Tadpole

Me too. Plastic bags, kitchen roll, sellotape: Leaked like a sieve. Later on I'd buy the biggest pampers I could, cut two up and tape together to make one: Leaked like a sieve. I didn't try my first adult disposable until I was in my 20's (Tena Super - solid green) - it was a revelation (although they still leaked, didn't they?).

When I eventually manage to be passing by, I’ll just say you are a mate from my distant IT sector past - and we would most likely end up talking tech at some point anyway 🙂

One worry emigrating from the UK to NZ was if good chocolate would exist. Thankfully... Whitakers. Not quite in the same league as some Belgium or Swiss brands, but more than enough to avoid importing UK chocolate. Cheese, however, is another story.

Australia, where all the plants and animals try their best to kill you. @oznl should relocate across the ditch to NZ, where nothing tries to kill you and the temperatures are always temperate 🙂

I've posted my Pacifier Dependancy Story on DD before. It's very similar to little Sherri. The thing people have often asked is "did habitual use erode the pleasure" and the answer is no it didn't. Mostly it just soothed and comforted me in a way that I didn't expect it to at the start. If I thought about it I'd still get the little thrill knowing I was what I wanted to be. The "pain" of longing for it was slight, easily rectified by sucking something, and once I got into the habit that it was for night-time only, I didn't ever feel the need in the day. What I wrote some years ago:

"Or to be legitimately thankful your diaper has wetness indicators to make your life easier" Does anyone *wearing* a diaper actually use the wetness indicators? I can see why it is useful for caregivers to gauge wetness, but isn't just feeling the diaper a much better indicator? (Also the only bit the wearer can see is the front, and that surface is wet from the first wetting in most cases, and therefore not a useful indicator anyway?)

One thing to beware of: when buying from these people they subscribe you to their mailing list... using the email from your PayPal! ABDL emails in your vanilla mailbox. NOT COOL AB Discovery. (And signing up people to mailing lists they did not explicitly agree to is illegal in the EU). Maybe avoid them until they sort this out!

Ah, I've looked at it now. The sensor on the outside... what a crazy idea. I think for really judging the fullness of the nappy they need more than one sampling point. Yes - Unless the temp sensor was very close to the source of flow, which is why I think an array of sensors on the surface would be better. An array could also tell how fluid is moving and filling the sides which is important. I wonder what other sensors might be good: conduction? Sound? I guess they would all have the same issues with accurately measuring very low flow rates you (and I presume most long-term users) experience. I guess there are actually two approaches: either try to measure flow into the nappy or to measure how much of the capacity has been used up. The latter does not work well if there is poor wicking or side-sleeping... and the former does not work well with low flow rates. More ideas needed!

Or how about a thin strip (or array) of temperature (and/or humidity) sensors in the nappy, with a tiny bluetooth module. Would be a very useful diagnostic tool to the medical profession too.

I think I posted this once before: - The first time I remember staring at a girl about my age who was sucking a dummy in a supermarket, and realised how much I wanted to be like her (7? 8?) - The first time I picked up a discarded dummy and secretly sucked it. (12) - The moment I realized (reading an old copy of Forum) that I was not alone (14) - First night when I made a “plastic bag & paper towel” nappy and tried to wear it all night long. (15) - First time I bought a dummy (15) and kept it for more than a week (19) - Bought baby nappies, cut them and taped them to fit (20) - Bought Pampers size 6 and modifying the whole packet to fit me (22) - Bought my first adult nappies (Tena super) (24) - Realizing that throwing away dummies was pointless, since I would only have to buy another in a week or two, resolving never to give in the “purge” guilt trip again (24) - The first time I bought a whole pack of adult nappies and enjoyed the feeling of being able to change from a wet one into a dry one. Enjoyed the fantasy of “needing” them. Bought my first plastic pants. (25) - Mail ordering nappies (Abena) then repeating the mail order for the same nappies from the same place only a month later. (26) - Visiting Lifestyles Emporium, trying on clothes, buying cloth all-in-ones and a onesie (32) - Buying a NUK Medic pro and setting out to become a habitual dummy user. (32) Waking up in the night with my thumb in my mouth, having no recollection of putting it there (34) Since then my milestones are less defined and progress has slowed. At some point in my thirties I must have switched from thinking "24/7 is a crazy idea" to "I want (?need) to go 24/7", but life has gotten in the way, and, apart from spending a month sleeping in nappies every night, I'm no closer to that goal. I gave up the dummy/thumb when my kids were young. That's about it for now.

Oznl, it has been wonderful to follow your progress through this thread - so many questions I've had for years have been answered and in a most eloquent and entertaining way. And our off-list discussions have supported me in so many other ways too - it has been quite a year. Thanks! Tad.

I always used to find shaving led to itchiness, and after a few months I would give up and let the hair grow back. But about two years ago I tried just shaving the top part and not going for the "completely bald" look, and this solved the itchiness. Every time I shave I just do a quick run of the razor over the area and it is done. But over the last six months I realised that I've been shaving more and more and that I was practically back to the completely smooth look I wanted, and so for the last few months I've been shaving all over... and no itchiness at all. So it is all about getting used to it I think.

I find that, yes, I wee more too - in small amounts and frequently so overall more total volume. And despite drinking more I end up dehydrated after a day in diapers. Up until recently I put it down to wanting to wet when wearing (I don’t get to wear as often as I would like due to external commitments) but recently I have realised that wetting when wearing is getting more automatic than I thought - eg wanting to keep dry as I was in town without a change and knowing I was meeting up with a friend, I found myself wetting - and despite having emptied my bladder just 30 mins earlier before putting the diaper on. This makes me understand how people drift into 24/7 wearing without intending too. Subconscious mind at work?

Yup - takes a few weeks and then after that it becomes normal!

Footballdude, I still remember my experience when I started using a nuk medic pro. At first I could not sleep with it, but I set myself a target of using every night until it became a habit. It took a couple of months - the first few weeks were very hard and required effort... then it became easier and then was the series of magical milestones when I realized that I was wanting it when I went to bed, then missing it, then the day I realized I had put it in my mouth without thinking about it. After that I realized I was properly hooked and used to delay taking it out in the morning as long as possible. As I worked from home there was a period that I did use it in the day time, but I cut back on that and stabilized on night time only. And even years later, it still gives me pleasure and comfort and when I wake up with my paci in my mouth I still get that thrill of knowing I really am "paci dependent". Well done!

Having been jealous of thumb-suckers and pacifier-users for as long as I can remember, I was always frustrated that when I sucked on a paci it wasn't "real"... I didn't "need" it. When the Nuk Medic Pro arrived, and I was finally living in my own flat, I set out (aged 30) to become a habitual pacifier-user. The first month I found it hard: I kept a note beside my bed, kept the paci on my beside table, and kept a record of using it. Some nights it was very hard to get to sleep. But after a month I noticed it was getting easier and it must have been around a month that I noticed I was longing for the moment I popped it in at night, and not taking it out first thing in the morning. Sometime in the second month I stopped recording usage and had that amazing feeling when I noticed I wasn't thinking about using it, I was just doing it by habit. I then visited friends and forgot to take the paci with me, and discovered that I needed something in my mouth... and that was the first time I fell asleep sucking my thumb. That year I did go through a phase of using the paci in the daytime (I worked from home most of the time) and there were days at a time when I probably had the paci in 20+ hours a day. (the teats go white if you do this!). but I later moderated my usages back to night time only, and over the next 10 years I slept with either my dummy or my thumb in my mouth. It was a great habit to have - comforting, healthy, and every now and then I would get that lovely feeling of pride, knowing that I was what I always wanted to be... a real pacifier and thumb-sucker. I never had a problem keeping the paci in after the first month - I guess that was the breakthrough to getting really hooked. It was only when my children were born that I broke the habit, and these days don't use the paci very often.

Pretty certain I've ordered from them several times in the past, but not recently. I think they are good.

Took ABJane's tip and tried ID Expert slips: http://www.clhhealthcare.co.uk/ID-EXPERT-SLIP-DIAPER-PAD-MEDIUM-SUPER-27528-2x28.html - So far excellent and plastic backed.

Just to add that you can expect a little jaw/teeth aching when you start to use your paci regularly, but it soon goes away. The other thing you sometimes get is a little patch of skin on the roof of your mouth or lip that feels a little hard, but you forget about this after a while

Hi David,

Never forgotton I was wearing a nappy, but many years ago I did once answer the door with my pacifier in - probably the first sign that I was able to become a habitual pacifier user later in life.