It seems that Axel may have mistaken himself for a doodlebug - the woodlouse, also known among all the Kick the Can players in my old neighborhood as a roly-poly. The child thinks his purpose in life is to roll, especially when he's on the changing table or getting dressed after his bath. Attempts to prevent him from rolling are not appreciated. In fact, he seems to think that any of them - the changing table strap, my hand on his stomach, a stuffed giraffe head attached to a blanket (actually, a bodyless giraffe is a little creepy now that I think about it) - are just mean-spirted attempts from the man to keep him down. He throws all fourteen pounds of himself into resisting such attempts, at times devolving into hysterics over the horrors of being forced to stay on his back and not play with a pack of baby wipes.
Hey, I'm all for motion. He can roll and spin 360 degrees and crawl backwards all he wants when I'm not trying to wipe the poop off his butt or put on a new diaper. All I want is a few minutes of motionlessness, or of motion restricted to arm waving or his newest talent, shaking his head while giggling, to keep him from sitting in a dirty diaper. I explain this to him, but babies are far lower on Spock's illogical scale than Captain Kirk. He hasn't come close to falling off the changing table, but he has created some particularly disgusting poop messes through all this wiggling about.
Short of investing in a baby straitjacket or getting the dog to sit on his chest during diaper changes, what can we do to keep him on his back and mostly calm? He's too young to be bribed with chocolate. Any brilliant roll-preventing insights from you experienced parents out there would be appreciated!
