Being at the beach today with my parents and my three kids made me think of when they were much littler, sand-eating, cloth-diaper-wearing cuties. Cooper made made tracks in the sand with his Monster Trucks and brought them a little too close to the water (RIP to the the two trucks who were washed out to sea), Kate never left the water where she jumped the incoming waves and Lauren split her time between hunting for shells and and playing in the surf. Cooper was the only baby of mine who had the chance to wear Thirsties Cloth Diapers and I pretty much took them everywhere--including to Florida to visit my parents and even on the plane to get here. Click  here to read my blog about bringing my Thirsties while flying to Florida).  I can't however, remember if I took them to the beach. Disposable swim diapers actually aren't absorbent at all. They are only designed to prevent solid waste from escaping into the water. The fact that babies can, will and do pee in the pool  seems to be a universally accepted exception to the "Ool Rule" (as in, Please keep the "P" out our of pool). I do seem to remember having a simple little cloth diaper, which like disposable diapers, wasn't designed to absorb urine but just catch potential floaters. I also remember being frustrated at the pools in Boulder who required disposable swim diapers be worn by all children under the age of three. Cloth swim diapers were not allowed unless a disposable was worn under them. I always thought this was extremely silly as the cloth swim diapers had much tighter leg gussets and the disposable didn't. I knew which diaper would do it's job better alone--and it wasn't the wide-legged disposable swim diaper--but rules, even foolish one, have to be obeyed. Now that my kids are three, six and nine, I don't have to worry about anyone eating sea shells or changing diapers in the sand. I'm just stand in the middle of the surf like a mother hen, counting her chicks every few moments to make sure they are all in reach lest they get knocked over by a wave or get distracted and chase a sea gull too far down the beach.  Today was a great day and I was glad to be far from the snowy cold in Colorado that we'll be returning to on Tuesday. But I did leave feeling just a bit wistful and missing the days of holding hands with a chunky toddler who was walking in wet sand for the first time and pointing at every shell and bit of seaweed like it was the most interesting thing in the world. What does your baby wear when you go to the beach? Do you bring your cloth diapers? Do you have a cloth swim diaper?  

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