Diapers (尿布, おむつ, 기저귀)

This post is probably premature, a couple months before I REALLY have to deal with diapers, but just wanted to give my best impression of what changing diapers are like before I fully get into them soon. Up until now it's been a vague concept of "oh sure, that's just something you do when the baby comes," like maybe one day having to climb a large mountain or go skydiving, not something I have to worry about in the moment but a tremendous challenge if and when it comes. Having never owned a pet and had to clean up after a dog, it's a bit of a leap to have to care for another living being and be responsible every single time they pee and/or poop, so it's going to take some getting into. I'm not necessarily turned off by the smell of poop, so there's that, I smell farts all the time without gagging or losing my composure, so I don't think I'll be disgusted or anything by the constant smell of poop, it's just the fear of messing up the diaper and getting poop everywhere and making a mess everywhere. I distinctly remember a time when I was really little (like 2 or 3, a very small kid) remembering pooping in my pants on the way home from school and continuing to walk home after pooping my pants until my babysitter finally found it. This was probably one of my first memories...hopefully baby doesn't have too many of these episodes! MJ and I just built a diaper changing station from the DIY box we bought from IKEA.... success! I don't like assembling furniture and in fact caved and paid someone else to assemble some drawers earlier this year, but simple screws and wood plugs are A-OK for Bobby! There's definitely a sense of accomplishment after assembling something like, "Hey I did it, what was once a pile of wood and screws is now an actual piece of furniture that we will be using to change the baby's diaper. I didn't even know these stations exited! I always thought baby changing stations were the ones installed into public bathrooms at the airport, which MJ is loathe to use because they're...public restrooms. I still have a lot to learn about baby wipes, getting the new diaper ready before taking off the old diaper, diaper disposal. Being a parent, as I'm finding out, really is a whole new world. A whole new world must be what New York City finds itself in, as the mayorial elections today yielded a new mayor set to take over: Zoran Mamdani after Eric Adams departs at the end of the year, 34 year old Progressive candidate who seemingly came out of nowhere through social media and running on setting rent controlled housing, free childcare, basically a more affordable New York City. Sounds like a great plan but also a tough task, not sure anyone, much less a newcome to politics and government, can make New York City affordable. I live there in NYC......the whole place is like Vegas, designed for you to spend a lot of money, and a lot of it. It's got some of the best amenities on Earth and great restaurants, theater, all the amenities of one of the most modern cities on Earth, but to be near all of that it really takes a toll on your wallet, and if you can't afford it, you don't have to live there. It's the epitome of capitalism: business have to make money, they charge a lot, there's tons of demand from people who want to live in New York, so prices go up. Not sure how the economics of that can change, but should be interesting seeing Mamdani try. For now I'm content with staying away for awhile, I appreciate the gesture of trying to get free childcare but New York City is not the best city for children and parents, at least to live (MJ wants to go to art museums with the baby eventually, which is a great idea once baby learns how to read, understand what she's seeing, and not.......poop into a diaper all the time).