Diaper Rash and Parenthood

So last night at about 1:30 or so, I was putting Jacob to bed. I had just finished topping him off with a bottle and I was very tired. He seemed to be slowly going to sleep, when all the sudden, I heard a familiar noise come from Jacob's tail end. I thought to myself, "I am sure it is just gas. There is no way he could have a dirty diaper." I rationalized that I did not need to check it, that it was not dirty, and that it would be alright. I was too tired, and I knew he would be back to being wide awake if I stripped him down to check.

Well, about 4:00 this morning, I was woken up by Jacob little whimpering, and I went and checked on him. I checked his diaper, and it was very messy, so I started to change it. I noticed that a good portion of his tail end was very red, and when I wiped it, he cried much louder than usual. I knew that he had been wearing that dirty diaper for too long, and had a diaper rash.

Now, diaper rash is something common among babies. However, it really hit me hard that it had been ME that caused his diaper rash. Because of my weakness, my wanting to sleep, and my laziness, my son was experiencing real physical pain. It really made me think. As parents, what we do has a real affect upon our children. If we do not do what we are supposed to do, we really can damage them. And, while with a little Butt Paste diaper rash is cured, moral, intellectual, educational, and social damage that lazy and bad parenting can cause a child is irreparable. Children suffer severely every day because of their parents. I decided I would not be one of those parents, and Jacob would not be one of those children.