Tony

Summary: Tony gets a younger brother and is neglected by his parents. 
Eventually they realise that he is missing out on their attention, so 
start to baby him again.


Tony had been a basically happy, very spoilt eight-year-old. He had 
been a good baby, sleeping through at night from a young age and being 
very happy, crying very little. He had been quick to become clean but 
had still been in nappies at night until he was three and a half - he 
just hadn't seemed to want to be dry. His mum and dad spoilt him rotten 
and lavished attention on him. He'd noticed that, from time to time, 
they seemed unhappy and his mum didn't look very well. At those times, 
he seemed to get even more attention. Had he but known, him parents had 
been trying for another child, but his mother had repeatedly 
miscarried, hence the unhappiness and the greater appreciation of the 
child they had.

His mother had become pregnant again and, this time, not miscarried. 
Tony looked forward to having a baby brother (as the ultrasound scan 
had shown he was going to have) but the changes which took place were 
not as he'd expected. After the baby was born, both his mother and 
father seemed to spend all their time looking after James, their new 
son, with Tony seemingly forgotten. When they did appear to notice him, 
he felt that they weren't really bothered about him anymore. There is 
only so much a child can stand and a few weeks after his mum and James 
came home from the hospital, one night Tony cried himself to sleep, a 
sleep which was disturbed by nightmares and his crying in him sleep. 
Him mum and dad had got up to see to James and they heard the sounds of 
distress from his bedroom. They went in to see Tony crying in his 
sleep. Him dad shook him gently and he settled into a less disturbed, 
but still not calm sleep. This repeated night after night and they were 
both worried about him.

One night, after they'd seen to James, they laid in bed talking about 
Tony. "What on earth can be wrong?" his mum asked, "He seemed so happy 
to have a baby brother."

"I think I know what the problem is," him dad replied, "I think he 
feels really pushed out. Remember, he used to get our undivided 
attention and now we seem to be only concerned with James."

"Oh, that's not true," his mother replied, "We spend lots of time with 
him.�

�Do we? Do we really? When was the last time either of us sat down and 
talked to him, read to him, or played games with him?" His father 
answered. His wife thought for a few moments, then said, "Oh! I think I 
see what you mean. We've been so pleased to have another child, we do 
seem to have neglected Tony somewhat.�

�I think it might be rather a lot, actually," him dad replied. "So what 
can we do about it?�

�Well, it's the summer holidays in a few weeks, so Tony and I will be 
at home all the time (his dad was a schoolteacher), so we can try to 
make some time for Tony. I have an idea!" He explained his thoughts to 
his wife and they both agreed that it was worth a try.

During those weeks, some extra shopping was done for Tony and some 
things went into the washing machine and tumble drier when Tony was at 
school. His parents had been taking a greater interest in him again, 
but Tony felt as if they had just noticed him again and were just doing 
that because they felt they had to. The workings of a child's mind can 
be very strange. James had, like Tony, suddenly started sleeping 
through the night at the start of the holiday. On the Friday night, his 
dad had cuddled him before he went to bed while his mum went upstairs 
to get his bed ready for him. Tony was surprised as he'd not had a pre-
bed cuddle from either of them since James had been born. His mum came 
downstairs, smiled at her husband and then at Tony and said, "My turn!" 
Her husband handed him over to his wife who cradled Tony in her arms, 
kissed his forehead and murmured, "Tony, we really do love you," as she 
rocked him gently in her arms. Tony wondered what was going on, with 
the suspicion which adults think that children don't have in their 
supposed 'innocence'. His dad went into the kitchen and seemed to be 
doing something. He came in holding a large baby bottle with a rubber 
teat. James used the more modern silicone teats and his bottles were 
smaller. The bottle seemed to be filled with milk. His dad sat down at 
Tony's head and, to his surprise, the teat was put into his mouth. He 
started sucking the warm milk without thinking in his surprise. The 
taste of the rubber teat and the warm milk seemed very reassuring to 
him and his mum could feel him relax into her arms. Him mother leaned 
over and kissed him again. "Tony, we really do love you and we know it 
seems to you that we've forgotten you now that James is here, but we 
really do love you just as much as we always have done. We're going to 
spoil you a bit to try and make up for the past few weeks. All right, 
love?" Tony smiled as he sucked on the milk and nodded.

After the milk had been drunk, the bottle was replaced by a pacifier 
which his father tied to his wrist to stop him from losing it. Tony was 
enjoying the attention and sucking on the pacifier was familiarly 
comforting. As he was rocked in his mother's arms, he became sleepy and 
his mother whispered, "Time for bed, pet." She lifted him up and 
carried him upstairs and started to undress him for bed. Tony had been 
doing all this for himself, being the 'big, helpful boy' his parents 
had wanted him to be while they looked after James. His mother laid him 
down on his bed undressed and took a folded nappy off his bedside 
cabinet and lifted Tony's legs and slid it under his bottom. Tony 
started to protest, "But I don't wear nappies any more, mum." His mum 
shushed him, "After all that milk, I think it might be a good idea, 
don't you? Anyway, I think you quite like wearing nappies at night as 
you didn't want to stop wearing them, don't you?" Tony looked shyly at 
his mum, "I think you're right, mum," as his mum firstly applied a good 
creaming to his nappy area, then pinned the nappies around his hips and 
then pulled up a pair of really nice circus print plastic pants. His 
mum saw him admiring them, "Yes, Tony we bought them specially! Do you 
like them?" Tony sat up a bit and kissed his mum, "Thank you, they're 
lovely!" Next his mum pulled a one piece sleep suit on him, in blue 
with a large sleepy bunny sewn on the front. They had poppers at the 
legs just like James', ready for nappy changes. "How's that, poppet? 
All snug and comfy?�

�Thanks, mum!" came Tony's very sleepy reply. His dad came in as Tony's 
mum pulled the covers over him and they both kissed him 'goodnight'. 
Finally, just before Tony went to sleep, he saw his mum pulling up side 
guards on his bed to stop him from falling out. He'd not had those up 
for some time now. His mum finally put the pacifier between his lips 
and went to switch off the light, leaving a night light glowing, again 
something he'd not had for some time.

Later they both looked in at him, fast asleep and sucking his pacifier. 
"Doesn't he look sweet?� his dad said.

"Yes, he does. I wonder whether he'll have wet him nappy by the 
morning?" his mum said. His dad laughed, "He'll certainly do that with 
all that milk he drank. I also suspect he'll have a messy nappy as 
well. I put some milk of magnesia in his milk!"

Mum laughed, "That was cruel! You know he didn't like being in a dirty 
nappy�

�If we're treating him like James for a week, he'll have to mess his 
nappies, too!" his dad replied.

During the night, Tony woke with the pressure in his bladder and a 
strange feeling in his tummy. He sat up to get out of bed to go to the 
toilet when he remembered that he was wearing nappies and plastic 
pants. He put him hand down between his legs and cupped the nappy and 
plastic pants against his crotch. He could see the side guards in place 
either side of his bed and remembered that he wasn't to get out of bed. 
Fair enough, then, he'd just have to wet his nappy! This was fun! He 
tried to relax to let it out, but his potty training exerted itself and 
he found that it wasn't as easy as he'd thought it might be. He 
strained a bit to start the flow when suddenly his bowels exploded into 
the nappy. This wasn't so nice, but, as that happened, he found his 
bladder emptying, too. He couldn't understand why he'd filled his nappy 
as well. He lay down and was soon asleep again. The pacifier had fallen 
from his mouth to be replaced by his thumb holding an end of the sheet 
which was touching his upper lip. Him parents came in to check on him 
and looked with love at their little boy, now transformed into a baby.

Tony was woken by his mum and dad. His dad was holding James and his 
mum picked him out of bed, placed him on her hip, squashing the filled 
nappy from the night before up around his buttocks and tummy and they 
went downstairs together. Tony was surprised to see his old high chair 
out as he thought James was still too small for that. He was even more 
surprised when he was sat in it and strapped in. His mother took James, 
sat down and proceeded to breastfeed him while his father put a bib 
round his neck and proceeded to spoon feed him breakfast, pausing every 
now and then to wipe the excess off his chin. Tony was so thrilled to 
be getting attention again. When his mum had finished feeding James, he 
was passed to his father whilst his mum came to lift Tony out of the 
high chair. Tony was surprised that his mum hadn't covered herself back 
up again and his surprise turned to delight when his mum laid him on 
her lap as she sat down and then started to feed him from her breasts, 
with the warning, "Mind you don't bite, now!" Megan's mum said to him 
that there wouldn't be much left, but he could suck as long as she 
wanted. When Tony stopped nursing from both sides, he was given a large 
bottle of warm milk to drink and he sucked from the rubber teat until 
that was empty. He was put against his mum's shoulder and burped. To 
his surprise, he did manage to burp off some wind. After that both 
James and Tony were carried up to the bathroom where they were both 
bathed. James was bathed in his baby bath by dad whilst mum bathed Tony 
after having first removed his very messy nappy. Tony had been bathing 
himself for some time and he enjoyed his mum's care and attention. When 
he was being dried, he put him arms round his mum's neck, kissed her 
and said, "Thank you, mummy, it's nice to be looked after by you and 
dad!" His mum kissed him back and told him that they were sorry that 
they'd appeared to be neglecting him.

James and Tony were both placed in clean dry nappies after being 
thoroughly creamed: James in a disposable and Tony in a thick layer of 
terry towelling nappies which spread his legs apart so he waddled. This 
time he had a clean pair of plastic pants in yellow nursery print which 
he liked too with the teddy bears and other animals on them. James was 
put down to rest as bathing him always made him tired at his tender 
age. His dad carried him downstairs and sat on the settee with him in 
his arms rocking him gently. Him mum gave him his old blanket which 
she'd found in the drawer. Tony clutched it in his hand with just the 
tip of the blanket showing. He put his thumb in his mouth and rubbed 
his top lip with the tip of the blanket as he used to do. He gave him 
dad a big beaming smile as he did this and, to his surprise, discovered 
that he'd fallen asleep - something he never did in the mornings.

So the days passed with Tony being treated very much like James. He 
loved being in nappies again and didn't even mind dirtying them. He 
often waited until just after he'd been changed to wet them again as he 
liked the feel of the warm wet nappy between his legs with the plastic 
pants rubbing against his thighs. He loved all the attention and 
sucking at his mum's breasts when James had had his fill. He had been 
missing his parents' physical contact and reassurance.

At the end of the week, Tony shyly asked his parents whether he could 
go back to being a boy rather than a baby. His mum looked at him, "Is 
that really what you want, Tony? We realized that we had been spending 
too much time with James and we're sorry. It's been fun having two 
babies in the house with James and you, so we're happy to continue as 
long as you want during the holidays.�

�No, I'm really a boy, not a baby, so I'll like to be treated like my 
age, but please don't stop loving me!" Him mum cuddled him to her as 
Tony burst into tears. His mum held him close to her and rocked him 
gently, making soothing noises until Tony had calmed down. "We're so 
sorry, pet, that we appeared to be neglecting you. We're learnt our 
lesson and we won't let it happen again. Now then, would you like to 
stay in nappies at night? If you do, there are conditions. We'll put 
you to bed at night and you stay there until we get you up in the 
morning. If you need to go to the toilet, you are wearing your nappies 
after all, so you'll have to wet them. We don't want you walking about 
at night with bulky nappies between your legs in case you stumble and 
fall over. So what's it to be?" Tony snuggled closer to his mum and 
whispered, "Can I stay in nappies at night? They make me feel safe and 
snug in bed when I'm wearing them." His mum laughed, a nice laugh, "I 
thought you'd say that! It means I'll put you in them before you go to 
bed and you'll know we're still caring for you, is that it?�

�Sort of, mummy. You don't mind?" Goodness, no! We made you very 
unhappy and we're sorry for that. It's all right with us. You won't be 
making a lot of washing after all!�

�Tony snuggled down into his mum, put him thumb in his mouth and 
whispered around it, "Thank you, mummy!"

That night, Tony was again creamed by his mum, wrapped firmly in a 
thick pile of clean dry nappies, still warm from the airing cupboard, 
and then another pair of the nursery print plastic pants. Tony asked to 
wear his nightdress again and then, safely tucked up in bed, with the 
sides up to remind him to stay in bed overnight, his parents kissed him 
goodnight and turned the light out, leaving him in darkness as he'd 
requested. After all, despite the nappies, he really was a big boy and 
didn't mind sleeping in the dark after all!

In bed that night, mum and dad were discussing him. His mum said, "It 
looks like everything is all right now. I can understand him staying in 
the nappies at night. It means I have to look after him, but I bet he 
baths himself tomorrow!" Him mum was right as Tony switched back to 
being a boy instead of a baby again. However, the next night, just 
before bed, his mum had asked him to suck some of him breast milk off 
for her as she'd been making more and James wasn't taking it all. His 
mum's breasts were so full that they were swollen and it took a lot of 
sucking to make his mum comfortable. Him mum enjoyed the closeness of 
her older son every bit as much as Tony did. However, with a tummy full 
of milk, it was hardly surprising that Tony woke in the middle of the 
night needing the toilet. He sat up and the bulk of the nappies between 
his legs reminded him that he wasn't to get out of bed, so he laid 
back, wet his nappies, sighed contentedly, put his thumb in his mouth 
and was asleep in moments.

All was well for a year or so. In fact Tony had abandoned the nappies 
at night as he felt too grown up for them. He felt that his parents 
shared their love fairly between James and himself, and was devoted to 
his younger brother. He had been told not to climb the tree in the 
garden several times, but, as James had got his ball stuck in the tree, 
it was inevitable that Tony, as big, brave brother, would climb the 
tree to get it for him. Parents warn children for a reason and the tree 
was old. Tony crawled out along the branch to where the ball was stuck 
in the fork of the branches. Just then, the branch broke with a snap, 
pitching Tony hard into the ground where he laid there stunned by his 
fall. James ran off, sensibly, to get mummy, screaming at the top of 
his voice as his beloved brother was hurt. Mum came running when she 
heard James screaming at the top of his voice. He grabbed her by the 
hand and toddled out, leading her into the garden to where Tony was 
lying. After checking the Tony was breathing, his mother put him in the 
recovery position and then rushed in to phone for an ambulance.

Tony was taken to hospital to the A&E department, then quickly 
transferred to theatre for his broken leg and arm to be set and put in 
plaster. When Tony was back on the ward, the nurse in charge of him 
care spoke to his mother, "Once we're happy that he hasn't got 
concussion, we're happy for him to go home if you can look after him 
there. At the moment he's got a urinary catheter in to deal with that, 
but we'd want that out before he leaves hospital. Toileting is going to 
be the problem. Normally, in a younger child, we'd suggest nappies, 
but, as Tony is now ten, I'm not sure how he'd react to that?�

�I think that would be fine with Tony. He's a sensible young boy these 
days and would rather be in nappies at home than stuck here in 
hospital, I'm sure. Would you like me to discuss that with him?�

�Yes please. What would you prefer? We can supply disposable nappies in 
his size for him or would you prefer terry nappies?�

�I think terry nappies would be more comfortable for him, don't you?" 
The nurse agreed, adding, "We'll supply you with drop front plastic 
pants to go over the nappies and a supply of nappies which 
unfortunately, won't be enough, but you can always buy more yourself. 
He'll need to stay on his back, so the drop front pants won't leak. I 
suggest you wrap cling film around the top of his leg cast when you 
change him as that will stop the cast from becoming soiled. It'll be so 
much easier than trying to help him on and off a bedpan. He'll be on 
strong pain killers when he comes home for a while which may make him 
constipated. I'll get the doctor to write up some laxatives for you to 
give him if he does become constipated and some suppositories micro-
enemas if things get really bad. They're very easy to use."

At this moment, Tony came round and saw his mum standing there. He 
burst into tears. "I'm sorry, mum. I'm really sorry! I shouldn't have 
climbed that tree but James was so upset when his ball got stuck ...." 
Him mum leaned forward and kissed him, "That's all forgiven, love. I 
understand why you were silly, but I'm sure you've learned your lesson 
now! Just concentrate on getting better!" Him mum bent over and kissed 
him on his forehead.

Later, when Tony had recovered from the effects of the blow to the head 
and the anaesthetic, his mum sat beside him and quietly explained the 
nurse's suggestion for going home. Tony had to stop himself from 
smiling with pleasure at the thought! Later the nurse came by and spoke 
to mum and Tony, "Have you discussed what we spoke about with Tony?" 
Him mother agreed that they had discussed this. The nurse pulled the 
curtains around Tony's bed to give him some semblance of privacy and 
then kept her voice deliberately quiet as she spoke directly to Tony, 
"Your mum says that she's discussed your going home and wearing nappies 
and plastic pants because using the toilet is going to be a real 
problem until your leg cast comes off and you won't be able to manage 
for yourself either while your arm is in plaster. Is it the hand you 
usually write with?" Tony agreed that it was. "Are you all right about 
being in nappies and your mum changing you? It'll mean that you will 
probably only need changing four times or so a day, whereas you'd need 
to be sat on a bedpan more than that with your mum having to wipe you 
each time." Tony replied, "Mum is OK with that and I can see the sense. 
If it means I can go home sooner, then that's definitely all right with 
me!�

�That's great, Tony. If you're all right with being in nappies, I can 
remove your catheter now and put you in nappies and then you can go 
home tomorrow morning if you're still doing well.�

�Yes, please!" came Tony's immediate reply.

The nurse left to get the necessary equipment, leaving the curtains 
drawn and after asking his mum to give Tony a couple of beakers to 
drink to help him to pass urine as soon as possible after the catheter 
came out. Tony's mum held the beaker with its spout as Tony drank down 
the iced water. She refilled it as Tony once again emptied the beaker. 
"Gosh!" his mum said, "You were thirsty!�

�Could I have another?" Tony asked, so his mum obliged him. He was just 
finishing the beaker when the nurse came back with a trolley covered 
with a towel to hide the nappies and stuff. "That's good! Was that your 
second beaker?" the nurse asked. "No!" him mother laughed, "He was 
thirsty! That was his third." The nurse spoke to Tony, "Would you like 
your mum to leave while I take the catheter out and put you in your 
nappy?�

�If mum doesn't mind, she can stay as she'll be putting me in the 
nappies and changing them when I get home anyway," came Tony's 
response. "I don't mind,� said mum. "That's fine," the nurse said. 
"I'll cream you first of all to stop you getting nappy rash, then I'll 
get you on your plastic pants, put the nappy under you, then take out 
your catheter so any leakage will go onto the nappy. All right?" Tony 
nodded. The nurse put a pair of rubber gloves on and started to cream 
Tony thoroughly, rubbing the cream well in, and taking care to get it 
worked into the folds in his skin. Once she was satisfied, she changed 
him gloves and helped Tony to sit on the plastic drop front pants. To 
Tony's delight, these were nursery print in a pretty blue colour. "We 
only have nursery print ones. Some children in your situation would 
prefer plain white or coloured. Are they all right?�

�They're pretty!" came Tony's assessment, causing the nurse to smile at 
him. "You're a good, sensible boy, Tony, provided you stay away from 
trees!" was the nurse's response.

Next the thick folded nappies were worked under him bottom ready for 
the nurse to pull them up and pin them in place and then to pull the 
plastic pants around the nappy with none over the back edge behind him 
to cause leaks: the nurse knew her business!

Tony went home in seventh heaven: he'd got an excuse to be back in 
nappies and babied by his mother. He was going to make the most of that 
and hoped his plaster casts would mean she'd be doing that for him for 
a long time!