A few months ago, I decided to estimate the number of diapers I’d changed in the last four years.  I still remember the average number of diapers Sam would go through daily when she was a newborn, and then when she was a crawling infant, all the way up to when we started potty training, until finally the diapers were completely off.  And then I added in the number of diapers Jamie had gone through from birth to the present, minus a few pieces that were changed and done by other people (The doula, my husband, Sam’s teachers, and other helping hands).  To date I’d say I’d have changed a total of about 10,000 – at least!  That’s no exaggeration.

First I realized that even with the other helpful people, they were few and far between and really a lot of the diaper changing had fallen on me.  So much so that I sometimes surprise myself when I know the poop’s content, consistency and possible frequency even before it happens.  I’m sorry if that is too much potty information – but it’s true!  For instance, with Sam, I knew when she was getting over her cold and cough because I would “see” the mucus come out of her poop.  It’s a blackish green gooey color that is laced around the regular stool.  With Jamie, her poop gets runny if she’s on antibiotics, and will differ in smell and color.  It will also cause her to have a diaper rash because of the texture of the poop and the number of times she’ll need to go.

I apologize once again for all the potty talk – but really, isn’t that the normal day-to-day routine of any child, infant and toddler?  Isn’t that an integral part of a mother’s day as well?!

And so in light of all this pooping and diaper changing, I felt it apt that the girls star in their own video via the Johnson’s Baby’s Complete Diaper Care System First Video.  It is a Facebook application that allows you (us mothers) to customize the Johsnon’s Baby Complete Care System Ad into one that includes our children’s faces.  And why not right?  Every mother needs to know how to change a diaper, so why not look at a peg that showcases your own little bundle of (pooping and peeing) joy?

The Facebook application is easy to use and the steps are self-explanatory.  Just be sure to have a few close-up photos and full-body photos of your baby at hand.  Oh yes — you also need one of the two of you in there as well.  First it will ask for your name as well as that of your child and his or her gender.  Then it will guide you to place 4 or 5 pictures one at a time (and you can zoom in and crop as you please).  Once that’s all done, the video will self-render and then it will be ready to play before your eyes.  It actually looks like your child has starred in his or her own Johnson’s Baby commercial (and don’t we all love Johnson’s Baby ads!).  Try it for yourself and see.  I’ve tried it several times for both girls, and it’s actually quite fun seeing your child’s face in a video.  Jamie sat on my lap asking to see herself again and again.  I don’t know if she understood that it was a pseudo-commercial, but she liked it just the same.

The video is also educational as it talks about the 3-step Complete Diaper Care System that Johnson’s Baby is promoting.  And it is very apt as well – since a lot of moms’ waking hours will be spent changing a diaper (trust me, I’ve changed 10,000 of them already!).

You can also save your video and create more of them so that they are included in the Johnson’s Baby First Video’s Gallery.  This way you can share it with friends, and probably even your baby when she or he is a bit older (It makes me wonder what else Facebook will be by that time!).  There are already a few videos up there, it could also be fun to see which of your mom friends and their children have posted some videos!

Yes indeed, the options available to us these days in documenting our children’s first few years.  Who’d have thought it would include your baby’s face in self-made video that’s directly related to one of their many day-to-day functions?

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Side note:  I remember being advised not to use powder on infants and children in the US as the AAP believes that it could cause breathing problems  if the small particles were to be inhaled.  However as you watch the video over and over again, you realize that there is a safe way to use the talc.  Mind you – powder can be one of your greatest allies against diaper rashes!  It is very effective in keeping moist areas such as the bum – dry!  The trick is to put some on your hand AWAY from the baby and then apply it smoothly onto the diaper area.  Of course you don’t want to put too much; but just enough to coat it so that it keeps the bum cool and dry and reduces the risk of diaper rash.