24/7 startups, and unexpected pitfalls?

[oznl]

5 hours ago, Little Sherri said:

I just woke up with the "I've been pulled from a dream" sensation of an immersive experience having dissipated like a puff of smoke in front of a fan. 

I think I've previously described attempting to remember dreams as comparable to trying to grab handfuls of smoke: the harder you try, the more quickly the apparition you are trying to catch dissipates before your eyes.

Some dreams make it into recollection and when they do, they seem to remain memorable.

My whole comment there really belonged in my own chronology: it was just that your previous comments weirdly reflected what I'd been intending to update on myself this week anyway (dreams) and so it kind of happened.

Here, have your thread back 🤣

[Little Sherri]

On 1/11/2024 at 5:26 PM, oznl said:

Here, have your thread back 🤣

You're welcome anytime, sir. Your wielding of the Queen's English classes up the joint. 

I just got back from spending the night, interestingly, at work colleague's house, which is something I have not done in a long time. I have some good friends who used to be work colleagues, and we've slept at each other's houses (usually because of Lady Ethanol's wicked ways), but for the most part, the relationships progressed to that point sometime after we stopped showing up at the same office Monday to Friday. "Derrick was cool, and I need a 4th for golf next weekend... Hey, Derrick, if you're around, a couple of buddies and I are going..." And voila, I'm chugging wine with Derrick on a Saturday 15 years later. 

I did have a rather vulgar pour of a very good bourbon with my work friend, after we'd waded deep into some spreadsheets. The decision for me to stay over had been made hours before, because of some inclement weather that was pending. I was wearing a slim daytime diaper under dressy casual pants, and I'd brought a suitably capacious overnight diaper to sleep in... but I hadn't brought plastic pants, and for once, I really wanted some. I know that my history is one of not producing a lot of liquid while I sleep, and often waking to have a wee, at least enough to roll onto my back, anyway, but, I have had some glorious, unremembered sleeping-wees in my day. Not many precipitated leaks, but it has happened. And, I really didn't want it to happen on my colleague's guest bed. But, I hadn't packed any plastic pants - I usually don't - so, instead, I slept fitfully. I folded up that dry diaper and stuffed it in my overnight bag, unsullied. Why waste it with a lazy pee when my alarm went off, knowing that I couldn't very well wear a giant diaper downstairs for coffee with his family? So I took a grumpy wee in the potty, before taping another slim diaper. 

There are still lessons to learn, it would seem. 

[oznl]

13 hours ago, Little Sherri said:

You're welcome anytime, sir. Your wielding of the Queen's English classes up the joint.

Have you kept an eye on the news lately?  😂

[Little Sherri]

5 hours ago, oznl said:

Have you kept an eye on the news lately?  😂

I was referring to Victoria...

[Little Sherri]

My unconventional underwear preferences came into the spotlight again last night; we've had snow, followed by rain that quickly froze all over everything, and for a brief period, the power was out as a result. Where we're located, when the power goes out, it's typically only for a short time. It also seems to be happening with less frequency - my theory is that the freak once-in-a-century windstorms and ice storms we've had several of over the last few years have culled most of the larger, fragile trees that have the height and the frailty required to take down power lines. But sometimes power lines take themselves down, too. 

We have an old generator that could keep the lights on and the heat running in a pinch, but the ladies that I live with think that we should use it to power that most precious of devices: the router & modem, thus to have internet up and running. I don't trust the spiky, dirty power that basic generators can provide, to operate devices that bristle with microchips - you're asking the Gods to fry something. LED TV's, refrigerators that are capable of liking your Instagram posts, router hubs, those kinds of things. I could buy an inverter that would safely power such devices, but I could also buy a robotic massage chair or an electric bathrobe - there's all sorts of things we could buy, but, how much do we need them? For the two hours per year we'd want for it, I'd have to keep refreshing the gas in it, changing the oil periodically, and also, I have a theory that it's good to unplug once in a while. 

However, our water supply requires power, because we are on a well. When the power goes out, you are not without options - there's a pressure tank that has some capacity, and each of the toilets has a flush left in them, two if you use the "pee only" button. But eventually, you would arrive at needing to flush the toilets with buckets drawn from the pool. Possibly after breaking through the crust of ice on it. First of all, we've never actually gotten there, and, second, if that became necessary, who do you think would be schlepping the buckets of water into the house? Moi. But those realities did not prevent my beloved from reaching for the weapon closest at hand...

Her: "You should show me how to start that generator, so that I can do it if you're not here." (Unsaid: "Or if you're not willing to..)

Me: "It's a process - it needs fresh gas, probably needs fresh oil, you can only run it outdoors, you need a series of extension cords... it's not worth doing. The power will be back on in ten minutes, I'll wager."

Her: "Yeah, well, that's easy for you to say, you don't have to worry about the toilets not working, you can just go in your Pampers. The rest of us will have to go out on the lawn at some point!"

There were a number of holes in the logic of her statement... water can be brought indoors to flush the toilets... toilets can be left unflushed for a while... and, I also have enough diapers in the basement to last all of us two months if we each used three per day. But all of that went unsaid, because just as I was feeling slightly grateful that both the redness in my cheeks, and the print on my diaper, were obscured by the absence of overhead lighting, the power came back on, of course.

"See, we wouldn't even have found the extension cords yet."

"Still, I want you to show me sometime." 

[Little Sherri]

I think I've diffused one of the annoying characteristics of the Rearz Inspire Select single-tab vintage Pampers look-alikes. I bought a bunch of them a while back because they were on sale for essentially $1.70 a diaper, which, up here in the now-frozen North, isn't a bad deal. I've had hit or miss results with them, however. At one point a few years ago, I swore off them, convinced they weren't a serious diaper, but then I bought a case at a ridiculous sale price a couple of years later, and thought that I'd made my peace with them - I was able to wear them without increasing my laundry workload too much, as a filler product, something to get me from 5 PM to 10 PM, that kind of thing. 

That last episode was on my mind when I bought what might be the last couple of cases I'll ever have, as Rearz seems to be indicating that they are being phased out. Although they were allegedly phased out before, and then came back. But maybe their removal from my ecosystem is natural selection at work, because after I opened my latest box of them, I soaked the bottom of a shirt one day, and the waist of my pants the next. 

The two-tab design (one per side) results in a propensity for the front waistband to yawn open, and if you counter that by applying the tabs higher and more towards the middle, first of all, they end up off the landing zone, and, on top of that, the leg fit suffers a bit. However, I had a flashback to my mom folding the front of my diaper's waistband into itself, so that instead of a strip of padding tilting outward, seeking new frontiers to wick to, there was a strip of the plastic cover facing inwards, towards my tummy. Which makes sense - all diapers were two-tab back then, and the fronts did tend to roll forward over the tapes, which were not as wide as the hook/loop tabs on the Pampers and Huggies of today. 

Thus diapered, I've been cruising for about 6 hours now in one of my Selects, and so far, my jeans and my shirt remain unsullied. I'm going to go run a quick errand in town, and then it will be time to put on a big overnight diaper and half-watch some TV show with my wife while reading distressing new articles with my other eye. 

[Little Sherri]

I just watched my dog barf, then hastily eat his barf. That's the kind of day it's been so far. 

I'm in an Incontrol BeDry Day - that last descriptor is my addition, because they sell a BeDry, and a BeDry Night, but I figure it's easier to type BeDry Day than BeDry (not the night one). Are you listening, Rearz? If you are, please also make a printed version of the Active Air. Ideally, one with stretchy wings like the Bambino Magnifico. And a single, wide tab on each side. Voila, adult Pampers. 

It is -18 outside right now. There's enough of a chill in my office that even with a space heater running, I still have pants on. I suppose I could push through and shiver in just my diaper, but I feel like that would be gratuitous. If I'm not enjoying it, what's the point? I still get to hang out in my room in the latter part of the evening in just a diaper (and a sweatshirt, these days), but now I'll tend to have the comforter over my legs. 

Taking the dog out has become a chore, because after a few minutes outside, he wants to head back indoors. I went out with him three times last night, after he whined at the door, and then... nothing. Finally, I said "Screw it", and ignored him until he actually started barking at us. Then, he went out and expeditiously did his business. 

We're sort of graduating from "potty training" (well, house training) him now - he's been used to going out every couple of hours when we're home, but at the same time, he's pretty much his adult size now, and there have been occasions when he had to go 8 hours because we were out somewhere, and he never violated the sanctity of our flooring. So, I think it's time to transition him to a trip outside every 4-5 hours, so that he actually needs to go when we get out there, and it's not just a "Lovely night to sniff some bushes..." fruitless stroll around the property. 

Those are different from the "tire the dog out" walks that I take him on - 4-5 km hikes along the country roads in our neighbourhood. When we go on those, I try to get him to poop by our house first, so that I don't end up having to carry a cooling sack of dog doo with me for 45 minutes. However, almost inevitably, he saves one small load for somewhere along the way. His preference (in the summer, at least) is to drop it on the shoulder of the road in front of a house where kids are playing, or old ladies are having drinks on the porch. Similarly, I know that if I bring 4 bags with me, he will drop one load, but if I bring 1 bag with me, he will drop at least two, the second, of course, in front of an audience. "Er, can I borrow a plastic bag? A piece of paper towel? Anything?" 

At least now, with the temperature at or below zero most nights, and he sun setting by 5:30 or so, I can wear whatever diaper I fancy on those walks. Darkness and heavy winter wear conspire to anonymize even the bulkiest of underwear. Happily, the days are getting longer again - for a brief period, it was getting dark by 4:50, which can be quite depressing. I've taken to wearing long underwear when the temperature gets down to the "could be fatal" negative double-digits, which is an interesting sensation, over a diaper - I guess this is what it feels like to wear tights, or leggings - they keep the diaper a little more pressed up against you. It's not entirely unpleasant, but, four out of five dentists agree that snug clothing, and my body type, are not compatible. 

[ppdude]

Long underwear feels weird with a diaper. It is a wonky fit. I've found that snow pants work so much better. Everything is in the right place and they work really well at keeping the legs warm. Much better than the long underwear.

 

[superabsorbantpolymer]

How are you finding the bedry? I find they are a new go to for me. Great performance for the price point.

[Little Sherri]

I agree, @superabsorbantpolymer. They're a decent diaper for the price point, comfortable and with notable capacity. Have you tried the Night version? I'm in one right now, and they hold even more - I've been in this thing since I took a shower this morning, so let's say 12 hours, and much of the rear of it is still dry, although the front is swollen fantastically. But, no leaks, still comfortable. Discretion may require that I change out of it before hanging out with my wife in the last couple of ours of the evening. Maybe. Although compared with the Daydreamer, this diaper looks positively dignified, and she's seen me in those before, with their transparent covers. We'll see what kind of mood I'm in. I bet the diaper could take it. 

The price point is a bit higher, but they still undercut the MegaMax by a couple of bucks a unit, and by the seat of my pants, I'd say that they're directly comparable. The MegaMax is an excellent product, but these feel about as good, at a 30% discount. 

Because it's so blazing cold out, I had no qualms about taking the dog for a walk, while wearing this big diaper, because I was pretty sure I wasn't going to run into anyone other than maybe a coyote, and even if I did, I had so much clothing on that it looked like my whole body was padded. Still, with the wind blast and the -21 degree chill, I could actually feel my diaper cooling as I went, which is unusual - normally, my diaper tends to stay at about the exact temperature the rest of me is at, so I either don't note its temperature at all, or, it feels a little warm in there. By the time I got back, it felt like I'd poured a glass of cool water down the front of it. 

On 1/16/2024 at 6:00 PM, ppdude said:

I've found that snow pants work so much better. Everything is in the right place and they work really well at keeping the legs warm.

I concur with this - one of my guilty indulgences is wearing snow pants with just my diaper on underneath, when I'm working outside, clearing the driveway and the cars off. But tonight it didn't seem worth digging them up - I knew the dog was going to throw in the towel after 20 or 30 minutes, anyway, so I went with quasi-long-underwear under jeans. I say quasi because what I have on are actually low-end plus-size women's leggings, made out of stretchy cotton rather than the military grade fabric that brand-name yoga pants are constructed from. They are a remnant of a dance costume that I had to wear in a comedic production at the kids' dance school - this was years ago, and before I was 24/7, or I don't know how I'd have done it - you can't hide a diaper (or anything else) under these things. My younger daughter used to wear leggings over a pull-up the odd time, and my wife would always warn her not to leave the house like that. 

[Little Sherri]

One thing I'm noticing in these frigid times is that I have largely gone over to only wearing "BPD" (big plastic diapers). Winter attire definitely helps with that, as as the small amount of weight I have lost, which makes my once-oversized clothing somewhat oversized again. I was restocking my diaper drawer, and I realized that I've marooned a stack of Tena slim, breathable diapers and a stack of Tranquility ATN slim, short-shift plastic diapers, in the back of it, and that when I walk up from the basement with my laundry basket full of diapers roughly once a week (I use a laundry basket), lately, they've all been plastic ABDL, or at least DL/Professional-Grade-Medical diapers. 

I don't mind it, actually. My burn rate is lower and leaks are infrequent and minor. I also just like wearing "real" diapers and not really thinking about them much, and not having to ask, when I feel a twinge from below, "Is this gym diaper going to be okay?" 

Someone should start a gym for incontinent people. Wouldn't that be great? Oh, to be able to pull some gym shorts on over a MegaMax and go do an arm workout and not worry about if my diaper was sticking out above the waistband, or about "VDL's" (visible diaper lines...). Although I guess you'd have to wipe down the equipment a little more thoroughly in such a place...

I guess there is such a gym - I recall visiting a relative at a rehab center in a stroke recovery unit, and they had a great gym, and a lot of the people in there were in diapers. But memberships are expensive... 

[Little Sherri]

I had an interesting evening... another first, I guess. I was working on a somewhat complicated project for most of the day, and a good friend of mine texted me and said he was going to be headed up my way, and that maybe he'd stop in for a beer. I'm never against such things, but I told him that I was, unusually for a Friday, probably going to be working away until 6 PM or so, and that he should come by after that. 

I was sitting in my office, wearing what I'd thrown on at lunch time when I changed my diaper - I'd switched to a Rearz Select that is usually good for 5-6 hours, thinking it was a Friday, and I'd probably change again before going out somewhere. So, I was in hour 6, and the diaper was good and damp, and I'd forgotten my earlier lesson about folding the waistband in on them (single tab diapers), and so, annoyingly, the bottom of my sweatshirt was a bit damp. I still had the same trackpants on that I'd been in since the morning - remember, this was a "work from home" day where I was neck-deep in spreadsheets and drawings. Nobody was supposed to witness the full scope what I looked like in my office. 

I was in a Zoom meeting with a stakeholder and some people I work with, when I heard steps coming up my office stairs. I didn't react at all - I was sure it was my wife, probably coming to ask if I was "in" for dinner or if I would be emerging from my office lair at a later time. I paid no attention to how much big white plastic diaper was sticking out of my rumpled elastic-waisted pants. 

Then, my good friend appeared in my office. I was on camera, in a meeting, and had to give him a casual "Hey, buddy" nod, and continue discussing the conundrum about the location of the tanks versus where the trucks were supposed to offload. He made his way over behind my bar, got a glass, then went over to my beer taps, and poured himself a pint of IPA. I really badly wanted to stand up and reorganize myself, my low-riding athletic pants and my high-riding hoodie and untucked t-shirt, but I needed to stay "chest-up" in my online on-camera meeting. And panicked tucking only draws attention. 

In the meeting, we talked about a bunch of boring parameters, and eventually the came to a conclusion, but not before my buddy walked the perimeter of my office, looking at artwork and framed photos and such, while sipping his beer. Once the meeting drew to a close, I suggested my buddy check out an interesting bottle I had in my beer fridge, and then once he was looking in there, I stood up and tucked in my t-shirt and pulled up my pants and overlapped my sweatshirt, but I was acutely aware that I probably had a banner of white plastic at my lower back for some of the time he was wandering my office while I was trying to concentrate on forces and moments. 

I still had to crunch crunch crunch across the room wearing light fabric over a big, fairly wet plastic diaper, with the added consideration that I hoped I didn't smell slightly, because of the dampness along the bottom of my sweatshirt.  

Now, this friend who had let himself into my office is the same person who, I'm nearly 100% sure, has seen evidence that I wear diapers on a couple of occasions - he and I have wrestled with garage doors that tried to amputate our fingers, and we've crawled on the floor together to fix emergent plumbing disasters. So, it's not like my highs school girlfriend walked into the room while I was wearing that slovenly outfit. But, still. The whole situation was very mentally taxing, and as soon as I could, I excused myself, went over to my bedroom, and changed my entire outfit - new diaper, jeans, dry sweater. Then, we went out and got a beer. Now, here I am, at almost 2 am, still thinking about it. I live a bit outside of the city proper. This NEVER happens. If it weren't -20 C outside, I could quite possibly have been sitting in my office chair in just a diaper and some sweatshirt or golf shirt or T, when my buddy came up the stairs. 

It's not all sunshine, roses and baby powder, over here on the 24/7 side. Caveat emptor. 

[Little Sherri]

Some quick notes about the weekend...

My friend who crashed my office while I was still essentially wearing pajamas (and a big wet diaper) on Friday ended up coming over for dinner Sunday after a project we worked on. So, if he saw or heard evidence of my diaper, he continues not to care.

I had a diaper dream last night - I'm not sure if it's related to the above, or not. Here's what remains in my memory: I was sitting in a cafeteria in a large building - picture a university or an expansive museum, something like that. I was sitting next to another friend of mine, a longtime buddy I grew up with. We were eating at a table - there seemed to be more people with us, but they remain unidentified. But he was talking to them, while I suddenly noticed that a tall, older bald guy with a thin build walked into the dining area carrying a tray, and sat down on the other side of the large room from us. 

What was notable about him was that he was dressed in a grey sweater... and a white diaper with blue tabs. My eye went to him immediately, but I tried not to let the people I was with know that I was watching the astonishing scene, because I, too, was wearing a diaper - but, I had pants on over it. 

The guy sat down and ate and then stood back up and started looking for a garbage can and a place to dump the tray, and he headed straight for where we were sitting, because, I realized, there was a bank of trash cans not to far from us. He walked right by us, and at that point my friend noticed him, stopped talking, and turned his head. The guy dumped his tray and then came walking back towards us, so I turned my eyes to the people I was with and tried to ignore the spectacle. 

However, the guy stopped at our table and addressed me - I don't know what he said, but there was a familiarity to it, like the guy knew me, and then my friend that I was sitting with said, "I'll let you guys get caught up," and then he stood up and went to go dump his tray, and the other people we were with did the same. 

I realized that in that moment that everyone I was sitting with clearly knew I had a diaper on, too, and thus, they assumed that I must have some connection with the strangely composed and polite man who, never-the-less, was walking around a public cafeteria with nothing on but a diaper below the waist. I turned to talk to the guy, and that was it - I woke up. 

Lastly, I had an interesting moment last night: I'd put a diaper, a Rearz Barnyard, in the bathroom, intent on changing for bed in a few minutes. I was wearing a pretty wet Tranquility ATN - a light-to-medium duty diaper that punches above its weight, but that occupies the niche of a filler product for me - they're a cheap, relatively slim plastic diaper that I use to bridge gaps where a better product would have been wasted. I got pulled away taking the dog out (I put pants on for that...), and when I came back, I went into the bathroom, dropped and wrapped up the ATN, and used the potty for #2. Then, I went to get my new diaper from the towel rack I'd put it on... and it wasn't there. 

I had dropped my trousers before walking into the bathroom, so all I had with me was the wet ATN. I didn't even have a decent towel to wrap around myself, because they'd been thrown in the laundry and not yet replaced. SO... did I waltz back into the bedroom, naked from the waist down, to try and find my missing diaper... or did I put the cooling carcass of that old ATN back on for a moment? Which made me feel more uncomfortable, was basically the question. 

I opted to put the wet diaper back on. I unfolded it and slid it up one leg, taped the open side closed, walked out the door, blushed slightly, and said, "Er, did you happen to see a diaper I left in here a few minutes ago...?"

To which my wife replied that she'd noticed it, but had needed to use the bathroom herself, and thought that I might need it while she was in there, so she'd put it on top of her dresser, which is right outside the bathroom door. Sure enough, there it was - I'd walked right past it. I thanked her, picked it up, went back into the washroom, cleaned up again, and put my new diaper on. 

Of course, because the Universe has a sense of humour, she then turned on a show where, at one point, the mom character tells the daughter, who's in her late teens, that she has her "bill" ready - the bill for what it had cost to raise her. She reads through it quickly, then says that the last item is diapers, and that "She sure used a lot of diapers...", which caused my wife to turn her head towards me and raise an eyebrow, as I sat there in a big printed diaper, watching the show with half an eye and scrolling through the news on my phone. 

[Little Sherri]

A quick homage to the Rearz Maga Barnyard. I was in one yesterday for pretty much the entire day - I'd planned to take it off in the evening but I ended up running around cleaning, and my wife was out, so I thought, well, I'm on home turf, and I'm taking a shower after this anyway, so, I might as well use this premium diaper up. 

I finished my chores, my wife came home, then she invited me to watch a show, and, my daughter was in our bathroom, where I would normally have changed. So, I gave it some serious thought... the diaper was heavy, and wet up the back quite a bit, but had shown no signs of caving, no sensations of pooling or streaming, no "danger zone" feelings of wetness evaporating at the gathers in great amounts... hmmm. I had to waddle down to the kitchen anyway, so I took the opportunity to sit down on a leather barstool we have at the island. No telltale wetness on the leather. Okay.

I sat down in bed with my wife and watched the show, getting up to change only afterwards. My diaper did not betray me - it left no damp spots on my side of the comforter, it didn't gradually emit ghosts of stale pee smells, and it remained wonderfully comfortable, if notably bulky - I ended up pulling on an oversized sweatshirt just so I could kind of pull it down over me a bit to obscure how inflated my diaper was becoming up front. The tan coloration of the print also helped to camouflage any discolouration that was occurring. I don't know if she notices such things or not but the thought of it makes me self-conscious. 

They're not the cheapest diapers that Rearz makes by a longshot, but they behaved like a premium product should. 

[Little Sherri]

I have another product shout-out, again directed at Rearz - although I swear I don't work for them. I also think the MegaMax is a fantastic product, and I love the way the ABU Little Kings look. There, I've proven it!

Back to my main point - I spent a good part of yesterday in an Incontrol BeDry "Day" (which I'm adding, to differentiate it from the Night version, which is actually in that product's name.) These are white plastic diapers with two tapes per side. We had snow and I ended up donning snow pants and spending an hour clearing my driveway, and then I went to a pub with a couple of buddies. I got back from the pub relatively early, and was going about my business puttering around the house, and generally not thinking about my diaper. 

It wasn't until I went up to our bedroom to change and get ready for bed that I realized how wet I was - the diaper had swollen up fairly heroically out back, over my time at the pub and cleaning up around the house. I did the math on it, and it turned out that I'd been in it, somewhat thoughtlessly, for about 10 hours, but it had held up, didn't leak, and remained comfortable. Not a bad performance for a "daytime weight" diaper that is at the lower end of what decent diapers cost. I think it outperforms my usual daytime go-to product, the "Lil'" series of Rearz diapers - Lil' Monsters/Splash/Bellas, for about the same price. If you're looking for an economical, effective middle-weight diaper, this one punches above its weight. 

Speaking of not thinking about one's diaper, got me thinking about not thinking about diapers. What I'm circling around to is that the above anecdote brought me to wondering how much mental "bandwidth" I allocate to my strange plastic underpants, these days, and my conclusion was, moment to moment, often, it's not a lot anymore. 

And yes, I know that runs completely contrary to also being a person who has written something about wearing plastic underpants at least once a week for nearly 5 years. 

What I'm getting at, though, is that, both when I was a kid, and also, when I first started out on this strange journey, I have a diaper on I have a diaper on I have a diaper on used to run through my head like the news ticker on CNN, always at the bottom of the screen, and sometimes, seeming to take up half the screen, or more. It could get distracting, it could be nerve-wracking, and sometimes, downright panic-inducing. Okay, time to talk to the doctor, gather your thoughts... I have a diaper on I have a diaper on I have a diaper on.... STOP IT. "Doc, my knee has been bothering me since I fell while skiing..." 

Or, "Say goodnight to cousin Breanna..." 

I have a diaper on I have a diaper on I have a diaper on....

"Uh, g'night, Breanna...." I have a diaper on I have a diaper on I have a diaper on....she's gonna see it through my PJ's, she's gonna know she's gonna know she's gonna know.... 

Whereas, now, sometimes, I actually do forget about it. And I can conduct day-to-day operations and the associated mental gymnastics, with only a small percentage of my processing power occupied by my underpants. Still more than I dedicate to my socks, for example, but, it's usually no longer a significant power draw. I would imagine that it's the same for a lot of you out there who are diaper professionals now. I may throw this into a survey at some point. 

[Stroller]

15 hours ago, Little Sherri said:

Whereas, now, sometimes, I actually do forget about it.

Well yes - I don't think about it a lot of the time.  Even though I'm generally in a thick cloth nappy.  My routines are all ones that have adapted to wearing full-time, so they're just that - routine.  Even wetting usually just goes on in the background, and often doesn't make me start thinking about it.  I suppose that's where I always wanted to get to - as much awareness of it as a baby.  No idea why that's what I wanted, but it was ingrained in me, and always will be.  And I'm pretty much there these days.  Of course I'm always being reminded I'm in nappies, but that just gives me a happy feeling - no adrenalin rush, no worries, no connection with feeling I ought to be behaving differently, or being careful in any way.

[Little Sherri]

6 hours ago, Stroller said:

but that just gives me a happy feeling - no adrenalin rush, no worries, no connection with feeling I ought to be behaving differently, or being careful in any way.

Well worded, @Stroller.

I'm in a Mega Inspire + today; I put it on last night before bed but had a dry night, so its shift effectively started this morning when I went down to have coffee. It's interesting contrasting this to the BeDry Night diapers I've been testing. Subjectively, they seem to have similar capabilities - Rearz/Incontrol technically quotes a slightly higher ISO rating for the BeDry Night, but I don't put much stock in those numbers. However, the Inspire and the BeDry take opposite approaches to achieving their top-tier performances within the Super Diaper category.

The BeDry is actually a fairly compact diaper, although it swells notably as it does its job - all that liquid has to go somewhere, and it would violate the laws of physics for a product to take on two or three kilograms of fluidic mass, and not change dimensions in any way, unless it contained that much air that was being displaced. Which is kind of how the Inspire goes about its business - it's a bulky diaper, feeling puffy out back and up front. The Inspire is for people unconcerned with visible diaper bulges, although some of that volume can be squeezed out of it by putting clothes on. But it returns with a vengeance as the stuffing and SAP start doing their work. 

I like them both, for different reasons. The Inspire is almost gratuitously thick - you know you're in a big diaper, albeit a gloriously comfortable and reliable one. The BeDry night goes about its business in a more European fashion - sleeker, smaller, but able to carry the weight - it's like comparing European trucks to North American ones: the packaging is more efficient. I like the BeDry when I want to be able to run some errands earlier in its shift, when it wears like a good daytime ABDL diaper, and then later, I can relax around the house, when it's magically transformed itself into a diaper that can be seen from space. They're both great products. 

Segueing from that, to another packaging miracle, I bring you, the Pampers Swaddlers size 8. I stumbled upon them in a supermarket, and did a doubletake - we don't get a lot of size 8 diapers up here in Canada. I've never seen them on a shelf before, despite reading of their mythical existence in these pages. SO, stupidly, impulsively, I bought them, of course. There was no logical reason for doing this - when it comes to Pampers, I'm like a comic book collector, or someone who just has to try every version of Coca Cola - sure, Orange Chocolate Coke Zero sounds like a terrible idea, but, you have to know, right?  

So it goes with anything Pampers, because I was raised in them. Even though I have absolutely zero real use for a diaper rated to 46+ lbs. My youngest weighs more than twice that, and I'm beyond 4X that weight. They'd theoretically fit a 7 - 9-year-old, so I understand their rarity on the market here - they dramatically overlap the EasyUps and Pull-Ups and Goodnights that offer a "do-it-yourself" option to anyone over 2, basically. My thought, when my kids were young, used to be, "Oh, but real diapers are superior, and they cost less, so they're better than pull-ups." Well, these diapers are likely still better, in terms of performance, than an equivalent pull-up, but in terms of cost, not so much: these things set me back nearly a buck a diaper. They cost 50% more than a size 5 or 6 - the 7's and 8's are markedly more expensive, I guess because they realize that they are cannibalizing their own s/m and 4-5T pull-up sales by offering a tabbed diaper option for school-aged children, and, presumably, seriously obese toddlers. 

The packaging features a kid who looks about 5, but says "For Active Babies" - so hopefully that kid can't read yet. 

What vexed me, though - and I'm not mad at Pampers, only mad at myself, they're just doing their jobs - is that I fell hook, line and sinker for marketing puffery, a crime I'd also accused Rearz of, when they "Mega'ed" some of their brands, before I actually tried them, and realized that they had definitely added some SAP. 

I opened these new Pampers, enjoyed the scent-induced trip down memory lane, and then got scientific about comparing them to the size 7 Baby Dry diapers I already have in inventory, rated to 41 lbs+. So, these 46 lbs+ size 8's would be at least a bit larger, right?

No. 

The same size. Exactly. 

But, the weight would tell the tale, right? 

Er, no. I weighed a few of the 7's and 8's to account for manufacturing tolerances. The 8's weight less on average. The difference was less than a gram, but, still. 

Now, maybe they're putting more SAP and less stuffing in there, or something like that, but when you hold the two products in your hand, they feel identical. I only know a couple of humans that these could fit on, and who can also express themselves articulately, but I don't know that either of them would be interested in participating in my market research on comparing and contrasting baby diapers. So, I'm stuck with $1 stuffers, it would seem, although I rarely use stuffers - most of the products I wear give me as much range as I can reasonably use, before I have to change them for social or skin integrity reasons, anyway. Maybe I'll hang on to a few of these, and donate the rest somewhere. 

[FretaBWet]

Maybe we need a Tardis diaper, it fits snugly on your body but holds an unlimited amount of pee without changing in dimensions. 😉

Hugs,

Freta

[Little Sherri]

@oznl, I'm going to tag you in this, because we've tossed this conversational football around before.

I've received an email from Rearz' Incontrol subsidiary - their mostly sober, white, but ABDL-quality, medical diaper brand, announcing the launch of another BeDry variant. 

First, there was the BeDry Premium Incontinence Brief, a $2.56 CAD per unit (at the regular price) product claiming 7500 ml of capacity, white, plastic-backed, with two tapes per side. I tried these and immediately liked them, finding them to be a comfortable daytime-weight product that punches above its, well, weight. I've found them to be surprisingly capacious and reliable, and can get 10 hours out of one, typically. I've pushed a couple to the edge of failure and found that they hold more and are more resistant to leaking, than my other Rearz daytime go-to's, the Lil' series of printed products (Monsters/Squirts/Bellas). 

Next, they launched the BeDry Night, which claims a whopping 12,000 ml of capacity. I'll throw that claim onto the marketing dumpster where it belongs - that's 26.5 lbs of liquid. But, I have found them to be among, if not the most absorbent diapers from Rearz that I've ever tried, and maybe from anyone, for that matter. They're tied with the Mega Inspire +, and either tied with, or maybe even surpass, the vaunted MegaMax from NorthShore, and at a more attractive price point, at least here in the frozen North. These are a white plastic diaper with hook/loop tabs that run 4.02 CAD per unit at regular prices. Even at that price point, they're not a bad deal - I have spent 20 hours in one of these before. 

Now, they've launched the BeDry EliteCare. I have yet to try them, because this is hot off the presses. These are a white, plastic diaper, with hook/loop tabs, that claim a 10,000 ml capacity, and run at $2.83 CAD per unit at their regular price (I think - if this is an introductory special, it doesn't say so). Their blurb for these calls them is that they're a premium, day/night product, "trim enough for comfort, absorbent enough for protection." If they compare as closely to the Night version as the math suggests (10,000 vs 12,000 ml), then they have 20% less capacity, but run 42% cheaper, perhaps already obsoleting their flagship brethren. I'm fairly convinced that when I cash in a BeDry night, I have left capacity on the table. 

I have to assume this means that Barry, their Elite Hybrid Incontinence Briefs, are toast, and indeed, only the youth size shows up on their website now, and, on sale to boot. They claimed 2700 - 5500 ml of capacity depending on the size, and generally landed around the $3.50 CAD mark, although Rearz/Incontrol runs a few good sales a year, and most of my inventory has been purchased at a discount. It's also worth noting that they seemed to have excellent capacity, judging by the seat of my pants, well beyond that of their ISO numbers - I think these numbers might date back to Rearz original, perhaps more accurate, testing protocol, before they (allegedly) aligned themselves with what everyone else was doing, and started showing hyperbolic numbers. 

They are continuing to slice the category pie very thinly over at Rearz/Incontrol. Now I will have to risk the ire of my spouse and buy a package of the EliteCare's, although honestly, if I didn't enjoy the look of a  printed diaper once in a while, I think I could live out my days using just the BeDry and BeDry Nights, plus maybe a slim gym diaper. May my wife never read this, because it runs entirely contrary to the 15+ different makes and models I have open right now.   

[oznl]

7 hours ago, Little Sherri said:

@oznl, I'm going to tag you in this, because we've tossed this conversational football around before.  

Rearz’ portfolio strategy (assuming there IS one) remains an enigma to me.  On the face of it, fragmenting your own market with a multitude of overlapping sku doesn’t seem to make economic sense.

They however, are a successful adult diaper retailer and I am not so this must be taken into account when considering my views on the matter 🤣

It’s also possible that the adult diaper market is fragmented and they’re trying to open different parts with tailor made products.

I would be VERY happy to see some or all of these products make it downunder but I suspect it might be quite some time, if ever, before we do and WHEN we do, an accurate reflection of Rearz pricing strategy is far from assured.

Down here, we have ONE (and ONE only) Rearz distributor.  Apart from being a massive single point of failure in my life’s underwear strategy, it doesn’t put much competitive pressure on things.  To be fair, he doesn’t price gouge as far as I can see but nor will he be falling over himself to obsolete/undercut his own inventory.

As somebody who is no longer earning big money but is diapered full time with a fair degree of dependency and isn’t too fussed about whether or not there are cartoon badgers printed on my nappies, those BeDry would be of intense interest to me. 

I’m nearly out of Abena L4 (one case left) and frankly, I’m sick of wearing them around my ankles anyway.  To help with my decision making, Abena decided to crank their pricing up 20% or so because, well because they CAN.  We are price TAKERS not price MAKERS here in Australia it seems.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia_Tax

[Little Sherri]

2 hours ago, oznl said:

We are price TAKERS not price MAKERS here in Australia it seems.

We feel that way here in Canada sometimes as well. We are closer to the center of the universe over here, but that proximity also allows us to see their ads and physically go there with some regularity. It's not so bad in certain categories, whereas in other ones, it feels usurious. For example, we have protected the cell phone and dairy industries, so our prices on those things are quite high. Americans get unlimited internet phones for half what it costs here, because they have twice as many (or more) options for providers. Up here, we have three, and they share a lot of infrastructure. They've cutely created about 7 more sub-brands but all of them charge about the same, they just emphasis different "features". SO, you have the pay-as-you-go I have no credit variant, and you have the I'm a kid and never talk on a phone - why is this thing even called a phone? All I do is text variant. And the I live in a city and never go to rural areas company, etc etc. But all get you one way or another. Or you subscribe to one of the big boy national brands and pay $150 a month and you just get to call anyone, anytime, anywhere, and the internet always works on your phone. 

Cars, on the other hand, often get a bit of a Canada discount - the companies know we pay more taxes and our cost of living is higher up here, so a $40 K car in the US might be $46 K here, when it should be $52 K based on a strict currency conversion. But they also do things to offset that like not offering basic models up here - you have to get it all-wheel drive and loaded, they don't import every version to the land of 10% population and more geography, so they bring the ones that pack in lots of margin. Used cars get interesting in that often a used car in Canada is worth about the same amount as it is in the US, but in USD down there, so people make a living taking trucks and SUV's in particular out of the Canadian market and shipping them down to the US, paying some money to convert the speedometers to miles (on some you just make a selection on a menu), and then they get to reap the delta minus transportation costs. 

[Little Sherri]

I "tested" the size 8 Pampers by using one as a booster in a Tranquility ATN, which is one of my stop-gap product for filling in between big diapers like the one I am in now, an Incontrol BeDry Night, which I put on at about 2 AM so we are rounding hour 13.5. As an aside, I was just out grocery shopping, and this mid-shift BeDry Night is not to big to wear out of the house. Yet. But it will be. Alas, I think I'm in for the night now, except for walking the dog, which can be done under the cover of darkness. 

But back to the Pampers; I don't have a great wealth of material with which to compare them, because I don't use boosters that often, and when I do, it's mostly to burn through baby diapers I've bought but can't really use, as adjuncts to low-end products in low-risk situations. In this case, I ended up in the ATN because I needed a shower before heading over for a gathering at a buddy's place, and I didn't want to wear a big diaper, of the type I could have stayed in and gone to bed, out with my friends and a couple of our wives. Neither did I want to put a medium diaper into service that I would have to bin before it saw a full tour of duty. Wives were coming so the thinking was, we weren't going to be out that late, so, the ATN, with a perforated Pampers size 8 tucked into it, would probably suffice. 

I drank more than I thought I would and we stayed out longer than we thought we would, and when I got home, that ATN/Pampers combo had taken some serious damage, but was still holding up. I can't say that the size 8 performed any better than a size 7 would have, but, I would say that its presence extended the capabilities of my main diaper by about a third. And it smelled nice. 

[superabsorbantpolymer]

On 1/26/2024 at 11:24 AM, Little Sherri said:

@oznl, I'm going to tag you in this, because we've tossed this conversational football around before.

I've received an email from Rearz' Incontrol subsidiary - their mostly sober, white, but ABDL-quality, medical diaper brand, announcing the launch of another BeDry variant. 

First, there was the BeDry Premium Incontinence Brief, a $2.56 CAD per unit (at the regular price) product claiming 7500 ml of capacity, white, plastic-backed, with two tapes per side. I tried these and immediately liked them, finding them to be a comfortable daytime-weight product that punches above its, well, weight. I've found them to be surprisingly capacious and reliable, and can get 10 hours out of one, typically. I've pushed a couple to the edge of failure and found that they hold more and are more resistant to leaking, than my other Rearz daytime go-to's, the Lil' series of printed products (Monsters/Squirts/Bellas). 

Next, they launched the BeDry Night, which claims a whopping 12,000 ml of capacity. I'll throw that claim onto the marketing dumpster where it belongs - that's 26.5 lbs of liquid. But, I have found them to be among, if not the most absorbent diapers from Rearz that I've ever tried, and maybe from anyone, for that matter. They're tied with the Mega Inspire +, and either tied with, or maybe even surpass, the vaunted MegaMax from NorthShore, and at a more attractive price point, at least here in the frozen North. These are a white plastic diaper with hook/loop tabs that run 4.02 CAD per unit at regular prices. Even at that price point, they're not a bad deal - I have spent 20 hours in one of these before. 

Now, they've launched the BeDry EliteCare. I have yet to try them, because this is hot off the presses. These are a white, plastic diaper, with hook/loop tabs, that claim a 10,000 ml capacity, and run at $2.83 CAD per unit at their regular price (I think - if this is an introductory special, it doesn't say so). Their blurb for these calls them is that they're a premium, day/night product, "trim enough for comfort, absorbent enough for protection." If they compare as closely to the Night version as the math suggests (10,000 vs 12,000 ml), then they have 20% less capacity, but run 42% cheaper, perhaps already obsoleting their flagship brethren. I'm fairly convinced that when I cash in a BeDry night, I have left capacity on the table. 

I have to assume this means that Barry, their Elite Hybrid Incontinence Briefs, are toast, and indeed, only the youth size shows up on their website now, and, on sale to boot. They claimed 2700 - 5500 ml of capacity depending on the size, and generally landed around the $3.50 CAD mark, although Rearz/Incontrol runs a few good sales a year, and most of my inventory has been purchased at a discount. It's also worth noting that they seemed to have excellent capacity, judging by the seat of my pants, well beyond that of their ISO numbers - I think these numbers might date back to Rearz original, perhaps more accurate, testing protocol, before they (allegedly) aligned themselves with what everyone else was doing, and started showing hyperbolic numbers. 

They are continuing to slice the category pie very thinly over at Rearz/Incontrol. Now I will have to risk the ire of my spouse and buy a package of the EliteCare's, although honestly, if I didn't enjoy the look of a  printed diaper once in a while, I think I could live out my days using just the BeDry and BeDry Nights, plus maybe a slim gym diaper. May my wife never read this, because it runs entirely contrary to the 15+ different makes and models I have open right now.   

I have been reluctantly burning through my first ever case of megamax, turns out the medium is too big on me and often leaks when there's still capacity. I've got a few BeDry left that I've been saving for daytime. When I got the email announcing the new line I ordered two cases of the BeDry Elite Care, 15% off introductory price ($2 USD per diaper). I'll let you know how they are but I think you are right, it seems like they are the BeDry level of SAP (my namesake), with more premium hook and look tapes. The regular BeDry is my current favorite so I'm sure I'll enjoy the Elite. I'm not sure I'd pay the price difference when it goes up post sale.

[Little Sherri]

9 hours ago, superabsorbantpolymer said:

I'll let you know how they are

Please do, and thank you. I was going to spring for a case of them (despite the inevitable admonishment I will receive from my wife over expanding yet again the diaper 'hoard'...), but the size that seems most likely to work for me, being L, is not yet in stock. I could buy them in XL and I'm sure they'd work, but that would probably make them "overnight & at home" diapers, and I have lots of those. What I hope they will be are a  "premium day & night", a category I have just invented in my head, basically. To use the sizing of North American pickup trucks as an analogy, kind of a  3/4 ton truck, where a 1/2 ton would be my usual daytime favourites, such as the standard BeDry, and the Rearz Lil' Monsters/Squirts/Splash. The 1 tons are the MegaMax and Mega Inspire+ and Mermaid Tales and Critter Cabooses. 

Medium MegaMax's are kind of a 3/4 ton size for me - they are the only medium diaper on the market that fits me, they hold a lot, and they're slim enough to wear under clothing for most of their shift. 

Under this system of classification, my Tranquility ATN's would be equivalent to, say, a Ford Maverick or a Hyundai Santa Cruz - one of the car-based runabout pickups. A Depends would therefore be a Kia hatchback with two flat tires. 

Confusingly, the "ton" rating on American pickup trucks has little to no relationship to their towing or payload capacity anymore. 1/2 ton trucks can tow 12,000 lbs, properly configured, and you can put 3/4's of a ton in the bed, again, depending on configuration. Although if you plan to tow 12,000 lbs, don't buy a 1/2 ton, is my advice. What you can legally do, and what you would be wise to do, are not always the same thing. Meanwhile, a 1 ton truck (numerically referred to as a 350 or 3500, generally), can tow up to 26,000 lbs and beyond. I think the top model might crack 30,000 lbs, which means a payload capacity of at least 1.5 tons (10% of trailer weight on the rear axle). 

If you really want to clutch your chest, go price one of these beasts out - you can spend well North of $100 K on a heavy duty pickup truck. A diesel dually 1 ton 4x4 slathered in leather and screens can be the most expensive vehicle on the lot, including the luxury brands, at a Chevy/Cadillac dealership. You have to get into the higher end of the Corvette options to surpass them. 

I think I'm driving a 1/2 ton Corvette this morning... I'm in an ABU early 2000's Pampers Cruisers look-alike, the AlphaGatorz. They're not actually a bad product, considering that they were designed with function being in service to form. I bought them and their Little Kings twin on a whim, but, while they're quite comfortable and quiet and even reasonably slim and reliable for a mid-length daytime shift, they're expensive, so I ration them out to myself. I threw one in my diaper drawer over the Christmas holidays but didn't end up wearing it, and as I am about to need to mount another restocking mission to the basement, my hand fell on it last night. I have an appointment today and I didn't consume ethanol yesterday, so I didn't need a super diaper for the overnight shift, and this kind of made sense. As much as anything I do ever makes sense, in this department. Sensibleness is in the eye of the beholder. 

[superabsorbantpolymer]

8 hours ago, Little Sherri said:

Please do, and thank you. I was going to spring for a case of them (despite the inevitable admonishment I will receive from my wife over expanding yet again the diaper 'hoard'...), but the size that seems most likely to work for me, being L, is not yet in stock. I could buy them in XL and I'm sure they'd work, but that would probably make them "overnight & at home" diapers, and I have lots of those. What I hope they will be are a  "premium day & night", a category I have just invented in my head, basically.

That's what they're marketing it as, so I think you're right (although I guess even the normal BeDry is pretty "premium"  compared to most medical diapers). I find the tape guides printed on the landing zone of the BeDry to be very helpful to get the perfect fit and the tapes are already very forgiving to multiple refastenings so I'm not sure how much utility I'll get out of the velcro tapes. 

To further your analogy, are velcro tapes the overpriced add on of premium diaper/pickups? Like fancy wheels or heated seats (maybe that's a bad example for a Canadian with a soggy bottom ☃️💺).

8 hours ago, Little Sherri said:

 

I think I'm driving a 1/2 ton Corvette this morning... I'm in an ABU early 2000's Pampers Cruisers look-alike, the AlphaGatorz. They're not actually a bad product, considering that they were designed with function being in service to form. I bought them and their Little Kings twin on a whim, but, while they're quite comfortable and quiet and even reasonably slim and reliable for a mid-length daytime shift, they're expensive, so I ration them out to myself. 

Normally I don't like abdl diapers, but the alphagatorz (and little kings) have a special place in my heart. As you said, they match the aesthetic of the 2000s pampers, which I grew up coveting and stealing from extended family members houses etc when I could get the chance. Pure nostalgia for me, I guess that design style is imprinted in my brain as the archetypical diaper.

 

Edited January 29 by superabsorbantpolymer