Sarah Stone-Francisco

Thank you so much for sharing your:
- stories (which helped to put my situation in perspective and normalize my experience),
- strategies (which helped to give me lots of ideas to try and see what worked best),
- and, wisdom (which helped me grow as a mother, so I can apply this learning to more things than just diapers and clothes).

We've had a much happier few weeks since reading all of the responses!

We go clothing and diaper free when it's possible and appropriate, and when it's not we have been:
- changing on the go. As much as possible, no more interrupting what she's doing, or asking her to lie down. And since she likes yoga, I ask her to do downward dog and she happily does allowing me to clean her.
- I bring clothes with us and dress her either on the front porch, if it's too cold to make it to the car, or when we get there, or not at all if we're going someplace it's not inappropriate for her to just be in a diaper. And, I've started letting go of my discomfort with the disapproving looks, tut tuts, and comments from strangers. My daughter's happiness is what matters, not their opinion.
- I've minimized the outings we go on. Turns out she really does like to be home, and is in a phase where she doesn't need to go somewhere everyday. (I say phase only because she used to seem to need to get out of the house everyday to be happy.)

I'm reading Playful Parenting, too, which is also helping a lot. Thanks to those who suggested it on this and previous threads. It's a very helpful book I can imagine reading several times throughout my daughter's life.

I also keep trying to remember that she will continue to change and what works today may not work tomorrow. This helps me a bit in letting go of my attachment to things going smoothly.

I'm doing my best to try and get a little better at this everyday. Thanks again for your help!

love, sarah

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