Another Way, Another Day

Chapter 10

Fifth Visit – 2 Years Old (June 27th, 1994)

Amanda sat on her mother’s lap, sucking on her pacifier and clutching her doll as her mother and Doctor Gembella spoke.  Unlike her last visit, the doctor didn’t ask her any questions after measuring and weighing her.  Instead, her mother spoke for her.  She found that while she could understand little of what they were discussing, she also had some vague sense of what they were saying, as if something buried deep in her mind could still form a loose interpretation of the words she was hearing.  Amanda didn’t mind as they discussed sleeping schedules and meals, but couldn’t help but feel embarrassed when the discussion turned to her bodily functions.

“And how are we doing with peeing and pooping?”  The doctor asked, turning the page on her chart to look at the answers her mother submitted to the questionnaire.  “No constipation?”

“No, she’s been regular since she was put back in diapers” her mother replied, bouncing Amanda on her knee as she began to fuss from embarrassment.

“Good.  A lot of my patients resist being in diapers initially and end up becoming backed up.  And 6-7 diaper changes per day, that’s typical.  Does she let you know when she’s gone in her diaper?” the doctor continued.

“Well, if she’s wet, she’ll keep playing.  She doesn’t seem to mind that.  I’ll have to check her diaper to find out if she needs a change or not.  She still doesn’t like being in a dirty diaper, though.  She’ll asked to be changed right away if she’s pooped” her mother explained.

“For now, that may be the case.  She may end up becoming more comfortable with being in soiled diapers, though so don’t rely on her telling you every time she has one” the doctor advised.

Amanda got the impression that the doctor was saying she would grow to like pooping her diapers, causing her to speak up for the first time.  She thought of what to say, searching for words to defend herself but all she could muster was simply “Poopoo icky!  Stinky!”  Her mother laughed, turning her around and nuzzling her nose into her tummy.

“That’s right!  Poopoo is very icky, and you’re going to be making a lot of it for Mommy to clean up!” she said, causing Amanda to let her guard back down and giggle in delight at her mother’s silliness. 

Doctor Gembella watched Amanda and her mother interact, which brought a smile to her face.  It was rare to see a patient accepting their new lives so quickly, much less enjoying it.  Amanda seemed to be genuinely happy, without displaying any of the sad, mopey behavior that many of her patients did following the completion of their regression. 

After Amanda’s first physical as a toddler was over, her mother slung her diaper bag over her shoulder and then picked her up, carrying her at her hip towards the door.

“So, I just carry her to the door down there that says ‘Playroom?’” she asked walking down the hallway as the doctor trailed behind.

“Mmmmhmmmm” the doctor replied, nodding her head.  “Doctor Fleming is waiting there.  Amanda’s playmate for the day should already be there” she said, winking at Amanda’s mother.  Amanda’s began to feel excitement upon hearing that she would get to play with someone else.  Playing with her mother and her toys was fine, but playing with a new friend was certainly something that she had missed in all her days of confinement at home.  She wondered who her playmate would be, though?

Post-Treatment Psychological Observation – (Socialization/Active Play) (June 27th, 1994)

“Who is that, Amanda?  Huh?  Do you remember her?  Who is that little girl?”

Amanda stared at the little girl across the room, clinging to her mother.  She looked back and forth between the pair, her brain working hard to recognize who her new playmate was.  It wasn’t until she got closer that the lightbulb in her head went off.

“MEGGIE!” she screamed excitedly, kicking her legs in an attempt to get her mother to put her on the floor.  When she did so, Amanda ran towards her friend, smiling and putting her arms out.

“MANDA!” Meghan screamed back, pulling away from her mother and hurrying over to her long-lost friend.

The two little girls met in the middle of the room and embraced, seemingly unable to let go of each other.  One looked at the other, in awe of the fact that they were both toddlers again.  Dr. Fleming sat in her chair, smiling and watching the reunion take place.

After a few minutes of allowing their daughters to become reacquainted, the mothers took their seats and listened as Dr. Fleming gave them instructions.  The doctor would give Amanda and Meghan activities to do together and would assess their abilities to share, engage in creative play and cooperate with each other.

As the doctor began the series of observational tests, the two mothers connected and shared their experiences in childrearing for the second time.  Despite having a fair amount in common, they had rarely socialized during their daughters’ first bout of teenage years.  Still, they were dissimilar in certain respects.  While both were single mothers, the circumstances that led them to be so were quite different.  Meghan’s father had passed away when she was very young while Amanda’s had simply left them.  Both were financially independent, although Meghan’s mother had inherited a large sum of money from her husband while Amanda’s had sold their family video stores to a growing company called Blockbuster.  Whereas Amanda’s mother was too busy working to care for her daughter, Meghan’s was preoccupied with caring for her husband in the last years of his terminal illness.  Still, as the two conversed they found that they had more in common than not.  As their daughters played with each other on the floor in front of them, they resolved to become better friends and to let their daughters grow up again as playmates.  After all, Meghan had been regressed to the same age as Amanda.  They had gone through the same treatment and would be able to support each other as they began to grow up again.  Hopefully, their friendship would end up being just as special the second time around.

Meanwhile, Amanda and Meghan were having the time of their lives with each other, oblivious that the games Dr. Fleming had them play were actually tests designed to assess various aspects of their cognition.  Meghan used blocks to construct a castle, inviting Amanda to rescue the princess that was trapped at the top of the structure.  Amanda deferred, instead proclaiming herself to be the “Bad Gurl” who trapped her there.  When Dr. Fleming asked who the “Bad Gurl” was, Amanda thought for a few seconds and replied “Jossey”.  The two little girls looked at each other, then laughed heartily, rolling around on the floor and giggling.

When the testing was finally over, Dr. Fleming gave each mother a checklist of behaviors and mannerisms to watch for until their next visit.  Before leaving, the mothers checked their daughters’ diapers and decided to change both of them before leaving the clinic.  As they laid Meghan and Amanda on their changing mats side-by-side, they began to plan their first outing together. 

“I think we should take them somewhere where they can run around and get some exercise.  Maybe the playground at Garden Park?” Amanda’s mother suggested as she unfastened the tapes to Amanda’s diaper.

“Sounds like a good idea!  I’m wondering what else we could do with them afterwards, though” Meghan’s mother pondered as she began to wipe Meghan clean.  Amanda’s mother began to think as she rolled Amanda’s diaper under her bottom.

“Oh!  Did you see ads for that new Disney movie?  Something about lions?” Meghan’s mother replied as she powdered Meghan.

“LION KING!” Meghan and Amanda shouted in perfect synchrony; both having seen commercials for the movie while watching cartoons.

“Wow, that company sure does know how to market to kids!” Meghan’s mother noted, laughing as she finished diapering her daughter. 

The two women left the clinic, let their daughters hug each other goodbye and then left for home.  That night, both little girls slept in their cribs, drifting to sleep while thinking of how much fun they would be having the next day.