At some point around month 4 or 5, Grace began to really hate having her diaper changed. No matter what we did and no matter how full and/or uncomfortable it had become, she would scream, cry and flop like a fish whenever we laid her down on the changing table. Sometimes we could distract her with a toy or a shoe or a peek-a-boo game but she would inevitably realize what was going on and give us the angry salmon routine.
As I went to pick her up after her nap the other day, without really thinking about it, I asked her “should we change your diaper?”. “Ya,” she said with a nod. To this point, I really thought the Ya’s and No’s came mostly at random and not as an exact response to my questions. Sometimes they matched up but most of the time, it just seemed like she was practicing a word that she knew I recognized. Surely she wouldn’t be thinking through the question I asked, thinking “Hmmm, my diaper is a bit wet and uncomfortable. A change would be quite welcome. Have at it, sir!” and then paring that down to a succinct and easier to pronounce “Ya”. But sure enough, she not only tolerated being put on the changing table, but laughed and played a little game.
Even naptime seems to go a little more smoothly now if I ask in advance. “Do you want a bottle and go night-night?”, I ask. “Ya,” says Grace, while probably thinking how nice it would be if I didn’t talk down to her with this “go night-night” garbage. “A- it’s a ‘nap’, Dad and B- it is not even nighttime, though I really do think I could use one about now. So…Ya! Let’s make it happen!”
![photo[4]](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3548/3850558277_b280541b65.jpg)
