Saturday, June 2, 2012

Day 3

Tools of the trade: Abena Abri-Form S2s
Day 3:
1:30 AM on June 2nd - 1:30 AM on June 3rd

The Day in Diapers:
Number of changes: 5
Status at change time: wet, wet/messy, wet, wet/messy, wet
Estimated cost for the day: $5.06
Kinds of diapers used: 4 Tranquility ATNs and one Abena Abri-Form S2

Journal:
I'm settling into a routine.

I had to change once before bedtime into a dry Tranquility ATN (which stands for All Through the Night for those not in the know). True to its name, I wore it all through the night. Like I mentioned yesterday, I think I prefer them to the Abenas but I am right on the upper limit of the small size and I'm thinking mediums would be a better fit.

As usual, I had to mess in the morning and the Tranquility ATN handled that situation adequately. Cleanup was less arduous than past days but I, of course, felt like I needed a shower afterwards anyway.

I spent the rest of the day in Tranquility ATNs and, as I suspected, their better odor control makes it much more pleasant to sit in them until they're used to capacity. This means less diapers per day and therefore less cost over time. These are the kinds of things that people who are doing this full-time must have to grapple with. Before I started this experiment, a diaper was a diaper. All I cared about was that it was white, fluffy, crinkly and that I could pee in it. But now I'm starting to become a diaper connoisseur, reading about things like wicking, absorbency in mL, odor control, tape style, etc. The differences can be substantial and different diapers seem better suited for different purposes. If I did this full-time it seems like I'd need to have a bunch of different brands in my collection.

The only complication today was that I had to mess again in the afternoon. The first two days I only had to mess once in the morning before I showered. Today, I had to mess and I didn't want to shower again so I cleaned up really well and got back into a dry Tranquility ATN. It makes you really resent your body's digestive system, huh? It would be nice if I could count on just the one morning cleanup. It might even be worth all the time it saves in pee trips to the bathroom! But then you've gotta go number two in the middle of the day and it can really bring you down.

Observations:
*Today was a weird and ambivalent day. There were moments where this almost felt completely normal. "This is just my underwear now," I would think. "I pee in it but it's just my new underwear." And then there were moments where I was sure this would be the last day. Who knows? I'll have to change again before I go to bed tonight and the temptation is getting pretty great to just take it off, clean up and fall asleep in boxer shorts again. But still, I'll probably look at that nice stack of fluffy white diapers and think, "Why not?" If you're following this blog (and a few of you are) I guess you'll find out tomorrow night.

*I feel weird when I wake up after sleeping through the night in a diaper. I'm worried about temperature control. I might need to find a thinner, cooler diaper for overnight but I'd have to change out of it in the morning for sure. Then again, if I get too used to this, I might need a thicker diaper for overnight in case I have an accident after this experiment concludes.

*I know a few hundred people found my blog on the first day. I'm hoping at least a few of you check back. I know it takes blogs months to find an audience but if you're reading this now, this is an ongoing process, and I would really love to have your feedback, comments, suggestions and encouragement. You can comment anonymously! For those of you who fantasize about going 24/7, I'm hoping that this blog can be an honest exploration of what it can be like to put those fantasies to the test. For those of you who are 24/7 by choice, I'm hoping that this blog can inspire nostalgia for your first steps and I invite your suggestions. For those of you who are incontinent, I'm hoping that, by doing this blog, I'll come to a greater understanding of your situation.

1 comment:

  1. This is a note of encouragement!

    I haven't gone 24/7 before, but I will when current restrictions lift. I was aware of several snags before and now I know several more! Thanks for keeping such a thorough (albeit, quite unpicturesque) log of your diaper journey.

    I'm excited for you to continue and good luck!

    ReplyDelete