24/7 startups, and unexpected pitfalls?

[Little Sherri]

Night wetting is definitely a challenge, and side-sleeping is the worst scenario, for sure. I guess I should be thankful that, despite "trying", or, more accurately, despite "not trying not to try", my overnight wetting is pretty minor these days. I really don't know why, but it's like a switch was thrown when we moved to the new house. Maybe it's the country air, or something about the water. Or, maybe there's a slow carbon monoxide leak somewhere. In any case, these days, once I fall asleep, I seem to be sleeping pretty deeply, and so often I'll wake up only a short while before my alarm goes off, and I'll feel an immediate need to wee, but, what comes of it is low in volume, and a lot of times, up to that moment, the diaper was nearly dry, maybe having seen one small trickle prior to my falling asleep, assuming I changed my diaper right before bed, which is often my routine. 

I don't seem to be waking up often to "permission" a release anymore - it seems like I'm producing less overnight. Unless I've been on the lash - if there was wine or beer consumed in heroic quantities the night before, then all bets are off. THEN it seems like maybe I'm emitting while I sleep, or, not remembering if I've awoken, waved at the guards, and then immediately drifted off. 

On another topic, I had an interesting conversation with my long-suffering spouse last night, and I'm not completely sure if what was mentioned was window dressing for "other" concerns, or, if it was just what it claimed to be, and nothing more. 

I stayed in that Rearz Elite I was wearing yesterday until I headed up for a shower and a change after dinner, at which point, I had been in it since the previous night at 11:00 PM or so. It was basically dry when I woke up, but, then I wore it for a solid 12 or so hours, most of that spent sitting in my office, and so it was quite thoroughly soaked, and had swelled up impressively, as those diapers do. I got undressed for my shower and was walking around in just a diaper and a t-shirt in our room, putting some laundry away that I had extracted from the laundry room before someone else intercepted and folded my onesies. My wife came into the room and started pulling some of her laundry from the pile, and then the following exchange occurred: 

Her: "Do you mind if I ask you a question?"

Me: "Sure, go for it."

Her: "Why do you wear... them... until they're.... like that?"

I immediately ascertained by her hesitancy that we were talking about diapers. I paused in mid-step, and looked down, and then said "Like what, exactly?" 

"Like... that. Isn't it uncomfortable?"

Still not grasping what she was getting at, I said "You mean without anything over it?"

Her: "No, I know you don't mind THAT. I mean, how... wet you are."

Me: "You'd be surprised, a decent diaper can still be very comfortable, even after... a good while. But I also try to use as few of them per day as I can."

Her: "Well if it's a cost concern, just keep in mind that I'm not going to begrudge you using more of... them." 

Me: "Okay, I'll, uh, keep that in mind. I'm going to change this one right now, in any case - that's what I came up to do." 

Her: "Okay."

Me: "Okay."

And then I went and took my diaper off, showered, put on a fresh Lil' Monster, came out of the bathroom, somewhat self-consciously dropped my 5-pound Elite into the diaper can in my closet, and then got dressed again, and nary another word was spoken on the topic. 

I knew in any case that she wasn't auditing my diaper purchases, financially, although she was definitely noting their expanding shelving requirements in the basement. But the cost isn't a topic she'd likely want to engage me on, lest I turn in detailed attention to her credit card statements, which I pay. I know she spends as much on fancy protein bars every month as I spend on diapers, to say nothing about entropy-defying face creams and such. I am trying to be frugal with this weird hobby of mine, but not because otherwise we'd have to ration the milk - it's just my natural tendency. Also, I don't mind being in a wet diaper, as long as it's not on the verge of failure, or becoming fragrant. Often, it's concerns about bulk, more than anything else, that drive me to the changing table (if I had a changing table... one can dream). 

However, now I wonder... was she worried about my discomfort, and maybe my skin health, or... was that her way of telling me that I'm perhaps ignorant of the fact that I have a bit of a funk about me, later in the day? Hmmmm. I know that the olfactory system is quite capable of tuning out persistent stimuli, such that most of us don't really know what "we" smell like. And I know from back when I worked in the industry, that seniors homes definitely have a "signature" perfume, and it's not primarily "institutional kitchen".  And I've spent enough time around children to know that they can develop an "eau de pee pee diaper". So... in hour 8 or hour 12 of being in a particular diaper, do I carry with me a whiff of the untended elderly? Is that what she was getting at? I don't want to ask. 

[Joep]

41 minutes ago, Little Sherri said:

Night wetting is definitely a challenge, and side-sleeping is the worst scenario, for sure. I guess I should be thankful that, despite "trying", or, more accurately, despite "not trying not to try", my overnight wetting is pretty minor these days. I really don't know why, but it's like a switch was thrown when we moved to the new house. Maybe it's the country air, or something about the water. Or, maybe there's a slow carbon monoxide leak somewhere. In any case, these days, once I fall asleep, I seem to be sleeping pretty deeply, and so often I'll wake up only a short while before my alarm goes off, and I'll feel an immediate need to wee, but, what comes of it is low in volume, and a lot of times, up to that moment, the diaper was nearly dry, maybe having seen one small trickle prior to my falling asleep, assuming I changed my diaper right before bed, which is often my routine. 

I don't seem to be waking up often to "permission" a release anymore - it seems like I'm producing less overnight. Unless I've been on the lash - if there was wine or beer consumed in heroic quantities the night before, then all bets are off. THEN it seems like maybe I'm emitting while I sleep, or, not remembering if I've awoken, waved at the guards, and then immediately drifted off. 

On another topic, I had an interesting conversation with my long-suffering spouse last night, and I'm not completely sure if what was mentioned was window dressing for "other" concerns, or, if it was just what it claimed to be, and nothing more. 

I stayed in that Rearz Elite I was wearing yesterday until I headed up for a shower and a change after dinner, at which point, I had been in it since the previous night at 11:00 PM or so. It was basically dry when I woke up, but, then I wore it for a solid 12 or so hours, most of that spent sitting in my office, and so it was quite thoroughly soaked, and had swelled up impressively, as those diapers do. I got undressed for my shower and was walking around in just a diaper and a t-shirt in our room, putting some laundry away that I had extracted from the laundry room before someone else intercepted and folded my onesies. My wife came into the room and started pulling some of her laundry from the pile, and then the following exchange occurred: 

Her: "Do you mind if I ask you a question?"

Me: "Sure, go for it."

Her: "Why do you wear... them... until they're.... like that?"

I immediately ascertained by her hesitancy that we were talking about diapers. I paused in mid-step, and looked down, and then said "Like what, exactly?" 

"Like... that. Isn't it uncomfortable?"

Still not grasping what she was getting at, I said "You mean without anything over it?"

Her: "No, I know you don't mind THAT. I mean, how... wet you are."

Me: "You'd be surprised, a decent diaper can still be very comfortable, even after... a good while. But I also try to use as few of them per day as I can."

Her: "Well if it's a cost concern, just keep in mind that I'm not going to begrudge you using more of... them." 

Me: "Okay, I'll, uh, keep that in mind. I'm going to change this one right now, in any case - that's what I came up to do." 

Her: "Okay."

Me: "Okay."

And then I went and took my diaper off, showered, put on a fresh Lil' Monster, came out of the bathroom, somewhat self-consciously dropped my 5-pound Elite into the diaper can in my closet, and then got dressed again, and nary another word was spoken on the topic. 

I knew in any case that she wasn't auditing my diaper purchases, financially, although she was definitely noting their expanding shelving requirements in the basement. But the cost isn't a topic she'd likely want to engage me on, lest I turn in detailed attention to her credit card statements, which I pay. I know she spends as much on fancy protein bars every month as I spend on diapers, to say nothing about entropy-defying face creams and such. I am trying to be frugal with this weird hobby of mine, but not because otherwise we'd have to ration the milk - it's just my natural tendency. Also, I don't mind being in a wet diaper, as long as it's not on the verge of failure, or becoming fragrant. Often, it's concerns about bulk, more than anything else, that drive me to the changing table (if I had a changing table... one can dream). 

However, now I wonder... was she worried about my discomfort, and maybe my skin health, or... was that her way of telling me that I'm perhaps ignorant of the fact that I have a bit of a funk about me, later in the day? Hmmmm. I know that the olfactory system is quite capable of tuning out persistent stimuli, such that most of us don't really know what "we" smell like. And I know from back when I worked in the industry, that seniors homes definitely have a "signature" perfume, and it's not primarily "institutional kitchen".  And I've spent enough time around children to know that they can develop an "eau de pee pee diaper". So... in hour 8 or hour 12 of being in a particular diaper, do I carry with me a whiff of the untended elderly? Is that what she was getting at? I don't want to ask. 

I assume you stay well hydrated enough to not smell constantly like urine. By the way you described your interaction with your wife it seems to me that the thought of you carrying around your urine all day is bugging her even though it may not smell or leak very often. 
 

do you think she’d feel less bothered if you used a mid range capacity diaper with a booster rather than a heavy duty diaper?

[Little Sherri]

33 minutes ago, Joep said:

do you think she’d feel less bothered if you used a mid range capacity diaper with a booster rather than a heavy duty diaper?

It's an interesting question, @Joep. Most of the time, I wear a heavy overnight diaper that takes me into the mid-afternoon, and then I switch to a mid-range diaper for the evening when I'm hanging around the family. However my schedule got upended by the sheer capacity of the Elite, and the fact that I didn't pee much while I was sleeping, hence the sodden high-capacity diaper being in evidence that late in the day. I had a similar experience, although she made no comment about it, when I was wearing one of my new large-size Megamax's; those diapers are so big, and so capacious, that I ended up wearing one until it was halfway down to my knees and weighed as much as an obese cat. Next time, I will probably swap the stale diaper as soon as I get undressed, rather than lounging around in it for a while, in deference to her seeming preference not to see (or possibly smell) a profoundly wet diaper on me. 

[Little Sherri]

I accidentally typed this in @oznl's entertaining and informative thread, rather than over here, after responding to someone's quote. Apologies!

I am in a Bambino Classico today; I put it on as soon as I got up this morning. Comfy diaper, with a very ABDL shell on it (toy blocks spelling out B-A-B-Y), maybe not the a capacity match for high-caliber diapers like Elite's or Megamax's, but I'd put them somewhere just below a BetterDry, which is still pretty good company. They aren't cheap, though - I bought these on sale. I will say one argument for having a "trove" of diapers in inventory like I currently do is that I can cruise for a while without buying, and wait for deals. Rearz runs some great sales at least a couple of times a year, and their pricing, on their own products in particular, can be amazing. My Lil' Monster and Lil' Squirt stocks can attest to that. 

I also suspect, though, that the other reason why I feel compelled to add to my stock at a faster rate than I draw it down, is that every 2 - 3 diapers I have in stock represents another day spent wearing them. It's my attempt to strong-arm destiny. A man with this many diapers can't not wear diapers. 

That said, I've seen the collections that some people on this site have, and for them, my inventory might represent one generous order. 

I went with this Classico because the Universe has a sense of humour... the previous topic I touched on wherein my wife commented on my lounging around in a sodden diaper has come back tap me on the shoulder. Apparently 18 or 20 hours or whatever it was, was too much that day, and, for the first time in ages, I have a touch of diaper rash. I haven't reached for the pharmaceuticals yet - it's just a bit of red, chaffed skin. But, I have commenced applying Orange Alert levels of diaper cream - I smell like a newly-opened carton of Pampers right now - and, I've decided that until this clears up, I'm not going to push any diaper past the 8-hour mark, so, I might as well keep my heaviest hitters on the bench. In my experience, in anything other than a cloth diaper, 8 hours is insufficient time for dampness to transition from "unremarkable" to "chemical warfare". 

 

 

 

[herb330]

On 1/28/2021 at 12:50 PM, Little Sherri said:

Night wetting is definitely a challenge, and side-sleeping is the worst scenario, for sure. I guess I should be thankful that, despite "trying", or, more accurately, despite "not trying not to try", my overnight wetting is pretty minor these days. I really don't know why, but it's like a switch was thrown when we moved to the new house. Maybe it's the country air, or something about the water. Or, maybe there's a slow carbon monoxide leak somewhere. In any case, these days, once I fall asleep, I seem to be sleeping pretty deeply, and so often I'll wake up only a short while before my alarm goes off, and I'll feel an immediate need to wee, but, what comes of it is low in volume, and a lot of times, up to that moment, the diaper was nearly dry, maybe having seen one small trickle prior to my falling asleep, assuming I changed my diaper right before bed, which is often my routine. 

I don't seem to be waking up often to "permission" a release anymore - it seems like I'm producing less overnight. Unless I've been on the lash - if there was wine or beer consumed in heroic quantities the night before, then all bets are off. THEN it seems like maybe I'm emitting while I sleep, or, not remembering if I've awoken, waved at the guards, and then immediately drifted off. 

On another topic, I had an interesting conversation with my long-suffering spouse last night, and I'm not completely sure if what was mentioned was window dressing for "other" concerns, or, if it was just what it claimed to be, and nothing more. 

I stayed in that Rearz Elite I was wearing yesterday until I headed up for a shower and a change after dinner, at which point, I had been in it since the previous night at 11:00 PM or so. It was basically dry when I woke up, but, then I wore it for a solid 12 or so hours, most of that spent sitting in my office, and so it was quite thoroughly soaked, and had swelled up impressively, as those diapers do. I got undressed for my shower and was walking around in just a diaper and a t-shirt in our room, putting some laundry away that I had extracted from the laundry room before someone else intercepted and folded my onesies. My wife came into the room and started pulling some of her laundry from the pile, and then the following exchange occurred: 

Her: "Do you mind if I ask you a question?"

Me: "Sure, go for it."

Her: "Why do you wear... them... until they're.... like that?"

I immediately ascertained by her hesitancy that we were talking about diapers. I paused in mid-step, and looked down, and then said "Like what, exactly?" 

"Like... that. Isn't it uncomfortable?"

Still not grasping what she was getting at, I said "You mean without anything over it?"

Her: "No, I know you don't mind THAT. I mean, how... wet you are."

Me: "You'd be surprised, a decent diaper can still be very comfortable, even after... a good while. But I also try to use as few of them per day as I can."

Her: "Well if it's a cost concern, just keep in mind that I'm not going to begrudge you using more of... them." 

Me: "Okay, I'll, uh, keep that in mind. I'm going to change this one right now, in any case - that's what I came up to do." 

Her: "Okay."

Me: "Okay."

And then I went and took my diaper off, showered, put on a fresh Lil' Monster, came out of the bathroom, somewhat self-consciously dropped my 5-pound Elite into the diaper can in my closet, and then got dressed again, and nary another word was spoken on the topic. 

I knew in any case that she wasn't auditing my diaper purchases, financially, although she was definitely noting their expanding shelving requirements in the basement. But the cost isn't a topic she'd likely want to engage me on, lest I turn in detailed attention to her credit card statements, which I pay. I know she spends as much on fancy protein bars every month as I spend on diapers, to say nothing about entropy-defying face creams and such. I am trying to be frugal with this weird hobby of mine, but not because otherwise we'd have to ration the milk - it's just my natural tendency. Also, I don't mind being in a wet diaper, as long as it's not on the verge of failure, or becoming fragrant. Often, it's concerns about bulk, more than anything else, that drive me to the changing table (if I had a changing table... one can dream). 

However, now I wonder... was she worried about my discomfort, and maybe my skin health, or... was that her way of telling me that I'm perhaps ignorant of the fact that I have a bit of a funk about me, later in the day? Hmmmm. I know that the olfactory system is quite capable of tuning out persistent stimuli, such that most of us don't really know what "we" smell like. And I know from back when I worked in the industry, that seniors homes definitely have a "signature" perfume, and it's not primarily "institutional kitchen".  And I've spent enough time around children to know that they can develop an "eau de pee pee diaper". So... in hour 8 or hour 12 of being in a particular diaper, do I carry with me a whiff of the untended elderly? Is that what she was getting at? I don't want to ask. 

It is nice that your partner is concerned about your hygiene.  It is important to change regularly.  Especially use powder and lotion when appropriate.

[Little Sherri]

10 hours ago, herb330 said:

It is important to change regularly.

With this in mind, I am in one of my "interim" diaper solutions right now - a Depends with a Cuties stuffer. I had another Classico on - I had had the box open so I had extracted a couple of them and taken them up to my room, and I just decided to follow suit the night before, but by mid-afternoon it was reaching probably the 4/5ths mark, and I decided, for the sake of ongoing peace with my skin, to swap it, but I didn't have any "middle-weight" diapers in my room and I had a meeting starting in a few minutes, so it was an Alpaca, a Megamax, or, the Depends. 

I need to move some more middle-weight diapers up, though, because we have some contractors coming tomorrow, so I am envisioning being interrupted repeatedly throughout the day. It would be a perfect day to hide out in my office in a big diaper, but, they're going to be all over the place and needing consults, so something enormous probably isn't called for. I might be able to get away with a Megamax in medium, which would give me a lot of range without an absurdly swollen lower area. Well, it won't be absurd at least initially. 

[Little Sherri]

I have been putting the Megamax through field trials, and so far, they are proving to be an excellent diaper. The medium size is ideal for me as both a day and/or an overnight diaper, while the large is, because of its sheer size, relegated to overnight use only. I knew that they would have impressive capacity, because of their reputation, but I didn't know if their bulk would allow them to work as a daytime option for me. However, behold, the medium punches well above its apparent weight, looking like a "medium duty" diaper, but, behaving like a heavy duty diaper. 

Another thing I wasn't sure of was how they would hold up under active wearing; I'm on the go a lot, working on projects around the house, walking the dog, running up and down stairs, we're still moving things around as we settle into this house, etc. I suspect a lot of diapers were designed for customers who spend most of their time in one position... indeed, I think that, for a lot of diapers, the "customer" is not, in fact, the person wearing the garment, but rather, the caregiver, or, the institutional purchaser who is buying it. As a side note, I think that's one of the reasons why true "ABDL" diapers are, for the most part, the best products on the market - the people buying them are the people wearing them, and a lot of us are pretty active. 

So far, they have held up very well - the stuffing stays where it is, the elastics stay together, and the tabs never shift. They're not the quietest diaper under the sun, but under my jeans and a onesie, their whispering is quite manageable. I do find that under pajamas or track pants, you can hear them a bit more, but that's the case for most plastic-backed diapers. 

At $30 CAD per 10, they're $3 a diaper, which is at the higher end of what I typically pay, but, they are a high-end product. They're not too far off of what a lot of lesser diapers cost, although Rearz does have some amazing sales from time to time that make Lil' Monsters and such around $2 a diaper, which is a smoking deal. So, I don't think I'm going to go all-in, and only buy Megamax, but, they definitely have a place in my wardrobe.

As I approach the end of my second full year in diapers (at the end of March), I am seeking to simplify my inventory system a bit; I have field-tested a lot of diapers, bought cases of some, and bags or samples of others, but, I don't think I need to have 21 different models in inventory, some great, some okay. I think that the medium-sized Megamax, along with Rearz Lil' Monsters and/or Squirts, in large, could form the majority of my "fleet", giving me a mix of white and printed diapers, all very comfortable and of reasonable capacity, for day-to-day wearing, but also capable of handling overnight duty. Then, if I have, say, some Rearz Elites or BetterDry's in large, I'd be well equipped for weekend nights where I've had a few beers before bed and think I might sleep in a bit. Throw my Prevail gym & running diapers on top of that, and I think I could make a reasonable argument for "needing" cases of only three or four models. Anything else would be strictly recreational, and not bought by the case, and if I discover another "greatest diaper on earth" or "deal of the century" product, then, in order for it to become a staple, it would have to supplant something. Otherwise I'll end up with 10 open cases all going at the same time.

[Little Sherri]

Well, the Scotsman in me is in mourning; I had to consign a Rearz Alpaca to an early grave. I basically encountered the same problem with it that plagues me with a lot of my top-tier overnight products right now, which is that, right now, the house is occupied by my family, all day, every day, so while I can wear gloriously large nappies overnight if I want to, I can't operate in them during the day very effectively, unless I want to sneak into my office and then stay seated for the rest of the day. Couple that with the the fact that I have, curiously, been emitting very little at night lately, and the result is an early dismissal for a far-from-spent diaper. 

We've been having work done around the house that has been fairly disruptive, people in and out and in all the rooms, so I've been remiss in going down to the basement and restocking my bedroom supplies, such that I was down to a few diapers in my drawer, one of which was the Alpaca, that went in there prior to the Christmas holidays, back when the kids were physically attending school. I never got around to wearing it prior to the holidays, and then, I've ignored it since, for the above-mentioned reason, because the kids have been home since late December. 

However, on impulse, I decided that I was a mature and practiced enough diapernaut to be able to get away with wearing an Alpaca with the house full of people, and I pulled it out and put it on. However, once I was in it, I realized that I had forgotten just how bulky and large they are - Rearz calls them an "overnight diaper" for a reason. It was gloriously comfortable, with a nice print, and I enjoyed sitting in bed in just it, and a shirt, reading a book before I went to sleep. 

When I woke up, I was determined to follow through with my plan to stay in it, so I put on a onesie, and pulled my jeans on, but, after heading down to make myself a coffee, I paused in front of a full-length mirror, and as much as I squinted, and tried to convince myself that it was all in my mind, I could not shake the impression that I now had a Jennifer Lopez-caliber rear end. I have daughters, and daughters are observant... my youngest is always very self-conscious about her "pullup butt" being noted by her older sister, so I know that they are both somewhat attuned to the phenomenon. 

On top of that, I was about to have a house full of contractors once again, so, I caved in to my misgivings and tossed that 1/4-used Alpaca, swapping it for a Lil' Monster that I am confident about wearing on a busy day. However, I am somewhat disappointed in myself about it, and I'm not entirely sure if it's because I made a poor selection, or, because I didn't have the gumption (or temerity? stupidity?) to follow through. But, on the other hand, "this", for me, has not been about taking unnecessary chances; I find no excitement in the prospect that one of the tradesmen might have detected something, let alone one of my kids. 

[Little Sherri]

Compression pants! I don't know why I didn't think of them sooner. I'm forgetting my basic training. When I started this thread two years ago, and asked about going 24/7 for what I thought would be a few weeks while my family was away, guys like @oznl and @Stroller gave me a number of survival tips. 

I was mad at myself yesterday for abandoning ship on that Alpaca so early, so, I pulled another one out of the basement last night, and put it on just before bed. This morning, I put a onesie over it, but then I also put on some bicycle shorts I own that basically work like a compression garment. The result was... cautiously better. There's no question that I looked a bit "un- svelte" below the belt, but, under my oversized jeans and a long sweater, it didn't seem as comical as it did yesterday, so I proceeded to carry on business as usual. The Alpaca eventually swelled up to gargantuan proportions, but, I have been safely up in my office for most of the day. The contractors have just left for the day, so I can go back in the house at any point and swap it for an "evening diaper", probably a Lil' Monster that will carry me through to bedtime. 

I wanted to ride out an Alpaca for most of its useful life because it's been a while, and my plan was to compare them to the Megamax, which is my newest addition in the "super-duty" diaper category, alongside the Rearz Elite's, Barnyards, & the BetterDry's that I have in inventory. Based on my preliminary results, I would say that the Alpaca is as capable as a Megamax, but, they feel bulkier starting out. I can't wear an Alpaca in medium without having the lower tapes barely hanging on, whereas a medium Megamax has a slightly more generous cut, so the leg tabs make it over to the landing zone. The Alpaca does have a nice print on it, although Megamax's can be had in dark blue or pink. 

One thing I experienced in this Alpaca which normally isn't an issue for me, was a bit of side flow; I was leaning back in my chair, staring at the ceiling and trying to clear my mind for a moment, while things were taking their course down below, as they usually do, and I guess "I" was pointed in a particular direction, and suddenly, I felt movement on my side, which is always a show-stopper for me - it usually means that I'm going to end up with a damp spot on my jeans. However, the Alpaca took it like a champ - nothing escaped. 

[Xmas1961]

I’ve been diapered 24/7 for about 35 years. When I was younger ( 11 to 16 )I wore the depends tape tab style. I do still buy and use them But not as much. I now wear home made all-in-one pull-up style diapers during the day for work that my wife makes for me. She is a master on the sewing machine. I also been using the new rearz inspire ( plain white ) and just today I ordered 2 cases of the new  tie dyed diapers from  Rearz. They work really well for me. 

[Little Sherri]

Those look well-made, @Xmas1961. Do you wear plastic pants overtop, or is the outer cover waterproof? I haven't seen the tie dyed ones yet, but in general, I like Rearz products, and the Inspire's are a good product. 

Well, I have further evidence, not that any was needed, that combining drinking with any task that requires attention, is a bad idea. Now, one could argue that wearing a diaper is a bit less complicated than, say, operating heavy machinery, or landing a helicopter, but, arguably, inebriation can interfere with any of the above. Case in point: I sat here in my office on Saturday night, participating in a beer tasting with some friends. I was wearing a Rearz Barnyard, which is a bulky, heavy-duty diaper, but I was alone other than the people on my screen, so appearances below the desk were not a concern. I had put it on around dinner time, and the beer call started at about 8 PM. A barnyard is a reliable, high-capacity product, and I figured that I would be more than covered for the duration of the call, and, there was a 50/50 chance that I might have been able to stay in it overnight. 

So, there I sat, laughing and drinking beer, until the wee hours (pun intended), when, finally, alarming sensations started penetrating the ethanol fog... the front of my belly felt a bit... cool. A cautious local exploration turned into a complete frontal survey, as I realized that I was, in fact, soaked. The front of my jeans were wet, the front of my onesie was very wet, and, my sweatshirt was damp. My outfit was completely shot, and there was no chance that I was going to be able to sneak into bed without disturbing my wife - the outfit needed to go into the wash post-haste, and I needed a shower and a new diaper. 

Now, admittedly, that Barnyard took some fire - it was getting pretty heavy in the front. But, that said, there was still probably 40 - 50% of the stuffing toward the back that remained largely dry. I have no idea what the precise failure mode was; by the time I noticed the issue, the damage was widespread, and I was in no condition to launch an inquest. I assume that the front must have either become a bit loose, and/or folded forward, and maybe the trajectory of flow was not ideal. Regardless, my point in relating this, is not to point out a product flaw: the reliability and capacity of Rearz Barnyards is well established. Rather, I wanted to point out that, even for someone with a couple of years of experience with navigating the world from inside plastic underwear, and, even wearing a top-tier product, unexpected things can still happen.

There were no consequences beyond a pile of laundry, and probably some disturbance to the spousal slumber situation, but, that entire episode had some lessons in it, because, when (& if) times returned to "normal", I might have been conducting that tasting session with those people in my house, or on my deck, or in one of their houses or on one of their decks. Would I have pushed that diaper quite as far during a "live" event? Possibly not. But, as I said, I didn't think I was pushing it that hard - I was only on hour five or so in what is, generally, a 10 - 12 hour + diaper. Such an incident at someone else's house would represent a critical failure. I'd have had to feign spilling beer all over myself or something, and if my wife were there, she might have quietly strangled me in the powder bathroom. If I didn't have a complete backup outfit on hand - diaper, onesie, pants, sweater - it would become a night-ending situation. "Sorry, folks, I need to head home... I, uh, somehow poured an entire pint of beer down the front of my shirt." 

While that leak was very inconvenient, it was constrained entirely to the front of my outfit - my chair remained dry. BUT, at someone else's house, on someone else's furniture, a diaper leak that involved contact points between me and their stuff would be catastrophic. Peeing on other people's things is very poor etiquette. This has me questioning whether I should integrate plastic pants into my wardrobe with greater regularity; I own a half dozen or so pairs, but, other than over cloth diapers, I'm not in the habit of wearing them over disposables. They lend a tad more bulk to an already-somewhat-bulky silhouette. Certainly, the first line of defense is always going to be choosing the right diaper for the situation, and, second, making sure that I have integrated a generous "service factor" into my calculations. Whereas, around my own house, I might be willing to push a diaper to 75% of capacity or beyond, out in public, 50% should be my working ceiling, basically. I should commence any sojourn in a fresh one, and, if I'm going to be in one place for several hours, and in particular, several thirsty hours, then I simply have to bring a change with me, and, I have to use it. Finally, having only a pair of backup pants or shorts in the car isn't enough insurance - I need a backup outfit, basically, so that if necessary, I can concoct an excuse for heading to the bathroom in one outfit, and returning in another. The fact that most of my clothes are pretty generic helps with this - my returning in a different sweater might be noticed, but someone would have to be paying really close attention to realize that one pair of unremarkable jeans was swapped for another pair of unremarkable jeans. 

[oznl]

4 hours ago, Little Sherri said:

 I assume that the front must have either become a bit loose, and/or folded forward, and maybe the trajectory of flow was not ideal.

I've never tried a Rearz barnyard but I've had top/frontal failures on ABU Simple (which because of my usual diaper-diet, are worn at night in bed).  I can however recall the odd leak of that type during the day and yes, the culprit was heavy use whilst seated and having had the top edge fold back down on itself.

4 hours ago, Little Sherri said:

This has me questioning whether I should integrate plastic pants into my wardrobe with greater regularity; I own a half dozen or so pairs, but, other than over cloth diapers, I'm not in the habit of wearing them over disposables. They lend a tad more bulk to an already-somewhat-bulky silhouette. Certainly, the first line of defense is always going to be choosing the right diaper for the situation, and, second, making sure that I have integrated a generous "service factor" into my calculations.

I think I've already mentioned that I wear plastic pants most of the time over my nappy: Gary PUL activewear during the day (slightly breathable and more comfortable) and heavier, lined plastics in bed.  I would probably not bother with plastic pants between my evening shower and bedtime when my overnight nappy is unlikely to get very wet although if I am out socialising, I will always use plastic pants.  For an ABU Simple, I actually keep the top of the ABU simple at the front poking above the elastic on my plastic pants.  This elastic seems to stop the dreaded in-flight flip-over.

They won't stop a catastrophic leak (although they may delay it reaching your outerwear) but they will stop minor wicking leaks caused by exposed wet padding etc.  There are still plenty of times where plastic pants save my jeans.  Also, the compression pant does seem to reduce leaks (as well as noise/visibility).    I suspect that this is because it keeps my nappy pressed up against me slightly.  I don't think my Gary waterproofs add any bulk but it may be that this is cancelled by the compression pant which I wear pretty much all the time (since onesies are too hot).

For a night on the beer, I'd change into a dry nappy at the last possible instant.

[Little Sherri]

22 hours ago, oznl said:

Gary PUL activewear during the day (slightly breathable and more comfortable) and heavier, lined plastics in bed.

You did mention this before, and at the time, I even went so far as to look up their sizing guide, and then I think I got stymied by the lack of an immediately available measuring tape. I need to revisit this. 

Well, it has been remarkably cold here these last few nights, although not as crazy as it has been in some parts of the frozen North, where temperatures have drifted down into the -40's. We've had a low of -14 so far, although with the wind, it felt like -22, according to whatever algorithm they employ. As if -14 were not unpleasant enough. I mention this because I was out with the dog last night, and, wearing pajama pants over a Rearz Barnyard, when I noticed that my diaper seemed much louder than it had in the house. This may have been due to an absence of background noise, but I swear, it sounded like the crinkling was echoing off of the house as I walked past. I wonder if the plastic cover became more brittle or stiff in the very low ambient temperatures. When I got back inside, it seemed like the cacophony subsided, but, I will have to conduct an experiment to be sure. Maybe I'll put a diaper in the freezer, and one on a radiator, for 15 minutes (the approximate time I was outside), and then compare the sounds the two make. 

I will say this about the big, cast iron radiators that our new, very old house, has in every room: I have taken to putting a diaper, and my sleeping shirt and pajama pants, on top of the one in our bedroom for a few minutes before I get ready for bed, and, taping on a warm diaper and then pulling warm pants up over it is the very definition of decadence. My wife has given me an eye-roll or said "Preheating your Pampers?" a couple of times, but, I feel the tradeoffs are worth it. I may change my tune on that if I ever find myself scraping a melted BetterDry off of hot cast iron...

[Little Sherri]

Sigh. I had typed most of an entry here, when it disappeared into the ether. 

This wasn’t likely the fault of the site, or of the dreaded glitch-monster; I’m having some IT issues lately for some reason, and I think I’ve traced it back to the updating of a program – the new version isn’t playing well with something.

So, I’ve taken to typing these into a document that I can copy-and-paste from if I need to. Sigh, again.

Anyway, where was I? Right. So I’m in a Barnyard again, three times a charm, apparently. I had planned to wear something else, but, when the kids came home at Christmas and then didn’t go back to school in person for more than six weeks, I realized that I had taken to leaning pretty heavily on my medium-duty inventory. Thus, I am restoring balance to the universe, wearing some of my larger stock. There being nobody here but my wife for most of the day, I can get away with it. Tomorrow, I might even put on one of the size large Megamax’s. Also, I don’t need to resort to compression pants or even a onesie for most of the day, after today, because, in theory, the last of the work we’re having done to the house is done, at least for a while, so no more contractors wandering around. I’ll be free to stay in pajama pants if I so choose. I might risk an eye-roll from my spouse doing that.

In fact, I could, if I want to, wear just a diaper around the house tomorrow; that would be the first time in a long time for that, other than in the confines of my room. Although, as much as I like being in just a diaper and a t-shirt, I feel most “authentic” when I have something like athletic or pajama pants on over one – as a kid, I didn’t spend a lot of time in just a diaper. We didn’t have A/C, so I slept like that sometimes in the summer, but if I didn’t throw something one before leaving my room, my sister would take pot-shots at me, and, my mom would probably at some point tell me to go get dressed for the day, IE, take the diaper off, unless we were heading out for a particularly long drive. That was more common in the summer than in the winter, because we went up to the cottage almost every weekend, but in the off-season, other than around Christmas, wearing a diaper away from the house wasn’t a frequent event. Which, I guess, is why having jeans, or daytime clothing in general, on over a nappy, doesn’t feel as “natural” to me as pajama pants would, either. That said, my uniform of late has been predominantly jeans over a onesie and a diaper. Necessity being what it is.

I also wanted to transplant over a sidebar conversation I had, wherein I was asked if my parents ever told me, or “made me”, use my diaper as a kid. I think I touched on this before, but, generally speaking, the answer is no. If I said that I needed to go to the washroom, I pretty much always had the option of taking the diaper off, although sometimes that would result in some scotch tape repairs by my mom afterwards, the diaper technology being what it was at the time.

The only incident I can really recall where I was told to use my diaper, which I think I related before, was in church one time around Christmas, when my mom was impatient with my brother and I fidgeting and making noise during an evening mass, and I told her in the middle of the sermon that I needed to go pee, and she hissed something like “Well you’ll have to wait or you can go in your pants.” I therefore took her advice, and went in my diaper, but, it leaked catastrophically at the back, and we ended up in the washroom anyway. After which, I was frogmarched out to the car in pajamas, worried the whole time that someone among those lingering in the lobby would notice my puffy butt, or the rolled up outfit my mom was carrying. There may have been other instances, but that is the one that left the greatest impression.

Although for the most part, I didn’t often ask for reprieve to use the facilities, once I had a diaper on. Even then, I relished the secretive enjoyment of being somewhat damp.

[oznl]

1 hour ago, Little Sherri said:

Sigh. I had typed most of an entry here, when it disappeared into the ether. 

This wasn’t likely the fault of the site, or of the dreaded glitch-monster; I’m having some IT issues lately for some reason, and I think I’ve traced it back to the updating of a program – the new version isn’t playing well with something.

FWIW, I've noticed that a recent Firefox update that's been pushed out has made things a bit unstable for me over the last couple of weeks.  I've had quite a few tabs hang in that browser.  For an ad hoc reply, I will type directly into the browser editor but journal entries are created and appended to a running document in MS Word to be cut and paste across as required.

[Little Sherri]

19 hours ago, oznl said:

I've had quite a few tabs hang in that browser.  For an ad hoc reply, I will type directly into the browser editor but journal entries are created and appended to a running document in MS Word to be cut and paste across as required.

I have to do something like this as well. I still haven't sorted out what's going on, but I have "hard reset" my computer more times this week than in the last year. I tried operating with VPN software off - didn't fix it. That was my first suspect, because they pushed an update recently, but correlation isn't causation. Next I uninstalled and reinstalled Chrome. This didn't help either. It seems to be an issue with Microsoft - I thought it was Outlook, but leaving that unopened, and running an Excel file, I had the same issue. If I open nothing but a browser, the issue doesn't seem to occur, but that's not exactly convenient. Everyone else in my family has a Mac, but I resisted... now, I am starting to see the appeal. 

In the spirit of "living large", I went with a large Megamax today, in a dignified navy blue. This is a BIG diaper; very comfortable, but, visible from space. If I put a booster into one of these, and ordered some elephantine plastic pants, I could probably get away with wearing 7 diapers a week, however, I would also have to go up three pant sizes, and run the perpetual risk of some kind of waddle-related repetitive strain injury occurring.

[Little Sherri]

Well, I took my PC back to factory settings and essentially started again with it, and so far, so good. Fingers crossed. 

I had an interesting conversation with my mom this past weekend on the topic of diapers; I was wishing her a happy Valentine's day on the phone, and she was in a talkative mood, so we started talking about what we wanted to do once the pandemic situation lets up sufficiently, and I said I definitely wanted to travel again, and ideally, travel South, maybe to Florida. That got us talking about trips we had taken as a family when my brother, sister and I were kids, long drives to the East coast of Canada and to the Southern US. The conversation had me remembering watching the miles pass by, playing games of "spot the license plate" and things like that, often with Pampers on under my jeans or corduroys (as a side note, what ever happened to corduroy pants...?). 

Normally, that wouldn't be a topic that I'd launch into with my mom, but, I decided to wade in cautiously. I have a lot of questions about those early days of my life, revolving around the regnant topic here, because my mom's memories of them are way better than mine, but, I rarely delve into them with my parents, fearful of coming around to it with excess frequency, and in so doing, tipping my hand a bit.  Diapers just aren't a topic that comes up very often in normal conversation, once you no longer have babies around. But, I decided to open that door just a crack, so I asked a question: "Hey, Mom, when did you guys decide that I had to wear diapers in the car? Or was that just what you always did?"

She laughed, and then asked me a question: "Do you remember when you soaked the seat in your dad's new Mazda? That's when." And suddenly, snippets of an episode came back to me - I have very little real memory of it, but I do recall the tale having been retold before at some point, and I do remember that car, specifically, because I'm a car guy. My dad had bought a 2-door Mazda 626 with a manual transmission - very much an outlier of a car, compared with the nondescript domestic sedans and wagons that my parents usually rolled around in. 

So, I asked her to tell me what happened, and apparently, it went down like this: I was 5 years old, and my parents decided to take the then-new car up to the cottage on a Friday night, which typically would have been about a 4 hour drive. At some point during the trip, I fell asleep, and, eventually, I did what I usually did while sleeping, back then: I flooded my pants. So, we arrived at the cottage, and, behold, my seat was soaked - BUT, back then, the cottage was just a shell that we essentially camped in - there was no running water yet. So, my parents had to, first of all, clean me up, and toss my trousers into a bag, and, secondly, they had to figure out how to get pee out of cloth upholstery, at night, with no running water. This involved lake water and towels, but the results were unsatisfactory, and the car, after sitting in the July sun for a couple of days, smelled a bit like pee, and apparently my dad eventually went and had the interior shampooed. So, for the return trip on Sunday, I was put into one of my bedtime diapers, which my mom said I wasn't very happy about, although I am describing this solely through her eyes - I don't remember any of it myself. 

Thence forth, anytime we were going to be in the car more than an hour or two, or, if we were headed anywhere later in the evening, I generally had a diaper on. THAT I do remember, on some occasions quite vividly, because, first of all, my sister never missed a chance to poke me about it, and, secondly, because my worst "caught in a diaper moment" to date occurred as a result of my running over to a playground at a rest stop somewhere in the Southern US, and enthusiastically dangling upside down from some monkey bars, whereupon another kid there, who was maybe a year or two older, asked me, out loud, why I was wearing a diaper, which caused me to frantically tug my shirt up against the pull of gravity, then, I dropped to the ground, and sprinted for the safety of the car without looking back. However, later, we ate at a picnic table, and some of the kids from the playground were dining around us, and I felt like every family there must have been talking about me, as I ate my potato salad with one hand, while tugging my t-shirt obsessively downward at my lower back, with the other hand. 

I outgrew wearing diapers in the car essentially when I outgrew wearing diapers; there was a point at which they would only go on me with the addition of auxiliary Scotch tape, and right around then, I started waking up dry a lot more often, and that was that. Pity that I can't remember, and that I didn't think to appreciate, those thousands of miles and dozens of hours spent snuggly diapered in the back seat of the car. 

 

[Little Sherri]

Well, we had a snow day yesterday. I spent pretty much the entire day in a Rearz InControl Essential, their "day weight" version of the Elite. This was probably my first really active day in one of those - I spent a bunch of time clearing the driveway of 1 - 3 foot drifts, and brushing off and moving the cars. I stayed in just snow pants and a diaper for most of the day - it was very comfortable. The diaper held up well to the exertion. 

I was surprised that the snow day extended to the kids as well; I knew that they'd be home as soon as I read that we were due for 25 CM (~ 10 inches) or so of the white stuff, but, given that they just came off of doing school from home for a month, I was amazed that a weather event had them once again mindlessly swimming the currents of YouTube and TikTok. Although as recently as last Friday, they were doing their schooling from home, fulltime, while their teachers taught from home, apparently this week, doing the same thing would have been a logistical nightmare. We are getting more snow tomorrow. I wonder if that means another day off. 

Today I'm in a medium Elite, because one of my kids is home, due to the vagaries of her schedule. Depending on the timing of the next weather "event", they may or may not both be home tomorrow - if they're both out, then I'll probably try to burn through another of my really large diapers, since there is the ever-present possibility of both of them learning from home again, if the pandemic numbers go awry. Also, there isn't much point in saving them for summer (what a glorious word) - big diapers only work under shorts if the kids are out. 

I put this Elite on because I've been casually conducting comparisons between my usual top-tier daytime diaper options, and the NorthShores that I've had for a few weeks now. An Elite size large, as with a Megamax in that size, is too much diaper for most circumstances, at least on my body type, but in medium, they are discrete enough for regular wear.  Here are my results so far:

Rearz Essentials: Pluses - size large is suitable for daytime wear, higher rise at the front than a medium, 8/10 capacity, great tabs. Minuses - the price when they're not on sale, plain white diaper. 

Rearz Elite: Pluses - great capacity, great tabs, 10/10 capacity. Minuses - price, plain white diaper, only the medium is suitable for day wear, and the front has a lower rise, raising fears of front leakage. Lower tabs barely make the landing zone.

Rearz Lil' Monsters & Splash: Pluses - size large is suitable for daytime wear, higher at the front, 7/10 capacity, good tabs, very cute print, fantastic value when on sale ($2 a diaper). Minuses - less capacity than some of the champs in this class, I have had the occasional tab detach itself from the side panel. 

NorthShore Megamax: Pluses - medium size is an industry sweet spot for me, suitable for daytime wear, and, rising high in the front, with a wide enough front panel to be compared with large sizes of most other brands. 9/10 on capacity, strong tapes. Minuses - never goes on sale, $3 a diaper, sometimes the tapes are so strong that they tear the reinforced landing panel. Plain white diaper, although they can be had in pink or blue. 

I think the results of this point to one outcome: The Megamax has earned a place in my rotation. They are basically interchangeable with a Rearz Essential, and the determining factor should be price and availability. They've pushed the Elite off of the podium, because in large, an Elite is, like a Megamax, almost too much diaper, but, in medium, they offer a better fit and are priced a bit lower. They won't replace the Lil' Monsters and their ilk, because, first, I like having the option of a printed diaper, and, second, it's hard to beat a Monster or Splash on value when they go on sale by the case, which happens a couple of times a year. But, if I ever found myself with nothing in stock except a couple of cases of Megamax's and a couple of cases of Monster's or Splash's, I'd be doing just fine. I could also see my wife appreciating my not having 6 or 8 open, 1/3-empty cases on the go, as is the situation right now. 

[Little Sherri]

I read an article that I thought might be interest to some of you, published by the health & wellness store that is my #2 source for diapers, after Rearz. They published their list of the top 5 most absorbent diapers:

1 - NorthShore Megamax. I concur with this. Great diaper. 

2 - Rearz Inspire + InControl. Also a great product. I haven't actually tested the original Inspire back-to-back against a Megamax or their own Elite or Essential products from their InControl line, because back when I first tried them, probably three years or so ago, I didn't wear 24/7 and I would only wear plastic diapers in private, because I thought that they were loud and obvious under clothing. I have since learned a lot about how, and what, to wear, and I'd like to try these again. 

3 - BetterDry. Great diaper. 

4 - Abena Abri-Form White Foil. I recently tried these for the first time. Not a bad diaper, but not interchangeable with any of the above. 

5 - ConfiDry 24/7. Again, very comfortable, probably best described as a 4/5th capacity BetterDry. 

I wonder how this list compares with their best selling models? I would bet that most of these are at the top end of their price range, although, I have found that I'm better off spending 10 hours in a $3 diaper than 10 hours in 2 X $2 diapers. Once you drift below $2 a unit, the capacity of the products, and the quality of the tabs, drop considerably, with the exception of Prevail, which has a great tab system for an economical diaper. 

In other news, I have apparently gotten a promotion. We had an incident involving my wife's car getting stuck, with a resultant wait for a tow truck, and my younger daughter, who was with her, had a bit of an accident, because she left without going to the washroom first. It wasn't a catastrophe, because she managed to stop and then jump out of the car, and finish in some bushes, but making sure she's gone to the washroom before heading out of the house has been an ongoing conversation with her, almost since she was born, so I once again said, listen, don't be lazy, save yourself some trouble, and anytime you're headed out, make a quick pitstop - the washroom is right next to the door. My wife listened and nodded approvingly, but then whispered "Okay, captain Pampers" to me under her breath. 

[Little Sherri]

In my ongoing comparison of the top-tier diapers in my collection and experience, I had neglected the Bambino Magnifico. I am neglecting it no longer. I believe - correct me if I'm wrong - that this is the pinnacle of the Bambino line, or at least it was, when I bought them, which was a couple of years ago. As with my Megamax test drive, at the time, I bought them in both medium and large, because I am on the borderline between those sizes for most brands. With the Magnifico, though, the large was really, really large, and because of the elastic wings (somewhat akin to a Pampers Cruiser), I could almost bring the tabs together in the front. The medium, however, worked well for me, because the elasticized wings allowed me to snug them up nicely, whereas if the sides did not stretch, I would be slightly too large to fit into a medium. 

As with my experiments in wearing medium Rearz Lil' Monsters & Splash diapers, the one area of the Megamax that worries me is the front - they sit a bit low. The upside to this is that I can wear these very plush and bulky diapers under jeans and a onesie without much concern about detection. But, if one is "pointed" the wrong way or not paying attention, a dipping front can result in damp jeans. Although right now I am indulging in playing a little pool in my loft in just a diaper and a shirt. I have never played pool dressed thusly before. But then again I've never had a pool table before. 

True to my memories of them, these remain a very comfortable diaper, with good tabs. However, they are quite pricy when not on sale - I bought these ones when Rearz was blowing them out, so what I paid was pretty reasonable, but good luck finding them for less than $5.00 CAD or so per unit at regular prices. They have a cute print on them - pink, green, and blue dinosaurs, but not cute enough at that price. 

The do a very good job of keeping up with active wearers. One of the last times that I was able to travel prior to the shutdown, I wore one on a plane from Florida to Detroit, and then I drove home from Detroit, which is about a 4 hour drive, so, all told, I was in it for about 8 hours under circumstances which allowed little margin for error - TSA, 2.5 hour plane ride, crossing a border, driving in winter conditions. It held up very well. If I could get these for $3 CAD or so, they might have a place in my routine, but, at $5, there are a lot of excellent, less expensive diapers to choose from. 

[Moochie]

Up this morning in a wet and messy NorthShore small Tye Dyed diaper. I'll write more under "stinky, Squishy, and Proud."

[Little Sherri]

I have some diaper-related experiences this weekend to relate, with respect to my wife. First of all, as I already spoke about briefly, she called me "Captain Pampers", which I thought was hilarious. It also represents a promotion... Captain. It has a nice ring to it. For some reason, she seems to have settled on referring to my absurd underwear as "Pampers", which bothers me not one bit, because I have always been a fan of Pampers. It is funny though, because at first, she wouldn't refer to my diapers at all, ever, and then, eventually, out of necessity, she started saying "them", or waving a hand either at my equatorial zone, or, at the bottom drawer in my dresser, where I keep "them". Now, they're my "Pampers". 

Second, we were joking around in the kitchen yesterday, and I mock-attacked her with some barbecue tongs, and when I turned around, she grabbed my butt, which is something she basically hasn't done once in the last 23 months,  approximately the time I've been 24/7. I was wearing fairly light athletic pants over a Rearz Lil' Splash Squirt, so she definitely got a handful of plastic diaper. It gave me an instant thrill, because it was the first time, probably since I was a kid, that anyone other than myself physically interacted with a diaper I had on. 

I wonder if this means that she's navigated most of the way through the five stages of grief, and is now wading into 'acceptance'? 

However, all is not sweetness and light here in Diaperland. I also found a can of Lysol sitting on the floor in my closet, next to the lidded, stainless steel trash bin that I use as a diaper pail. Which is odd, because, first of all, the pail is, as I said, in my closet, and she rarely has cause to go inside there, other than to toss laundry into the hamper, which also resides in there. But that's an open-door-toss-close-door transaction, typically. Second, I thought the diaper pail was doing a pretty good job. Certainly, inside, it smells like Hell's foyer, but, when closed, I couldn't detect any bouquet de nappy. Also, in my experience with the kids' diaper pail, Lysol did nothing. It's like trying to fight an inferno with a kitchen fire extinguisher. Billions of years from now, when the earth is no more, and perhaps man has founded colonies in distant solar systems, and Elon Musk is the figurehead of an interplanetary religion founded on bitcoin, that Diaper Genie from the kids' bathroom will drift through space, and, if it ever again lands in a place where there is an atmosphere, it will still stink. 

[oznl]

15 hours ago, Little Sherri said:

 Lysol did nothing.

You need some enzymatic cleaner.  I use "Enzyme Wizard",s "Urine" label (mmm... nice...)  You can buy it embarassment-free.  Most people use it for dog indiscretions.  It SERIOUSLY works.

It just works.  Nothing else short of immolation seems to.

15 hours ago, Little Sherri said:

I wonder if this means that she's navigated most of the way through the five stages of grief, and is now wading into 'acceptance'? 

Congratulations.  I'm stuck at "ignore".  I thought I might be making some progress but then I left a balled-up BetterDry in our en-suite (accidentally).  I came back to the bedroom to discover it on my pillow.  Nice..

[Little Sherri]

9 hours ago, oznl said:

I thought I might be making some progress but then I left a balled-up BetterDry in our en-suite (accidentally).  I came back to the bedroom to discover it on my pillow.  Nice..

This reminds me of the not-too-distant past, wherein my wife would unpredictably and intermittently decide to bag up the bathroom garbage, and leave the bag sitting in the hall by the side door, often with printed diaper characters appearing through the opaque plastic bag. This, despite the fact that trash removal is pretty much universally my job, and, I never left a 4-lb nappy sitting in the bathroom garbage can for more than half a day, and never without other debris on top of it. It was always strictly a stop-over until I made the rounds with the ever-bulging kitchen garbage bag, and then spirited everything out to the garage. My closet diaper pail came into effect in an effort to keep all debris from my strange wardrobe preferences out of her view. They are now out of sight, but apparently not out of mind. 

In other news, I've all but abandoned the idea of ordering any more diapers in medium, other than the Megamax, for which "medium" is 4/5th's of what every other brand considers "large".  I have a couple of cases of Rearz products in medium, plus some Bambino Magnifico's, and they all suffer from the same problem: the front is cut too low and it's too easy to have spill-over or wicking incidents at the front waistband. Yup - it happened again. 

This perhaps-inevitable realization can be traced back to a pattern that I have repeated throughout my evolution from a diaper apprentice to a journeyman. Everything happens for me in steps that follow the same cautious methodology.

Step one was deciding I wanted to be in diapers all the time; ever cautious, that resulted in me buying cases of cloth-backed, slim diapers, because that was all I felt comfortable wearing during the day.  Step two was deciding to begin upsizing my wardrobe by one size, to provide for a bit more product latitude, or for the addition of plastic pants, etc, as circumstance demanded. Step three was realizing that I much prefer plastic-backed diapers, and that ABDL products provided way better mileage and security than "slim" products, but, exercising caution again, I bought the smallest sizes I could fit into. Thence did I come to the realization that, hey, apparently I could wear fairly thick, plastic diapers all the time. Step four consisted of gradually testing the waters wearing something lager, and, behold, up to a certain inflection point, absolutely nothing changed except my confidence and range. Step five was testing wearing my very largest products - heroically large diapers like large-sized Megamax's and Barnyard's - under daytime clothing, and that's where I hit a wall - apparently there is a point where your midsection goes too far out of scale with the rest of you, and it starts to get a bit incongruous, a bit "dead raccoon out front". Step six - perhaps the final step - is retreating to the point on the graph where I can be maximally protected with minimal flamboyance.

Although I haven't gone down this road at all with cloth diapers; so far, they only have one setting for me, which is, the bedroom. When the kids are both out of the house, I could wear one during the day, but other than maybe on a late-night dog walk, never out of the house or under circumstances where I might encounter someone. 

I'm a bit more than a month away from my two year anniversary, and still learning. 

[Little Sherri]

Another month, another month-end... I am chained to my desk today, doing reporting that needs to be completed before the end of the month. I probably look curiously dressed, to the uninitiated... a collared shirt under a sweater, and, a white Northshore Megamax. Oh, and socks. I have khakis on emergency standby on a nearby chair, in case someone comes up the driveway or my wife comes over. More on that anon. I have sat in my office all day with just a diaper on below, with my wife coming in and out, but it feels a bit gratuitous. She knows I have a diaper on. I don't need to continually announce it. And while there have been only a few, very minor incidences of her displaying some kind of disdain for the practice, I'm not sure I want to leave myself open to unnecessary relational chaffing. But, I do like being in just a diaper. I need to work on channeling my inner @diaperedboilerman; he's fearless. 

There is another reason, aside from enjoying the feeling of air on plastic, that my trousers are over there, not over here: I decided to conduct another experiment, and go backwards in time a bit. I put on the aforementioned Megamax, but, on a whim, I decided to pull out an older pair of pants, sized from the "before times" - before being in diapers, and, before a year of pandemic-enforced sedentary living. The Northshore is doing what Northshore's do, which is to swell heroically in the immediate vicinity of the source of the dampness, and while my pants looked tight to begin with, now, were they on me, they would most definitely have that wearing-a-diaper telltale bulge at the front. Plus I have VDL - visible diaper lines - at the back. Some of this is related to the fact that, at the outset of this strange 23-month 24/7 journey, I only wore incredibly slim, cloth-backed diapers during the day, so, the pants were not chosen with a full-size plastic diaper in mind. Once I determined that I wanted to be able to wear ABDL diapers all the time, I up-sized my wardrobe one notch. 

However, I would be fooling myself if I didn't also acknowledge that I have probably gained some weight. I haven't weighed myself in almost a year, because for quite a while, I was floating within + or - 5 lbs of the same number, but, I was also going to the gym 2 - 3 days a week, and running at home as well. The gyms are closed and I haven't set up my treadmill since we moved... in November. I have to do some electrical work in order to accommodate the load, and I haven't found the time to do it yet. Excuses, excuses. 

But to wear a Megamax under these pants, I'd have to drop 20% of my weight, probably, and even then, it might be futile. I may be looking at donating my "before clothes" and fully embracing my current reality. I up-sized several pairs of jeans and casual shorts, but, I only really moved to wearing full-sized plastic diapers exclusively, right before the pandemic, so, I haven't needed to upsize my work pants, because only the top half of me is ever visible at the office these days. If things return to "normal", I'll have to give my work wardrobe more consideration, because, while I think I have figured out the sizing, the thinner materials most dress pants are comprised of might pose other challenges... I'm thinking again of how obvious my diaper was, looking at the back of myself in a full-length mirror, in the pants that are now slung 10 feet from me.