked my head away from all the jeering going on. “It’s okay, Emma,” Miss Valerie soothed me once back inside and headed outside of the classroom, much to my confusion. “These things happen…” “But not to me!” I wailed, feeling the paste-like bulge in the backside of my diaper… one that I felt confident that I was too mature to wear this morning. My confidence over that notion now felt like it was eroding faster than a beach at high tide. Miss Valerie sighed and stooped down to my level while taking both of my hands in hers. “Sweetie… Miss Mindy told everyone on the staff here what she fed you this morning. That stuff… there’s a reason why we ask all sick Littles who get it are put into diapers. It hurts your ability to know when you have to potty, sweetie.” Finally, I felt like I heard some good news, and even through my tears and sniffles, I looked up at Miss Valerie with hope. “So, I’m notta baby?” Miss Valerie chuckled for half a second and waved her hand about a little. “Well… you’re a big girl compared to most here, but for the Canopy room…” she then shook her head and rubbed my shoulder. “I wouldn’t think about any of that, Emma. For now, let’s just get you changed, okay?” Not wanting to sit in my full diaper for long, I eagerly nodded, and smiling, Miss Valerie knocked on the door I had just noticed that we were nearby. It soon opened and Miss Tully stuck her head outside. “Hey Val. Hey Emma. Are you here…?” Her nostrils then flared, and her eyes darted right towards me and my bulging midsection. “Uh oh. Did… the thing happen to our guest here, Val?” I could see Miss Valerie nodding from the corner of my eyes. “It did. Emma here is feeling right as rain now but had a bit of an accident. She’s a little sad about it though, so treat her gentle, okay?” I hated being talked around like that, but I also remembered my seemingly unstable emotions lately. I felt like I would cry at the drop of the hat, so a little part of me appreciated the potential for a little bit of ‘gentleness.’ Miss Tully then looked down at me and smiled as she held out her hand. “Come on, Emma. I bet that doesn’t feel too good, huh?” I sorrowfully shook my head. “Then let’s get you changed proto, sweetie.” I only nodded my head at her wonderful notion and waved goodbye to Miss Valerie. Inside, I then marveled at the forested side of the Meadows room split evenly with the more traditional meadowed area and farm. Many of the Littles were all napping and my nose was immediately assaulted with a mix of baby powder, used diapers, and disinfectant. It was odd, yet also strangely homey in here, but Miss Tully just weaved me around all the laid-out cots and right over to the changing table. I remembered seeing it the time I had been in here before I got my last spanking, but today, it was taking on a whole new meaning. Then and now, it represented a horrible milestone in my new life, but I couldn’t help but feel a little relief now as well. My diaper swayed heavily, and I definitely did not want to sit down at all, so getting a change, despite the implications in here, felt like a welcome relief. “Up you go, Emma,” Miss Tully said as she reached down and picked me up. I knew what was coming next and I shut my eyes as tight as they would go as she then deposited me onto the surface of the changing table, smooshing the mess I had accidentally left back there. It was horrible. “Shhh, shhh. Easy there, Emma,” Miss Tully then tried to soothe me herself. “Just lie back and I’ll have you clean in a jiffy. Just behave for me, okay?” I nodded. “Jus’ pwease huwwy…” I shakily said up to her. “Dis is awful…” Miss Tully sympathetically nodded and eased me back onto the changing pad before even buckling and tightening a strap over my stomach. “Okay, Emma. Deep breaths and all this will be over before you know it.” I nodded again and Miss Tully proceeded to quickly remove my shoes and then pull down my tights. The smell just kept getting worse the more she removed from my lower half, and when I heard the scritches from undoing the tapes of my soiled diaper, I wasn’t prepared for the stench that then assaulted my nose. It wasn’t as bad as I had imagined, and I even got used to it after a moment surprisingly, but it was still terrible, both in it’s smell and in the knowledge that it had come from me. Several wipes later though, Miss Tully smiled back at me. “There. All clean. Let’s just get you wrapped up again and you’ll be off playing before you know it.” I yawned and nodded back at her. She looked at me a little oddly after that, but she just continued to go about her duty in the daycare. Minutes later, wiped and powdered, I was securely wrapped back up in my fresh diaper. The experience was horrible, but oddly comforting by the end. Despite the muck that had accumulated in my diaper, from Miss Tully’s excellent job, I now smelled and felt ten times better than before. My smile soon disappeared though as I saw Miss Tully wrap up my diaper and throw it in a pail nearby. The padding was mostly definitely used, and a small smell seemed to waft from the toxic waste dump that was once wrapped around me. The concerning part though, was that the center line on the diaper had turned blue and there was a distinct yellowish color to the padding. I had messed myself and that was horrible, but what was worse, I really couldn’t remember wetting it either. With that terrible thought in my mind and a goodbye hug from Miss Tully, she helped me back to the Canopy room. Though I was relieved to join my fellow Littles back in here. The wet diaper and the stares were hurting my already fragile ego, so by the time I sat back under the treehouse and wrapped myself in a comforting blanket, I was about ready to cry. That’s when Anna found me. “Oh no, You ‘kay Emma?” she asked, peering in and then joining me. I shook my head. “I jus’ got changed in the other room after messin’ myself in front of evewyone hewe! I feel wike such a baby!” “Please don’ say dat, Miss Emily…” I heard a familiar voice say to me. I looked up, and there was Jenny, the Little that had held me back from Kathy back at Mrs. Tatum’s foster home. “Jenny? Is dat you?” I asked, fully knowing the answer already, but just not believing my eyes. Despite all that experience being less than two months ago, it almost seemed fuzzy now… ‘Must still just be that gunk I ate this morning…’ She nodded. “Yes, Miss Emi… Emma. It’s okay, though. You were sick today. Anna an’ I have been havin’ potty problems already today… right Anna?” We both looked back at Anna, and she sorrowfully nodded her head. “Anna?” I could tell something was bothering my friend. Jenny was right and my problems suddenly felt so much less. It was a bad day, but all this would pass. For Anna though, something was happening right then to her. “Wha’s wong? Tell us… Pwease?” Anna sighed and looked around for a moment before unbuttoning her pants and showing us the front of her pull-up… her very wet pull-up… “Oh Anna…” “When’d that happen?” Jenny questioned. “We met while Emma was asleep earlier an’ we both had an acciden’… You already had anothuh?” Anna nodded. “Ih jus’ happen’d… I don’ know. Should I tell Miss Vee?” Jenny and I both looked at each other, not really sure what to tell her. Being a Little was a tricky business in this society, and so many things could just be triggered so easily. See, if Nancy said she was wet here, she could be deemed too immature to stay in the Canopy room and be demoted down to the Meadows room and then back diapers. If she waited until her caregiver got here and announced it then however, she could potentially leak or just end up in diapers at home and wind up back in them here. Same outcome, but just two different ways to potentially get there at this point. “I’d tell…” Jenny pronounced finally. “But I could see it either way…” I nodded. “Same, but I think you should wait. If you wait, your caregiver could be nice to you about it. Here…” I thought back to Nurse Bee and some of the odd things I had noticed since I had come here, “maybe not so much…” Jenny nodded. “Good point. I agree wiff Emma now. You should probably just wait, Anna… I mean, if you have to potty, I’d tell, but I’d jus’ wait otherwise…” We all agreed and were soon cracking jokes about the state of our lives. It was nice to catch up with Jenny again and she was just happy that I was safe and still mentally intact. Apparently, a few of the other Littles back from Mrs. Tatum’s weren’t so lucky. Still, it was a nice end to a trying day. I knew that Nancy would soon pick me up and I could go back to pull-ups during the day… or at least that’s what I thought at first. Unfortunately, right as we were all laughing, I felt a tiny, but still present warmth in the bottom of my diaper. I tried to tell myself it was just nerves or something like that as a brief problem in holding it in, but after I rocked forward and felt a small squish, I knew the truth. So, like Anna, my fate at the daycare now also seemed to be in question. I just hoped it was the gunk that I had been fed this morning, but seeing everything in my life lately and Miss Valerie’s hesitation over when I asked her if I was a baby, I just wasn’t sure anymore. It was the sadly typical uncertain life of a Little here, but like everything else, it was just something one had to accept here or else. After all, every Little knew here that it could always be worse.