Two Again: Chapter 2 (sample story)

Daddy entered the kitchen to find Cody attempting to climb into his high chair. He had one foot on the ground and one knee on the edge of the seat, and his weight was causing the chair to teeter. Daddy knew a hazard when he saw one.

“Hey hey, simmer down kiddo,” he said with a hint of sharpness. “Let me help you up.”

Cody, still clinging to the high chair, glanced over his shoulder to find Daddy standing directly behind him. He suddenly felt a hand grab the seat of his diaper and push while another steadied him by the shoulder. Before he knew it, Daddy had hoisted him up into the seat and was beginning to strap him into the high chair.

“Someone’s a little wiggly this morning, isn’t he?” Daddy chided good-naturedly as the final buckle snapped into place. Cody giggled through his pacifier and hid his face behind his teddy bear.

“Maybe some food will calm you down,” daddy said. “Wait here and play with Mr. Bear for a few minutes.”

With that, Daddy folded down the high chair tray, turned, and made his way to the fridge. He pulled out a carton of milk, a carton of eggs, a tub of raspberries, a pack of bacon, and a bottle of orange juice. Once he had a frying pan greased and warming on the stove, Daddy reached into the cupboard and grabbed one of Cody’s sippy cups. Like his binkies, Cody’s sippy cups were also products of Daddy’s 3D printer. Aside from their scaled-up size, they looked like any other sippy cup two- or three-year-old might use. They were brightly colored, made of hard plastic, and some even had fun cartoons on them. The one Daddy happened to select this morning had large, curved handles on either side and the dalmatian from Paw Patrol on the front. Daddy poured a generous amount of orange juice into the sippy cup and brought it over to Cody.

“Drink up buddy!” he said, removing the pacifier out of Cody’s mouth and placing it on the high chair tray.

Returning to the stove, Daddy fried up a few strips of bacon and scrambled some eggs. The smell of breakfast permeated the kitchen, making Cody realize how hungry he was. His mouth began to water as he nursed his orange juice contently. After everything was done cooking, Daddy grabbed a bright blue plastic plate from the shelf above Cody’s sippy cups and an orange, child-safe plastic fork from the silverware drawer. He scooped a rather hefty serving of eggs onto the plate and neatly placed next to it four strips of bacon and a small handful of raspberries. He then ferried the plate over to the high chair, where Cody waited eagerly, having already finished his orange juice. Daddy realized that some of the orange juice had gotten on Cody rather than in him, noting Cody’s glistening wet chin and spotting several yellow-orange droplets slowly making their way down his bare chest.

“Silly me! I forgot to put on your bib,” Daddy said, setting the plate on the high chair tray and taking a moment to pop the pacifier back in Cody’s mouth--a temporary measure to keep Cody from digging into his breakfast too early. After wiping down Cody’s face and chest with a wet paper towel, he moved behind Cody’s high chair where his bibs were hanging on a small hook. “Let’s go with Paw Patrol today, shall we? To match your sippy cup.” Daddy plucked the Paw-Patrol-themed bib from the hook and deftly tied it around Cody’s neck. He then stepped back to the front of the high chair, where Cody sat eyeing the still steaming plate of food in front of him. Daddy cut the bacon and eggs into bite-size pieces and once again removed Cody’s pacifier.

“Here comes the airplane!” Daddy announced, guiding a forkful of eggs into Cody’s mouth. After several more bites, Daddy presented the fork to Cody. “You got it from here captain?” he asked with mock seriousness.

“Yes sir!” Cody saluted before reaching out to take the fork from Daddy. As Cody started to attack what remained of his breakfast, he watched Daddy return to the stove to serve up the rest of the bacon and eggs for himself.

Minutes later Cody had already finished his last bite, and as he stared at his empty plate wishing for more food, he wondered what was fueling his ravenous appetite. Daddy was right, Cody had been particularly “wiggly” this morning. Cody’s Little feelings had always tended to be strongest shortly after getting out of bed. Morning grogginess often lowered his inhibitions to a degree. But today Cody’s Little side felt more charged up than it ever had before. He was not usually one to pull antics like he had on the changing table and afterward with his teddy bear and high chair, but something about the strange mood he had been in since he woke up had urged him to do it. When he had put on the toddler act in the past, it had required much more conscious effort than it did this morning. Now, it was beginning to feel almost natural. He looked down at his teddy bear, which he’d squeezed into the seat next to him before Daddy had brought him his orange juice. He hadn’t expected it, but he had felt a genuine sense of distress when Daddy had tried to take Mr. Bear away after his diaper change. Mild distress, but genuine nonetheless. His reaction: to clutch Mr. Bear, keep him away from Daddy, and then run away before he could change his mind--all that had come from his gut rather than his head. Having lived life as a toddler for nearly a month, it seemed these infantile behaviors were becoming part of a new version of himself that Cody had never imagined he would find.

As he mulled over his new forays into Little space, Cody noticed he was peeing again. He again luxuriated in the feeling of warmth spreading across the front of his diaper, letting his bladder empty itself completely. He turned to his right to pick up Mr. Bear and began to play cheerfully as Daddy finished his breakfast and walked over to grab Cody’s dishes. He stacked everything by the sink and then returned to the high chair, folding the tray back up and moving to unstrap Cody. As Daddy undid the buckle near Cody’s crotch, he gave the front of Cody’s diaper a quick squeeze.

“Are you wet again already, kiddo?” he asked, knowing the answer was yes. He squeezed a couple more times. “Hmm... only a little soggy though. We’ll change your diaper a little later.”

He helped Cody down from the high chair and ushered him into the living room. Cody knew where they were going. On the other end of the living room was his play corner, which consisted of a couple small play mats, his blocks, and a few of his other favorite toys.

“Go ahead and play for a few minutes, Cody.” Daddy urged. “Daddy will be back soon.” He held the pacifier in front of Cody’s lips until Cody took the nipple into his mouth, then turned to stroll up the stairs.

Cody was a few stories into a block tower when Daddy returned to the living room with what was to be Cody’s outfit for the day: a light red t-shirt with a cartoon baby dressed as a firefighter on the chest, a pair of snap-crotch denim shorts with a red elastic waistband and a fire truck embroidered on the right leg, and a pair of red socks.

“Ok bud, let’s get you dressed,” Daddy said as he strolled over toward his little builder.

Cody didn’t move, but instead looked up from his blocks and gave Daddy a pensive stare. Daddy knew this look by now. Cody never liked to have his playtime interrupted, especially when he was as deep in Little space as he was this morning, and he was clearly pondering whether to put up a fight or obey Daddy’s orders.

“It’ll only take a minute, Cody. If you’re a good boy and do what Daddy says, maybe he’ll let you play outside.”

Daddy’s words made Cody perk up a bit. He had always loved being outside, and that remained true when he was in Little mode. He thought back to when he was seven-years-old, when he was first discovering his desire to be a baby again. He recalled his family’s weekly trips to the park, where he would often sneak glances at the groups of two- and three-year olds toddling about in their onesies, rompers, shortalls, or sometimes just their diapers. He remembered how intensely he longed to be one of them, imagining how incredible it would feel to be dressed up all cute, running and playing in the sun and fresh air, not caring that everyone could see that he was still in diapers. Now, at Daddy’s house, he could finally experience that feeling, or at least something approaching it. He couldn’t go out in public dressed like a toddler--that wouldn’t be appropriate--but in Daddy’s spacious, private backyard he could achieve all the fun of a day at the park while looking and feeling as infantile as his Little heart desired.

Cody stood up and waddled eagerly toward where Daddy stood, evidently persuaded by his offer.

“That’s my boy!” Daddy said, beaming. “Reach for the sky!”

Cody obediently raised his arms, allowing Daddy to slip the t-shirt down over his head and shoulders. Daddy then spun Cody around and knelt behind him.

“Step in,” Daddy urged, reaching his arms around Cody to hold his shorts out in front of him. Cody did as he was told. “There ya go, kiddo!” Daddy tugged the shorts up over Cody’s diaper and gave him a friendly pat on his bottom. “Let’s go put your shoes on.”

Cody scampered off through the kitchen toward the back patio door. Daddy followed close behind. Cody was already seated on the chair beside the doorway when Daddy caught up to him, his bare feet swinging to and fro excitedly as he waited. A few short moments later, his socks on and his shoes velcroed securely, Cody was toddling across the patio toward the lawn.