The Foster Child Part 1 It was 3:45 in the afternoon when the school bus pulled off the highway at the intersection of Mill Road. As Skyler stepped off he felt a chill in the air reminding him that fall was here and winter would soon be on its way. He buttoned up his coat because it would be a 15 minute walk before he would be home. Things seemed quiet as he walked down Mill Road, the only signs of life were some cattle grazing at one of the nearby ranches. Skyler was glad he was living away from the city in Henifer. He really liked the rural areas that had a lot of open space to play and ride his bike. The State had found him a foster home in Lake City but Skyler hated all the traffic and people that were there. However, if there had not been an opening in his new foster home he probably would have gone to the Lake City home just to get out of the Boy's Ranch where he had been living for the past five years. Skyler hated "The Ranch". Many of the other boys referred there were not just foster children but kids who were sent there by the Juvenile Court System because their parents could no longer control them. Most of them were tough kids who liked to pick on Skyler because of his small size. The only thing Skyler liked about "The Ranch" was that he could go horseback riding on the weekends. But now that he was living in Henifer there were plenty of horses he could ride, so he felt as though he had the best of both worlds. What was even better was that Karen, his new foster mother, said that if she didn't have any problems with Skyler and he kept his grades up that she would buy him his own horse. So for a nine year old things seem to be going very well for Skyler except for his little night time problem he had developed since moving into his new foster home. While Skyler's thoughts were wandering as he was making his way home, his attention was caught by a truck coming down the road. At first Skyler thought it was someone from the ranch next to his home, but then he noticed that it wasn't a truck at all but a van. The top of the van was cream colored and the bottom was painted a pastel blue. As the van got closer he was able to make out a stork carrying a bundle in it's bill. However, instead of the bundle being a baby, the bundle was a stack of diapers, and the lettering on the van read, "Mommy's Little Helper Diaper Service and Supply". Skyler felt a sense of panic. "She didn't really mean what she said, did she?", he thought to himself, "No. No way. Karen would never really do that, she's way too nice. That would be ridiculous. I'm nine years old for crying out loud. The driver is probably lost. Lot's of people get lost out here. Stupid lady driver!" Skyler didn't think about it anymore until he got home. Skyler. came through the front door happy to be out of the cold. As he placed his back pack on the dinning room table and was about to yell out to Karen that he was home when he noticed a pink piece of paper on the table. When Skyler read it he went numb. It was a receipt from Mommy's Little Helper Diaper Service and Supply. It was marked "Paid in Full". He was too upset to read each item on the bill of sale, the only thing that seemed to stick out to him were the words "Preadolescent Pre-folded Diapers. (Pin Style). Skyler, trying not to panic, turned and walked slowly up the stairs without making a sound. It seemed that his heart was about to beat right out of his chest. When he got to the top of the stairs he gazed down the hallway and saw that the light in his room was on. He could hear Karen softly humming as her shadow moved thought the light. Skyler stepped quietly down the hall, his heart still racing. The first thing he saw as he neared the room was a cream colored diaper pail with a pink lamb on the side sitting against the wall next to the door. Skyler stopped for a moment thinking to himself that this can't be happening. As he came around the doorway he stood in complete shock. Karen was sitting on his bed with her back turned to him unaware that he was there. In the center of his bed was a pile of large cotton diapers. Karen was pulling each diaper off one at a time and folding it and then placing it on top of a stack.. As she worked she kept humming to herself contentedly. The top drawer of Skyler's dresser was open revealing several pairs of plastic pants placed next to his underwear that were pushed to one side. On top of his dresser was a small clear plastic box that contained assorted colors of diaper pins. In place of Skyler's baseball trophy that he kept on his night stand were baby wipes, baby lotion, baby powder and a large tub of Destine diaper rash ointment along with two open ducky pins. Skyler just stood in the doorway unable to move. The rubber sheet on Skyler's bed crinkled as Karen got up and opened the bottom drawer to Skyler's dresser. She walked over to his bed to retrieve the stack of freshly folded diapers. As she turned around to place them in the drawer she saw Skyler standing in the doorway. "Oh, hello sweetheart, how was your day at school?" Five months earlier. Utah Boys Ranch The '67 Chevy pickup truck was rumbling up the dirt road as Skyler and several other of the guys from the ranch were just finishing their chore of digging and repairing some of the irrigation ditches. As the truck pulled up to the young work crew, Taylor, one of the older boys at the ranch, stuck his head out the window of the truck. "Hey Skyler! Get you ass over here and get into the truck. Mr. Worley wants to talk to you!" "Your ass in deep shit now," one of the other boys said. "What does he want?", Skyler shouted nervously. "How would I know. He just told me to drive out here and get you pronto!". Skyler put down his shovel and ran over and got into the truck. When Skyler got to the Ranch House he walked to the main office where Mr. Worley was standing with one of the state social workers. "Hi Skyler", he said, "you remember Mrs. Jensen from social service." "Yeah" Skyler replied, "Hi Mrs. Jensen". "Hey Skyler it's good to see you. How have you been?" "Alright I suppose," Skyler said discouragingly. "Well I think I have some good news for you. Let's go into Mr. Worley's office and we can discuss it," she said. Mr. Worley closed the door and sat behind his desk, while Skyler and Mrs. Jensen sat side by side facing the desk. "Skyler," Mrs. Jensen started, "I know that you have been unhappy here at the ranch and we've been having a difficult time placing you for adoption. However I think I have a situation that might suit you a lot better. There is a woman that lives in Henifer that has just retired from nursing at Mercy Children's Hospital and wants to become a foster parent. She lives alone in a house she just inherited from her father who just recently passed away. She only wants to accept one child at this point and she said that if things workout well she might consider adoption." "What about the other home in Lake City that was going to take me?" Skyler asked. "Well, it's still full and there most likely won't be another opening for six months." "Oh, well where's Henifer at?" he asked. "Henifer is a small town not too far from Lake City. It's very similar to the area around here," Mrs. Jensen said. That sounded much better to Skyler than the Lake City home especially since he was going to be the only foster child in the house. "Do you think you might be interested?" Mrs. Jensen asked. "Yeah I think it sounds cool," Skyler replied. "Good," she said, "The woman's name is Karen Shelly and if you want I could arrange for you to talk to her before we set everything up." "Okay, do you think she wants to talk to me?" Skyler asked. "Yes I think she would. She already knows a lot about you from the bio I gave her, and she even has a picture of you. She was very particular about the kind of foster child she would accept." "What kind of things did she want?" "Well first of all she wanted a boy, not a girl. She wanted someone of small stature between the ages of seven to ten, and someone who was very well behaved. You seem to fit the bill perfectly." "OK, let's go for it," Skyler said with excitement. Skyler and Karen met two days latter at the ranch. Skyler seem to like Karen right away. They both liked horses and neither one of them liked the city life. Karen told Skyler about herself, that she worked in the psychiatric unit at the children's hospital for twenty years and had become burned out by the work. She had divorced her husband seven years ago and that she felt that she would never marry again. After Karen's father died she inherited the house and some money that allowed her to retire. She decided to become a foster parent because even though she was sick of nursing, she still enjoyed caring for children. Skyler asked her why she hadn't had her own children and she told him that she was unable to have children because of medical reasons. To Skyler this was a dream come true, and by the time Karen left the ranch Skyler knew that he would be very happy living with Karen. It was few days after Karen and Skyler met when the U.P.S. truck pulled up in front of the large ranch house in Henifer. The driver opened the back of the truck and wheeled out three large boxes on a hand cart. As he walked up to the door he was about to ring the doorbell when it opened. "Hi there," Karen said. "Hi, I have some packages for Karen Shelly." "Yes, that would be me. Did you have a hard time finding this place?" she asked. "Yeah, it wasn't easy," replied the driver. "Could you please sign here." "Sure," Karen said. "You wouldn't mind wheeling those into my office, would you?" "No problem," the driver said. After the driver left, Karen looked at the packing slip. "PsychTech Industries". It looked as though everything was there as Karen got busy removing the electronic components from the boxes and carefully reading the instructions. It wasn't as though she had never worked with this equipment before, but she just wanted to make sure it was set up right because she had a lot of work to do before her youngster was to arrive. It took her less than two hours to hook everything up. She was very careful to connect each wire so she wouldn't have to go back and troubleshoot everything. After making some final adjustments she was ready to test the system out. Karen removed a small tape cartridge from a sack she had on her desk and placed it in a receiver marked "Loop Cassette". Checking to make sure the power was on, she pushed the button labeled "Record Loop". When she did, a red light came on and she picked up a microphone. Karen smiled as she spoke the words. "Sleep and pee my baby. Pee the bed." After which she pushed the stop button. She put a set of headphones on and pushed the "Play Loop" button. Through her headphone she heard the phrase, "Sleep and pee my baby. Pee the bed. Sleep and pee my baby. Pee the bed. Sleep and pee my baby Pee the bed." over and over. Karen then opened a cassette tape carrier that was sitting on her desk and removed a tape labeled "Ocean Sounds", and slipped it into a second recorder. After double checking the adjustments she pushed a button marked "Rec. Subliminal Trac." followed by the "Play Loop" button on the other component. Karen sat back and smiled as the components did their work. The Foster Child Part 2 When Skyler arrived at the house Karen was just making the finishing touches on his room. Skyler arrived with the State Social Worker and Mr. Worley from the Boy's Ranch who helped to move his things. When everything was brought into the house Karen made lunch for everyone and showed them around the place. After signing the last of some state forms Mr. Worley and the Social Worker left leaving Karen and Skyler to finish the move. "Skyler, you can arrange your room anyway you want, however, I want to put your clothes away because the closet in your room is small and I want to make sure everything fits so it doesn't get wrinkled. OK? So why don't you put your toys and things where you want them and I'll come up latter and put your clothes away for you.". "OK", Skyler said as he got right to work. An hour later Karen went up to his room to see how he was doing. She walked into his room and saw Skyler's baseball trophy on the night stand next to the bed and most of his things had been stacked neatly in the closet. Karen looked around and smiled. "Does that look alright to you?", Skyler asked. "Oh, that's fine sweetheart as long as your happy with it." "Yeah, this is great. I've never had my own room before. I have always had to share a room with other kids. This is really cool," Skyler said. "Well I'm glad you like it, Skyler. Your getting to the age where you need some privacy and hopefully this will be just the thing. Skyler smiled, "Yeah this is perfect," he said with excitement. As Karen looked around she had a concerned look on her face. "Skyler, it seems that there is something missing. Don't you have a stereo or something to play music on?". "No", Skyler replied, "I have always used the stereos of the other kids I've never had my own stereo." "Well Skyler that's terrible, every kid your age should have a stereo. Tell you what. After I get through putting your clothes away, why don't you and I go into Lake City and look for a stereo so you can have something to listen to. In the mean time, why don't you go outside and look around and check the place out a little bit." Skyler leaped into the air with a resounding "YES!". Karen laughed. "Go on now I'll come get you when I'm ready to leave." Skyler had a wonderful day with Karen. She bought him the biggest boom box he had ever seen along with some tapes and CDs from one of the local music stores. After shopping Karen took Skyler out for dinner to one of his favorite restaurants. When they arrived back in Henifer that evening Karen helped Skyler get the stereo going and left Skyler to enjoy his new toy. "Alright Skyler, bedtime is nine o'clock and I'll be up to help you get ready." Skyler being overwhelmed with excitement nodded to her then laid back on his new bed to listen to his new boom box. Just before nine o'clock Karen walked into her personal bathroom and unlocked a steel cabinet standing next to her shower. The cabinet was full of prescription bottles and medical supplies. She removed two large bottles and placed them on the top of the cabinet taking a pill from each. One contained a pediatric diuretic and the other was a mild sleeping medication. She then put both bottles back into the cabinet and locked it. She put the pills in her pocket and went to the kitchen to get a glass of water. From there she walked into her office and removed a tape from the tape case sitting on her desk and slipped it into her pocket. Skyler had just started listening to the beginning of one of his new CDs when Karen walked into the room with the glass of water in her hand. "OK Skyler, bedtime." "Oh, can't I stay up another fifteen minutes?" "I'm sorry Skyler that's my rule. Bedtime is at nine o'clock. Don't worry the stereo will be there tomorrow and you'll have all day to listen to it then. But right now you're going to bed." "Well, OK," Skyler said disappointed. Karen held out the two pills, "Here I want you to take these." "What are they?", Skyler asked. "They're vitamins. I want you to take them before you go to bed each night, alright." "Sure," Skyler said as she handed him the pills and glass of water. Skyler dropped both pills down his throat and gulped down most of the water. "Good," Karen said as she walked over to the dresser and turned the volume down on the stereo. "Let's get undressed and put your pajamas on." "I don't have any pajamas," Skyler said. "I know, I didn't see any when I was unpacking your clothes today but I have an extra pair from the hospital that I'm sure will fit you. I would prefer that wear them," she said as she opened the dresser and pulled them out. They were light blue flannel with animated cars, trucks and trains with happy faces printed on them. Karen placed them on the bed and grabbed Skylark's shirt pulling it off of him. Skyler seemed a little embarrassed about being undressed by a woman he hardly knew, but he also seemed to like the attention. When Karen was pulling the top of the pajamas over Skyler's head he was already pulling off his jeans because he would have really felt embarrassed if Karen had done that for him, and he didn't want to protest because she had been so nice to him. Karen gently held the bottoms open for him as he slipped one foot in followed by the other. She then slipped them quickly up his legs and over his underpants. They seemed to fit Skyler comfortably although they seemed baggy around his bottom and he didn't particularly care about the babyish print on them either, but he really didn't give it much thought because of his excitement over the fact that he had his own room and a new stereo. Karen pulled back the covers on his bed as Skyler climbed in. She pulled the blanket over him and gently kissed him on the forehead. "Goodnight sweety," she said "I really hope you like it here because I think your a pretty special kid." "I think you're special, too," Skyler said. "Skyler, she said, "I'm going to turn the stereo off because I want it quiet now. However, if you like I have a special tape you can listen to that will help you to sleep. I like to listen to it right before I go to bed." "What kind of music is it?" he asked. "Well hun it's not music, it's just the sound of the ocean and I find it really pleasant and relaxing as I'm falling to sleep. Do you want to try it?" Skyler thought about for a couple of seconds, "Sure, why not." "Good, then I'll put it in and I'll see you in the morning.", she said. She took the tape out of her pocket and put into Skyler's tape deck. Skyler looked as though he was already dozing off to sleep as Karen pushed the play button on the stereo. "Night, Night", she said as the tape started and she closed the door to his room leaving a small crack. "Goodnight," Skyler said in a slumbering voice. The following morning Karen quietly entered Skyler's room. He was still sleeping soundly and hadn't moved from where she left him the night before. She knelt down and slipped her hand under the covers to check the bedding. It was dry. She got up and sat on the edge of the bed and gently shook Skyler awake. As he woke up he felt the pain of a very full bladder. "Skyler, honey, come on sleepy head, you need to get up. I going to make you some pancakes for breakfast." Skyler began to awaken and sat up in the bed. "Did you sleep well?" Karen asked. "Huh uh" he mumbled as he stretched. "Good," Karen smiled, "Baby I want you to take a bath before breakfast so you can start the day nice and clean." It didn't even seem unusual to Skyler that she had called him "baby." "Can't I take a shower instead?" Skyler asked, "I usually don't take baths." "Well I'm sorry Skyler, but the shower is broken in the hallway bathroom and the only shower that works is mine and I prefer that you stay out of my bathroom. Don't worry though, I'll get the shower fixed soon. But until I do you'll have to take baths." "OK," he said as he rubbed his eyes. "I'll go start your bath and I'll be right back." "Alright, but please hurry because I have to pee real bad." Skyler heard the water start running just before Karen came back into his room. She walked right over to Skyler who was still sitting on top of his bed and she grabbed his pajama tops and started pulling them up. "Raise your arms, sweety." Skyler still felt very tired and did as she asked as she pulled the rest of the tops over his head. Before he could re- orient himself Karen had gently pushed Skyler's back onto the bed and began pulling his pajama bottoms off. "Lift your bottom for me," she said as she started tugging at the bottoms. Skyler was starting to feel a little embarrassed having her undress him. Then she turned around and went for his underpants. "No!" he cried, "wait a minute. I don't want you to see me naked." "Oh stop it!" Karen snapped, I'm a nurse for crying out loud, I've seen lots of little boys in their birthday suits and your no different. Now lift up your bottom so I can put these in the dirty laundry." Skyler felt humiliated but did as he was told as she removed his underpants. "Now go jump in tub and I'll put some clean clothes out for you to wear when you get out. Then come downstairs and we'll have some pancakes for breakfast." Skyler ran across the hall and landed on top of the toilet just in time as his urine started to flow. He felt a great sense of relief as the pain went away with the emptying his bladder. The following day for Skyler was better than the first. Karen borrowed a couple of the neighbor's horses and packed a lunch for the both of them. Since Karen was raised in the area, she knew where all the good trails were. After they had their picnic Skyler laid his head on Karen's lap and they talked about what seem like everything under the sun. When they arrived back at the house that evening Skyler went up to his room to listen to his new stereo while Karen made their dinner. After dinner they both watched television together in the family room. To Skyler it really felt like home. Just before nine o'clock Karen got up and then returned with the two pills and the glass of water. "Here's your vitamins, then lets go up and get you ready for bed." Skyler took the pills and started up to his room as Karen followed close behind. As they both entered the room Skyler was about to remove his shirt when Karen motioned to the bed. "Let's get your shoes off first, silly". Skyler sat on the bed as Karen knelt down to untied and remove his shoes then striped him down to his underwear. She removed the pajamas from his dresser and pulled the top over his head as he found each arm hole. He was about to stand up from the bed so he could slip into his pajama bottoms when Karen pushed him back onto the bed and slipped his feet through the legs of his pajama bottoms. "Lift your bottom", she said as she pulled them up over his hips. Skyler still felt uneasy having Karen dress him the way she did. But he didn't want to say anything to upset Karen and besides he had never really had a mother before so he wasn't sure if this was normal or not. So he just let it go. Karen tucked him into bed and kissed his forehead. "Goodnight baby, I'll see you in the morning. Would you like to listen to my relaxation tape again?", she asked. "Yeah", Skyler replied, "I like that tape it's nice." "OK", Karen said smiling, "I'll put it on for you." Then she turned out the light and left the door cracked. The next three mornings it was the same routine. Karen came into Skyler's room and slip her hand under the sheets to find that they were still dry. She would gently wake Skyler and remove his pajamas for him while he was limp from the medication then he would run to the bathroom because he would have to pee badly. The sixth morning was different however, as Karen walked into Skyler's room she could visibly see that the bed was soaked with urine. She gently shook Skyler to wake him up and he immediately felt the cold wetness underneath himself and bolted up. "Skyler, honey, why is the bed all wet?" she said as pulled the sheet to her nose to smell what it could be. Skyler knew right away what it was and sat in horror. "Oh Skyler, you wet the bed last night." He sat speechless not knowing what to say. "Honey are you feeling alright?", Karen asked as she put her hand on Skyler's forehead. Skyler nodded, "Yeah, I feel OK." "Well sweetheart is there something your not telling me. Do you have a bed wetting problem?" "NO! I've never wet the bed before in my life," Skyler replied. "Honey it's alright to talk to me about it if you do. There are lots of kids your age that have accidents. Are you sure you don't have a problem?" "No! I'm telling you I've never peed the bed before. Ever!" he shouted. "Skyler, just calm down. It probably happened because your in a new environment, and you've been very excited lately anyway. But if you do have a problem I want you to feel free to tell me so I can help you take care it, alright," she said as she pulled back his covers and started to remove his pajama bottoms. "Now lets get you out of these wet things and get you into the tub," she said as Skyler instinctively raised his bottom so Karen could remove his wet underpants. Skyler wet the bed again that same week and then twice the next. After the fourth episode Karen was ready to have a talk with him about it after breakfast. "Skyler, I want to talk to you about your bed wetting problem." He looked down and stared at the table as she talked. "Honey I know you didn't have this problem before you came to live here. I even called the Boy's Ranch and asked the nurse and she told me you never had a problem while you were staying there. I really think this is something that will just pass with time. However, in the mean time I'm afraid I am going to have to take some steps so that you don't ruin your new mattress, so I'm going to put a plastic sheet over your mattress to protect it from any further wetness. Is that OK?" "I guess," he said somberly. "Baby I'm sorry, but we really have to protect that mattress. Don't feel bad, a lot of boys your age wet the bed. It's something that will pass." "I sure hope so," Skyler said with tears in his eyes. Karen walked over to him and gave him a hug. "It'll get better I promise. I'm going to take good care of you. You'll see." It took a while for Skyler to get used to the plastic sheets. The noise it made whenever he moved around in or on the bed seem to startle him, but after a week he became quite used to it. He figured that as soon as the problem went away he wouldn't have to have it on his bed anymore. However, the problem didn't go away. It just got worse. Every morning he was waking up in a wet bed and Karen would have to strip and wash the bedding after she removed Skyler's wet clothing. At first she was very understanding about it, but as the problem persisted Skyler could tell that she was losing her patients with him. Some mornings she would remove his pajamas impatiently without saying a word to him and he could tell by the look on her face that she was not at all happy with him. One morning as Karen was removing Skyler's wet bedding, she seemed a little angrier that usual. "I'm so tired of washing your wet bedding everyday. You know Skyler if this problem keeps up I think I'll just put you diapers!" Skyler felt completely humiliated, "Oh, very funny Karen," he said as tears welled up in his eyes. "Well to be very honest with you, Skyler it would be much easier for me to change a diaper once a day than it would be to change and wash your bedding then put it back on your bed. Besides, that's how we took care of these problems in the hospital and it worked out very well," Karen said angrily. "No way Karen, your not putting a stupid diaper on me!" he snapped. She pointed at the urine soaked sheets, "If this keeps up that's precisely what's going to happen, young man." Skyler ran naked out of the room and slammed the bathroom door. He sat in the bathtub and cried for ten minutes when the bathroom door opened and Karen walked in. As she came in she took a clean wash cloth from the linen closet and sat on the side of the tub. "Honey, I'm sorry I yelled at you this morning," she said as moistened the wash cloth and started to gently scrub Skylark's back. "This bedwetting problem has been hard on both of us and we'll get through it together," she said soothingly. "We just have to work together on this and everything will be just fine. OK?" Skyler nodded. As Karen talked she gently stroked Skyler's skin with the washcloth which felt wonderful. He stopped crying and was feeling a little better about what happened. "I want you to trust me on this OK baby? Can you trust me?" "Yeah, I can trust you." "Good, I'm glad." School started the following Monday and Skyler was very excited about going to a new school. Karen had packed a lunch for him and confirmed with him where he would catch the bus. Karen watched as Skyler walked across the front yard to the drive that connected to Mill Road. When Skyler was out of site, she went into her office and turned on her recording equipment. After putting in a fresh tape into the machine she pressed the "Record Loop" button and put the microphone up to her mouth and in a very soft voice she said, "You need to wear diapers, you have to wear diapers, you will wear diapers my baby. Now pee....pee....pee." Karen then played back the loop in order to make certain that it recorded then dubbed it to the subliminal track of a tape called "Whale Sound". When Skyler arrived home Karen was sitting in the living room reading a book. "Hi, baby, how was your first day of school?" "It was good." "Do you like your teacher?" "Yeah, I think she's pretty nice. "Well I'm glad. Do you have any homework?" " Yeah a little." "Well, Karen said, "I might as well tell you that in this house I'll require you to do you homework as soon as you get home. No TV and no going to a friend's house until it's done. Understood?" "Yes mom", he said as they both smiled at each other. "I'll have dinner ready for you in a couple of hours." That night, after Karen had given Skyler his pills and put him in his pajamas she slipped the new tape into Skylark's stereo. "I have a new relaxation tape for you. I just got it in the mail today. It's called Whale Sounds. Listen to it tonight and tell me if you like it." "OK, goodnight" "Goodnight baby, sweet dreams." Every night that week Skyler had wet the bed, and every morning as Karen would remove his wet pajamas she would scold him. On Friday morning Skyler had once again peed the bed and as usual he looked down at the floor and apologized as Karen was stripping him of his soaked pajamas. However, on this particular day, instead of being scolded, Karen just smiled and said, "Don't worry baby I'm going to take care of it. Jump into the bath and I'll put your clothes out for you", and kissed him on the forehead. No scolding, no harsh or angry looks. He was surprised. He thought that maybe she was just getting used to the extra chore..... To the Present. Skyler stood in the doorway of his room in a rather numb shock. "You're not going to put those diapers on me," he said. "Skyler, we talked about this, don't you remember?" "I didn't think you were serious." "Of course I was serious. I'm getting real tired of washing urine soaked sheets and pajamas." Another wave of panic went through Skyler. "There's no way that I'm going to wear diapers. You can't make me," he shouted "Skyler, honey, calm down you WILL wear diapers until we can get this problem solved." As Skyler heard the words, "you will wear diapers" he felt a sense of surrender as if it were his unwanted destiny. It was the same kind of feeling as when he was out of control while riding his bicycle and about to crash. He didn't want to do it but there was nothing he could do about it other than just accept it. But he still tried to fight against it. "No way, no way at all. You're not going to make me wear those things." "Look young man. You're either going to wear the diapers to bed or I'm going to send you back to the Boy's Ranch. Understood!" Skyler could feel the tears welling up in his eyes. He certainly did not want to go back to the Boy's Ranch. "I'm sorry Skyler, but you NEED to wear diapers." Once again the words rang into his head and he felt an even stronger wave of defeat. He started crying, "It's not fair. It's not fair." Karen walk over and put her arms around him and pulled him over to the bed. "Look sweetheart, I'm sorry, but we need to work through this together. The problem will most likely go away with time. Baby, I'm just getting real tired of all the extra laundry I have to do and it really will be much easier for me to do one or two loads of diapers every week instead of stripping your bed every day washing your bedding and having to put it back on the bed. And besides, I think you'll be much more comfortable not waking up in a wet bed every morning". Skyler was sobbing into Karen's breast. "But what will my friends think, that I'm still a little baby?" "No one is going to know your wearing a diaper to bed. The only people who are going to know is you and me.", she said. "Yeah, but what will my friends say if they come into my room and see diaper stuff all over." "Well honey, I don't want your friends up here. If your friends come over you can play down in the family room. I don't want them chasing around up here." Skyler continued to cry. "Karen, I'm nine years old, I'm not a baby. Only babies have to wear diapers." "Of course your not a baby honey. But lots of boys your age have bed wetting problems and yes, boys your age do wear diapers. When I was working in the Children's Hospital most of children were very sick and had difficulty controlling urine and bowel movement so we had to diaper them. It will be OK, I promise, and it certainly won't be forever," Karen said as she gently rocked him and smiled down at him. "Now go down stairs and do your home work and after that you can watch some television until dinner is ready. OK." Skyler slowly got up and walked defeatedly out of the room. "I don't want you to worry about it, OK. I love you." Skyler didn't reply. The Foster Child Part 3 Karen and Skyler ate their dinner in silence. After Karen was through cleaning up she went up to her bathroom and unlocked the cabinet to retrieve Skyler's special medication. Karen knew that Skyler would have a great amount of anxiety over having to be diapered so instead of giving him his normal medication she dispensed a stronger one. This, she figured, would help the both of them in taking his big step backwards. She locked the cabinet and went downstairs to the kitchen and placed the two tablets in a mortar and pistol and began grinding the tablets into a fine powder. Next she made two root beer floats and pour the fine powder into one of the floats and mixed it. Skyler was watching television when Karen walked in holding the two root beer floats. "Here I made us a treat," she said. "Oh, thanks. I love R.B. floats," he said smiling as she handed him the float. Skyler had just about finished his float when Karen put her hand on his knee. "Honey, I want you to take a bath tonight before you go to bed. I got the neighbor's horses for early in the morning and I don't think you'll have enough time to take one in the morning. Is that alright?" Skyler looked at Karen nervously, "Yeah sure." "Good then I'll go run the bath for you while you finish your drink and watch your program." About ten minutes later Karen return to the family room to see that the medication had already started taking effect. Skyler was starting to doze off just a little. "Come on sleepy head I have your bath ready for you, let's go." Skyler stood up and walked slowly up the stairs with Karen right behind him. When he got to his room he fell onto the bed. Karen grabbed his arm and lifted him into a sitting position and started removing his socks and shirt. She then pushed him back onto the bed and began unbuttoning his pants as Skyler was dozing some more. "My, aren't you a sleepy head tonight. You've had a long day," she said as she slipped off his underpants. She pull him to his feet and put her arm under him and lead him toward the bathroom. "Come on, sweetheart, mommy is going to give you a little bath before we put your diaper and jammies on." "I'm tired," Skyler moaned as he stepped into the bath tub. "Just lay back and I'll take care of everything. That's it." Karen picked up a wash cloth and began to gently rub Skyler's chest and neck. "Skyler, can you hear me?" "Yeah," Skyler moaned. "Good. Now baby I just want you to lay back and listen to my voice. All you can hear is my voice, Skyler. Just relax and feel the warm water as it soothes you. That's it, sweet heart. Mommy's going to take care of you. She's going to take care of your bed wetting problem and put you in diapers. Is that OK sweet heart?" "Uh huh." "Good. Very good. You're not going to give me any problems will you because you wet the bed and therefore you need to wear diapers.....you have to wear diapers, .....and you will wear diapers. Alright sweetheart?" "Uh hun." "You're such a good boy. I love you.". After Karen was through giving Skyler his bath she toweled him dry while trying to keep him from falling over and then she helped him to the bedroom where he fell onto his bed causing the plastic sheet to crinkle as he landed. The fall sort of brought Skyler too as Karen turned him over on his stomach and opened the tub of Desitine ointment that was sitting on Skylark's night stand and began rubbing it on some of the red areas of his bottom. "After lying in your wet bed you have already started developing a rash. This will help take care of it," she said as she rubbed it into the red areas. Next she picked up the bottle of baby lotion and dispensed some into her hand and started rubbing it all over Skyler's bottom being sure to rub it into the crack of his little bottom. She began to gently hum a lullaby as she thought to herself how nice it was to care for a little boy the way they should really be cared for. After finishing his bottom she placed the baby lotion back on the night stand and went over to Skyler's dresser and opened the top drawer to remove a pair of plastic pants which she set on top of the dresser. Moving down she opened the bottom drawer and removed two freshly folded diapers and put on top of the plastic pants and closed the drawer. Grabbing the whole stack she stepped over to the bed where Skyler was still lying on his stomach and set the diapers on the bed and the plastic pants on the night stand. She unfolded each diaper and then placed them together and expertly refolded them into a contour shape. Grabbing Skyler's shoulder and hip she rolled him over onto the diaper and gently spread his legs apart. Skyler opened his eyes for just a moment and looked around unconcerned and then drifted off again. Karen still humming smiled and picked up the bottle of baby lotion from the night stand and began spreading some of it around the front side of Skyler's diaper area. After rotating the top of the baby powder to open it she placed it to her nose to smell the fragrance then sprinkled it liberally onto Skyler. Placing the baby powder back on the night stand she picked up one of the ducky diapers pins that was laying there in wait. She grasped the pin between her teeth and gently pulled the thick diapers up between Skyler's limp legs and spread the front of the diaper across his stomach. Grasping both corners of the diaper she pulled them together and slipped the ducky pin through the material and fastened it. Retrieving the second pin and gripping it in her teeth she pulled the other two corners of the diapers together so snugly that it brought Skyler out of his stupor. He watch as Karen set the last pin into the soft bulk of white cloth around his bottom, between his legs and over his stomach. Karen rubbed the bulky cloth across Skyler's stomach and smiled, "Now that's not so bad is it?". Skyler was swimming in a sea of surrealism to the point that it didn't matter to him what he was wearing. He just smiled back up to Karen. Karen reached behind her and took the plastic pants off the night stand and shook them open. She leaned over Skyler's feet picking each one and sliding the leg hole of the plastic pants over each foot. She gently slipped the crinkly plastic baby pants up his legs and pulled them over the front of his diaper. Gently rolling him over on his side she managed to pull the back of the plastic seal over the bulk of the cloth covering his bottom. After letting him down back onto his back she made sure that the pants were snug around his legs. She sat for a moment to admire her handiwork. It felt so nice for her to take care of a little boy how she thought they should be cared for. The world forces little boys to grow up much too fast. She was going to make sure that Skyler would receive the best care and love that any mother would give a precious toddler. Karen smiled and took a deep breath and went over to the dresser to retrieve Skyler's pajamas. Even in Skyler's drugged state she was able to expertly put them on him as he went in and out of consciousness. She then pulled his covers over him and put a fresh tape into his stereo, and turned out the lights. "Nighty nite, my little one". The next morning Skyler woke up to Karen rubbing his diapered bottom. "Skyler, wake up, it's after ten and we are supposed to go horseback riding this morning." As he rolled onto his back he became aware of the thick diaper he was wearing and how it forced his legs apart. He vaguely remembered the night before when Karen had given him a bath and had diapered him. "My, my, aren't you a sleepy head these days. You had a hard time staying awake long enough for me to get you ready for bed. Are you wet sweetheart? Did you have an accident? "I don't know," Skyler said sleepily. Karen gently pulled down the covers and grabbed Skyler's pajama bottoms that seemed to fit perfect around the bulk of the diapers. Skyler instinctively raised up his bottom as Karen pulled off his pajama bottoms. "Let's check and see if you're wet," she said as she slipped her finger between Skyler's leg and the plastic pants. "My goodness. You are soaked, little man. Let's get you out of these wet diapers and cleaned up for breakfast," she gasped as she began to pull of the plastic pants and again Skyler instinctively lifted his bottom in order that she could slip them over the bulky diapers. She placed the plastic pants at the foot of the bed and removed the ducky pin from one side of the diaper. Skyler felt the release of pressure as the snug material went loose as she removed the pin. After Karen removed the second pin she pulled the soaked diaper out from under him and he felt the rush of cool air touch his bottom as the smell of urine and diaper rash ointment became noticeable. Skyler still felt very drowsy as Karen took out a baby wipes and began wiping off the diapered area. "Now see, that isn't so bad now is it?" she said as she rolled Skyler onto his side so she could wipe his bottom. "It's a lot better than waking up in a wet bed isn't it?" Skyler didn't answer. "Honey it's going to work out just fine. Don't you worry about it OK," she said as she took the lid off the diaper pail and dropped the dirty diapers and plastic pants into it. "Everything is going to be just fine. You'll see." Skyler was feeling better after he had his breakfast and he and Karen went out horseback riding. He really enjoyed being with her. She was better than any best friend he had ever had. As they were coming back Skyler asked Karen if it would be okay if he called her "mom". Karen smiled, "That would make me very happy, Skyler. You can call me mom, mother, or even mommy if you like." This seem to make Skyler happy. That evening after dinner, Karen went to the cabinet in her bathroom to get Skyler's special medication. She figured that Skyler was accepting his regressive treatment better than she had anticipated. Therefore she felt that she didn't need to give the heavy medication that she slipped him the night before. Skyler was watching television in the family room when Karen came with a glass of water and the familiar pills. "Hey, champ, I have your vitamins for you." Skyler sat up as Karen handed him the pills. "You can watch TV for another half hour and then I want to get you ready for bedtime." Skyler tried to contain his feelings of disappointment because he knew that "getting ready for bedtime" meant having to wear the diapers again. When 9:00 PM rolled around Karen noticed that Skyler was already yawning and that his medication was starting to kick in. "Come on, sweety pie, lets go upstairs and we'll get you ready for bed." Skyler felt panicked, "Mom is it alright if I don't wear diapers tonight. Pleeeease! I promise I won't wet the bed tonight. I promise. Pleeease.!" OI'm sorry sweetheart, but you remember what I said.", she replied. OOh come on Karen", he wined, OI promise. I swear!". OBut Skyler, you need to wear diapers, and you have to wear diapers. As Skyler heard the words he felt the familiar wave of surrender and defeat come over him causing him to lose all of his resolve as if he were completely helpless against Karen's will. "So young man you better march yourself right on up those stairs and into your room right this minute", she said in a soft but firm voice. OYes maam", he said as he lowered his head and started for the stairs with Karen right behind. Skyler pouted as he sat on his bed while Karen started to untie his shoes. He held his arms up instinctively as she started removing his shirt and then laid back on the bed as she unsnapped the button on his pants and he lifted his bottom so she could pull them off. With nothing but his underpants on she told him to stand up as she removed two diapers and a pairs of plastic pants from his dresser drawer and set the whole pile on the end of his bed. She reached over to the small box on his night stand and removed the diapers pins and set them on the pile. She leaned over and pulled his underpants down to his feet and had him step out of them.. She sat on the edge of the bed and opened the bottle of baby lotion and put a generous amount on her hand and began rubbing it onto Skyler's bottom as he stood in front of her. "Don't worry precious," she said soothingly, "we'll only have to do this until you get over your problem. It won't be forever." Skyler stared at the pile on the end of the bed feeling helpless and small knowing that in a few minutes he was going to be wearing them like a toddler for his toddler like problem. Karen smiled up at him as she apply lotion to front of his "soon to be" diaper area. He smiled back at her awkwardly while he began to enjoy the attention she was giving him. He did, after all, really like her and considered her his best friend and she was more of a mother to him than anyone in his life. Karen stood up and took one of the diapers off the pile and spread it out on the bed and then did the same with the second, spreading it out on top of the first and folding the both of them together with great expertise. "OK Skyler, I want you to lay down with your little bottom right here," she said patting the carefully folded diapers with her hand. Skyler did as he was told. As he lay on the diapers he noticed the soft thickness under his bottom which he hadn't noticed the night before because of his drowsiness while Karen spprinkled him with baby powder "Now I want you to spread your legs for me. Just a little bit...... that's it," she said as she pulled the thick softness up between Skyler's legs. Karen smiled down at him as she spread the diaper evenly across the front of him and held a diaper pin in her teeth. Skyler felt the diaper caressing his side as Karen carefully placed and clasped the first pin. Before Skyler knew it, she had another diaper pin in her mouth and he felt the familiar tightness from the night before as she made sure the diaper fit snug and she set and clasped the other diaper pin. "You are the light in my life," she said smiling down at him. Skyler seem to notice a vibrant glow in her face as she reached behind her and shook out the light pink plastic pants. "Let's get you into your plastic pants." Skyler pointed his toes as she threaded his legs through the elastic holes and slid them up his legs as he raised his bottom. She made certain that the diaper was completely sealed inside. "There, that's not so bad now is it?" she said as she gently patted the front of his diaper. Skyler gazed down at her handy work. "Now lets get you into you into your jammies and then it's lights out. OK?" "Alright," he replied. In no time at all Karen had Skyler in his pajamas and tucked into his bed. After saying goodnight she started his relaxation tape and turned out the light. As Skyler lay in his bed he listened to the sounds of the tape and became very aware of the warm diaper around his loin. A great sense of peace and well being seemed to come over him as he started to doze off. It almost seemed to comfort him that the diaper was going to do its duty weather he wet himself or not. Maybe Karen was right, maybe it was for the best. When Skyler awoke the next morning he still felt the warmth and security of the diaper around his bottom. Karen was already in his room putting away some laundry. "Good morning, baby," she said with a bright smile, "Do you have a wet diaper this morning?" "I don't know, I can't really tell." "Well then, lets have a look," she said, and she pull the covers off of Skyler reveling the bulky pajama bottoms. After pulling up his pajama top reveling his navel she reached under him and began pulling off Skyler's pajama bottoms. Skyler couldn't help but notice how easily they slipped over the slick plastic pants. After getting the bottoms off, Karen gently slipped her finger between Skyler's leg and the inside of the diaper. "Oh you really are a soaked little boy," she said with a smile in her eye, "Let get you out of these soggy diapers and into the bath tub." As she pulled off his plastic pants Skyler felt the familiar rush of cool air hit his skin. She removed both of the diaper pins allowing the diaper to remain in place. Then with one quick movement she pulled the top of the diaper off of Skyler's stomach, between his legs and rolled it up from underneath him. After dropping it into the diaper pail she pulled some baby wipes from the container sitting on his night stand. Skyler began to sit up when she gently pushed him back down on the bed and began wiping his diapered area. "Skyler honey, I want to thank you for helping me with this bed wetting problem. I know this is not easy for you having to wear diapers again, but it really is a great help to me not to have to wash your bedding every day. Thank you baby, I love you," she said as she leaned over and kissed his cheek. A warm feeling ran through Skyler. "You're welcome," he said blushing. "Now into the tub with you little man. And I'll put your clothes out for school." The Foster Child Part 4 As the week went on Skyler found himself becoming more comfortable with wearing diapers to bed each night and having to go through the diaper and jammie ritual each evening and morning. Skyler really enjoyed the psychological and physical intimacy he had with Karen especially during diaper and jammie time. He felt he could truly trust Karen and that she was the only adult he had in his life who never lied, cheated, or had given away his secrets. Each night as she was putting him in his diapers she would assure him that she would never tell anyone about his problem and that his secret would always be safe with her. He always felt safe when he with her and started calling he "Mom" more and more. That Friday night, Skyler was doing his homework on the kitchen table as Karen was making dinner. "Mom?" "Yes." "Can I ask a favor?" "Well certainly baby, what is it?" "I was wondering that since it's not a school night and I don't have to go anywhere in the morning. Would it be OK if I stayed up and watched the late night horror movie on TV. tonight?" Karen looked at Skyler disapprovingly, "Honey, that's way past your bed time. You know my rule about that." "But mooom, all my friends at school watch it every weekend and they say it's really cool. Pleeease?" Karen stopped what she was doing and thought about it. "Alright Skyler, I'll tell you what. Since you've been such a good boy for me while you've been here. I'll let you stay up and watch your program. But only under one condition. I want to put your diaper and jammies on early so I don't have to worry about doing it later after the program. Second, tomorrow after lunch I want you to go down for a little nap so you can catch up on your sleep. Skyler protested, "Take a nap! Why? I don't need to catch up on any sleep." "Skyler honey, I think that might be one of the reasons your wetting the bed at night is because your not getting enough sleep at night. In fact, a lot of nights when I am getting you ready for bed you can hardly keep your eyes open. I have been thinking about moving your bed time up to eight o'clock instead of nine and putting you down for a nap on days that you're not in school." "Mom, no! I get plenty of sleep. I don't need to take no nap. Only babies take naps." "Not so fast, young man. Even I enjoy taking naps. You and I have taken lots of naps together when we have our picnics. And besides, I have just been thinking about it. I haven't decided yet whether I'm going to do it. But if you want to stay up late on Fridays to watch your program I am going to insist that you take a nap on Saturday afternoon. OK?" Skyler thought about it for a moment, "OK, you got a deal." At eight thirty that night when Skyler was watching television Karen called him from upstairs. "Skyler! Come upstairs I want to put your diaper and jammies on and then you can go back downstairs and watch TV." "OK," he said as he ran up the stairs. When he got to his room Karen already had his diaper spread out on the bed waiting for him as she started undressing him and applying diaper rash ointment and baby lotion. Once she had him dressed for bed he started back downstairs to watch television. He wasn't used to walking around with his diapers on since he usually was put directly to bed. The soft bulkiness between his leg made it awkward for him to move as he waddled down the stairs and onto the sofa with the overwhelming scent of baby lotion and powder that Karen had applied. After giving him his special medication, Karen brought over a blanket and joined Skyler on the couch pulling him up close to her so he could lay his head in her lap as he watched TV. together. Skyler felt warm and comfortable in her arms as they watched the beginning of the news. About an hour and a half after they started watching television together, Skyler felt his bladder getting full. "Mom", he said shyly to Karen. "What is it?" "I have to go to the bathroom" "Skyler, why didn't you go before I put your diapers on?" "I didn't need to go then." "Do you have to go number one or number two?" "Number one," he said urgently. "Well honey, just go in your diaper." "No way! That's just for accidents." Karen smiled, It's alright, sweetheart, that's what the diaper is for, it will be fine until morning when I can change you. Skyler looked confused, "But.....but.." Karen pulled Skyler closer to her and began slowly stroking his head, "Come on, it's OK, just relax. That's it, honey, just relax and let it happen." Skyler seemed to calm down as Karen soothed him. He felt warm and limp as she stroked him and spoke to him. "That's a good boy," she said, " Now pee, Skyler. Relax and pee, it's alright, you can do it." As soon as Skyler heard the word "pee" come from her mouth he felt a warm stream shower down the front of him and into the soft absorbent material of the diaper. He felt so completely relaxed, it was as though he was unable to control himself even if he wanted to, but at the moment it seem like the most natural thing to do with Karen's loving encouragement. He had a great sense of relief as he nuzzled back into her arms and against her breast. She smiled and patted his thickly diapered bottom. He was sound asleep before the program had even ended. Karen woke him up and helped him up to his bed. He fell right to sleep as his head hit the pillow. Karen put the relaxation tape into his stereo and started it playing. As she left the room she commented under her breath, "You're going to be a very wet little boy by morning," as she quietly closed the door behind her. The next morning Skyler was wet indeed. As Karen was removing his wet double diaper she was concerned that it might drip onto the carpet before she could get it into the diaper pail. Skyler complained, "Mom, my bottom hurts." Karen gently rolled him over on his side. "Let me have a look", she said. "Oh Skyler, sweetheart, I'm afraid you have a bad case of diaper rash. I think from now on I'm really going to have to cover your little bottom with lots of ointment before I put your diaper on. It might be a good idea to keep ointment on it for the next couple of days with a frequent change of underwear so we can keep the area dry." "OK," he replied. Karen removed a couple of baby wipes and began cleaning Skyler's bottom. As she rubbed the diaper rashed area Skyler jumped. "Owwe!" Sorry sweetheart, I'll be more careful. Here, lets put some Desitin on it." The ointment felt soothing as she spread it onto his bottom. "Ummm, that feels good". Karen smiled, "Does that feel better, baby?" "Yea" he replied After breakfast that morning, Skyler was helping Karen clean up. "Well Skyler, I have a surprise for you." Skyler looked up, "You do?" "Yeah, you've been such a great kid to have around and you haven't given me any problems at all. You've been doing very well in school, you help me around the house, and I really appreciate your cooperation you have given me in dealing with your bedwetting problem. So, I have been talking to Ms. Talbot down the street and she has a two year old mare that she wants to sell to me..... "You mean I get to have my own horse!" Skyler said jumping up and down. "Yes," Karen said laughing, "I'm going to get you a horse." "Wow, mom, that's great! My own horse! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" he said jumping up and down. "We're going to keep it next door at with Mr. Jensen and you'll be able to ride it any time you want. As long as you remain a good boy." "Oh mom, can we go down Ms. Talbot's and see the horse this morning. Please!" "Ms. Talbot is already expecting us. So lets go upstairs so I can check your bottom and we'll go see your new horse." Skyler was so excited he wasn't even aware of Karen as she fussed over the area of diaper rash on his bottom. She applied some more diaper rash ointment and then slathered the rest of his behind with baby lotion. Skyler's didn't even notice that he smelled like a baby. That afternoon Skyler was listening to his stereo, still on cloud nine, dreaming about his own horse when Karen came into his room. "Nap time!" she said with a smile. "Ah mom, do I have to?" "Remember what we agreed on yesterday? You could stay up and watch the late movie as long as you would go down for a nap. Isn't that what we said?" "But mom, I'm too excited about my new horse. There's no way I can sleep." "I know darling, but I want you to try. OK? Skyler was so happy that Karen was getting him his own horse he wasn't interested in arguing with her. Karen walked over to the dresser and started removing fresh diapers from the bottom drawer. "Mom it's OK, I won't need the diapers. I'm only going to take a nap. I'm not going to wet." "I'm sorry honey, but we're not going to take any chances. You don't have to wear your PJ's but I don't want you going down with out your diapers on. OK? Once again Skyler was too happy about his horse to argue. "OK", he said as he positioned himself on the bed so Karen could get his pants off. "That's my boy," she said as she pulled up his shirt and began unsnapping the buttons on his pants. "What do you think I should name my horse?" he asked as Karen was folding the diapers together to put under him. "I think you should name her anything you want. Roll over on your side." "Maybe I'll name her Sparky." "Sparky! That's a dog's name," she laughed and she pulled him over onto the diaper and brought it up between his legs. "Perhaps Starlight might be a more appropriate name," she said while clasping the first diaper pin. "Starlight!!! Wow that's a great name for a horse. Can I call her Starlight?" "Well of course, you decide." She shook out some light blue plastic pants. "Now upsee daisy so I can put your plastic pants on." Skyler grinned ear to ear as he lifted his bottom so Karen could cover his freshly diapered bottom into its plastic shell. "Yeah I'll name her Starlight." Karen pulled back the covers on his bed as he slid himself underneath with the loud crinkling of the plastic sheet and his plastic pants announcing his being tucked into bed. As Skyler settled into the bed and the bulky diapers the sound stopped. "Now I want you to stay down for at least an hour. Alright?" "OK mom," he replied. "I'll be in my room taking a nap myself." Skyler just beam his eyes up at her. As Karen was leaving the room she put "Ocean Tape" into Skyler's stereo and it began to play. Within a couple of minutes the ocean sounds had Skyler falling uncontrollably into a deep sleep as his urine began soaking the cotton layers of his soft well-secured diaper. Karen was in the family room reading a book when Skyler slowly came down the stairs in his diaper and tee shirt trying to rub the sleepiness out of his eyes. "Well hello, sleepy head. Did you have a nice nap? You slept for almost three hours." Skyler just grumbled something as he sat on the couch. His plastic pants sliding down the cushion. "Is your diaper wet?" Skyler nodded yes. Karen smiled to herself, for this was a milestone in her plan of changing Skyler's behavior. After putting Skyler down for a nap, she didn't use any medication. She felt that Skyler was at a point where he had completely accepted having to wear diapers and had totally abandoned his bed time potty training, and soon she would not have to use the tapes anymore. He was also accepting having a loving mother take over many of his personal capabilities of dressing, and bathing himself. As time went on Skyler became completely resigned to wearing diapers. Any time that Karen approached him with a stack of diapers in her hands or at her command of, "Okay Skyler, diaper time!" Skyler would immediately lay down on the floor or the bed with his hands above his head. Like an eager toddler trying to make his mother happy. He didn't even mind the baby prints on his plastic pants, pajamas, or his bed sheets. Bedtime became 8:00 pm instead of 9:00 pm, and there was never any argument about nap time. Karen's theory was proven correct. Put a little boy in diapers and before long he'll be using them. During her work in the psychiatric unit of the children hospital, there was one principle that was very evident. Little boys are much harder to potty train than little girls. Especially at bed time. It seemed to her that little boys were much lazier than little girls when awakened at night by a full bladder. Little boys are usually too tired to go potty so they just wet themselves along with the bed. Mommy will take care of it in the morning. You give them back the luxury of being back in diapers and it all comes back to them. They no longer have to get up to use the bathroom. But at the same time they also have regained their power over mommy to give them the attention that little boys still in diapers receive. Skyler proved this to her without a doubt. Perhaps her little man was ready for the next phase of regressive dependency. The first phase was putting him back in diapers and this went much better than expected. The next phase would not be nearly as difficult. Putting Skyler back on the bottle. This phase would have to be done in stages just like the first phase. She would start him thumb sucking at bed time and give him a glass of warm milk. Then using her loving encouragement she would converge his two needs into one. The baby bottle. One Monday morning after sending Skyler to school, Karen went to her office and called the dairy that delivered milk to the house and ordered an extra half gallon a week. After hanging up the phone she went into her office removed a new tape from the tape box and placed it into recording equipment next to her desk. Pressing the "record" button, she picked up the microphone and in a soft gentle voice said, "When wearing diapers suck your thumb. Suck Skyler, suck your thumb like a baby." THE END.