Diaper Changes in Pizza Hut

We are on a 5.5 hr drive. Mari has been exerting her "death scream" for 20 long minutes. My eyes are peeled for a dinner location. I see Pizza Hut and we decide to make a quick dinner stop. Dinner goes reasonably well. We found ourselves with an overly chatty and interested table neighbor, but that seems to happen often when you haul a newborn around. As we are making a mad dash for the car with shivering girls, Janson says, "Didn't Mari have a poopy diaper?" Mari only poops every 3 or 4 days, but I play on the side of caution and run back in to the restroom changing table.

Meanwhile... Grace hears this and immediately says, "Poopy, poopy!" Janson runs in and waits for me to finish with the diaper bag. Before getting around to Mari's diaper, I hear Janson and Grace outside the restroom, so I walk out to be informed about Grace's diaper situation and the need for diapers and wipes. Now forgetting to play on the side of caution, I assume Mari isn't too messy, simply pull out one diaper for Mari, and give the rest of the diaper bag with diapering supplies to Janson.

As I put Mari on the changing table I feel warm squishiness and verify that, yes, she has filled her diaper and the "squishiness" is getting all over her clothes. Without the diaper bag I have no new clothes or wipes for her. So I stand outside the men's restroom waiting... and waiting... for Janson to finish with the diaper bag.

Meanwhile... Janson gets a fresh diaper on Grace. While he cleans/packs up, Grace's sly self decides to finger all the urinals and then wipe her face with her hands. Janson catches her and gives her a good, hard scrubbing with soap. He walks out, sees me holding a poopy baby, hands over the diaper bag, and goes to get the car warm and ready.

For the second time I lay Mari down on the changing table, get her filthy clothes off along with the dirty diaper. As I am trying to put the clean one on, she decides to pee all over it, getting it slimey and sticky before it's on. At this point Mari's favorite and main blanket is wet and poopy. I deem Mari's new diaper no longer fresh enough for use, and go searching for another diaper. No more diapers are to be found in the bag. The rest of the diapers are out in the car, Mari has no clothes or diaper on, and her blanket is useless. In other words, I cannot very well run out into the cold and get a new diaper from Janson.

Meanwhile... our overly chatty neighbor from dinner walks into the bathroom. While I had very recently been relieved to be walking out of the restaurant and away from her, I was now overjoyed to see her. I awkwardly asked her to walk outside the restaurant to Janson and get a new diaper. Kind strangers are blessings! She came back with three fresh diapers, and this time I let her chat all she wanted.

I get Mari in a fresh diaper and pull out her extra set of clothes. Keep in mind that these have been in the diaper bag for a few weeks now waiting for just such an emergency, so it is crumb-covered from Grace's snacks, and is now a size too small. As I pull it on her, I realize that these little PJ's do not fit so well with Mari's splinted/casted foot. I do the best to zip and button, but one leg and her torso are still completely exposed to the elements.

At this point, I give up, stuff everything in my bag, do my best to cover her with the (pooped and peed on) blanket, and make a mad dash back to the car. We get her in the car, she is not properly dressed, meagerly covered with a new blanket, and not happy. Still, I get in the car and say, "Just drive!" I am ready to be home. And I forgot to wash my hands.