Before you read another word, let me get this out of the way: I understand parents are busy. I understand we’re constantly searching for any and all kinds of convenience when it comes to raising our kids. I understand we’re all just trying to do our best and what’s good for the goose isn’t always great for the gander.

I get it. 

But mothers and fathers of the 21st century, I think we may need a reality check.

Because there’s no way on God’s green earth I will be strapping an electronic sensor onto my baby’s diaper and waiting for text alerts to tell me when she needs to be changed.

No. Freaking. Way.

But alas, Pampers must have identified a market clamoring for just this technology, as the company announced it will be launching a “smart diaper” system called Lumi this fall. According to Pampers, Lumi is “the world’s first all-in-one Connected Care System” that will not only track feedings and sleep schedules (features I can almost bring myself to justify), the sensor that sticks onto Lumi disposable diapers will beam out the Bat-signal to an app that will notify Mom or Dad that Junior is jonesing for a fresh digitized diaper. 

The promotional video for Lumi touts a high-tech, integrated monitor and tracking device that work together to “show you what you need to know about your baby at a glance, so you can make decisions with confidence from day one.” 

Later, we see a sample notification appearing on a sleeping mother’s smartphone. A happy little icon and a “Claire’s diaper is very wet” prompt appears as Mom climbs out of bed to blissfully tend to her baby. 

Alright, deep breath, expectant parents of the world. I’m going to address you, as I have a sneaking suspicion Pampers is zeroing in on you with this flashy technology:  

You are about to enter the vast, unknown world called parenthood. As you await your blessed arrival, you find yourself vacillating between joyful anticipation and paralyzing fear. You’ve never done this before! There are so many unknowns! The kid can’t form rudimentary words for at least six months—another nine of 12 before he can begin to use those words to actually express coherent things. How are you supposed to know when he needs something important like a diaper change?! 

Dear, sweet, about-to-be parents . . . God gave babies handy little communication tools you’ll soon become familiar with: crying. And grunting. And squirming. And fussing. 

In addition to these highly useful indicators, God also bestowed on YOU, as his or her parents, supernatural powers of deduction in the form of eyesight, hearing abilities, and hands that can feel squishy things like wet diapers. Those senses, when triggered, dependably fire the synapses in your brain that say, “This baby needs a new diaper.” 

If you’ve seen the movie Inside Out, think of it this way: the control center of your brain has a new little animated friend bouncing around named Intuition. And Intuition is smart and capable and divinely designed to be in-tune with her offspring.

All without the annoyance of checking a smartphone first to see if your smart diaper thinks it’s time for your smart baby to be changed.

YOU CAN DO THIS. You really, really can. Your baby will make it abundantly clear when he is unhappy. That same baby will also let you know when he’s content. 

You’re smart enough just as you are, Mom and Dad. 

I. Promise. 

So God Made a Mother book by Leslie Means

If you liked this, you'll love our book, SO GOD MADE A MOTHER available now!

Order Now

Check out our new Keepsake Companion Journal that pairs with our So God Made a Mother book!

Order Now
So God Made a Mother's Story Keepsake Journal

Carolyn Moore

Carolyn has served as Editor-in-Chief of Her View From Home since 2017. A long time ago, she worked in local TV news and fell in love with telling stories—something she feels grateful to help women do every day at HVFH. She lives in flyover country with her husband and five kids but is really meant to be by the ocean with a good book and a McDonald's fountain Coke. 

Sometimes God Sends a Double Rainbow

In: Baby, Loss, Motherhood
Two sacs as seen in early pregnancy sonogram

I lay on the ultrasound table prepared to hear the worst. While this pregnancy wasn’t totally expected, it was a miracle for me. I knew with the current stress in my life and the symptoms of a miscarriage, I may have to face another heartbreak to my series of heartbreaks over the last two years. I questioned what I did wrong to deserve it all. I prayed I had been stronger in my prior life: to have made better decisions. So I lay there, I held my breath, and I waited as the tech put the cold jelly over my...

Keep Reading

When Your Baby becomes a Big Boy

In: Baby, Motherhood, Toddler
Toddler boy smiling with hoodie on

My son recently learned how to climb out of things, so I asked my husband to take the side off the crib to convert it to a toddler bed today. I snapped one last picture of my son in his crib before I hurried off to get him dressed for school. As I got to work, I saw my husband had sent me a text of the transformed crib, and it just about killed me. I know, I know . . . what even changed? It pretty much looks the same. But it’s more than just the side of the...

Keep Reading

I Know This Baby Is Our Last and It’s Bittersweet

In: Baby, Motherhood, Toddler
Woman snuggling baby by window

Three is our magic number. It always has been. It feels like the perfect number of kids for us. Everyone who belongs around my dinner table is here. Our family is complete. And yet even though my family is complete, I still find myself grieving that this is our last baby just a little bit as I pack up the teeny, tiny newborn onesies and socks. I’ve folded up swaddle blankets that saw us through the all-nighters of the newborn phase, ready to be passed along to a new baby in someone else’s family. But they won’t be swaddled around...

Keep Reading

I Wasn’t Sure You’d Be Here To Hold

In: Baby, Motherhood
Mother with newborn baby on her chest in hospital bed

I stood naked in my parents’ bathroom. Even with the tub filling, I could hear my family chattering behind the door. I longed to be with them, not hiding alone with my seven-month round belly, sleep-deprived, and covered in pox-like marks. For three weeks, I’d tried Benadryl, lotions, and other suggested remedies to cure the strange rash spreading over my body. No luck. By Christmas Day, my life had been reduced to survival. Day and night, I tried to resist itching, but gave in, especially in my sleep. At 1 a.m., 2 a.m., 3 a.m., the feeling of fire ants...

Keep Reading

No One Warned Me About the Last Baby

In: Baby, Kids, Motherhood
Mother holding newborn baby, black-and-white photo

No one warned me about the last baby. When I had my first, my second, and my third, those first years were blurry from sleep deprivation and chaos from juggling multiple itty-bitties. But the last baby? There’s a desperation in that newborn fog to soak it up because there won’t be another. No one warned me about the last baby. Selling the baby swing and donating old toys because we wouldn’t need them crushed me. I cried selling our double jogger and thought my heart would split in two when I dropped off newborn clothes. Throwing out pacifiers and bottles...

Keep Reading

My Second, It Only Took a Second To Fall In Love With You

In: Baby, Motherhood
Mother with newborn baby on chest, black and white image

You were the second. The second child who, as a mother, I wondered if I could love as much and as fiercely as my first. It’s true, I’m ashamed to admit. As much as you were so desperately prayed for, I was scared. So, so scared. I was scared I was going to fail you. You were the second. And already so loved. But, you see, your brother was my whole entire world. My everything. He made me a mother and gave me all the firsts. My lap was only so big. My heart was only so big. There was...

Keep Reading

Dear Helmet Mama, It’s Not Your Fault

In: Baby, Motherhood
Mom holding baby with helmet, color photo

I’m a helmet mama. It’s something I never thought I’d say, but there it is. And I’m not going to be ashamed of it. Of course, at first, when the doctor referred us to see a specialist for “flat head,” I thought, “Oh, please no. Not my baby.” I’ve seen those babies, and I’ve always felt bad for them and wondered how their heads got that bad. And I’ll be honest, I’d usually pass judgment on the mother of that baby. So how did I end up with my own baby having a helmet on his head? It’s called torticollis—and...

Keep Reading

Thank You to the Nurses Who Cared for My Baby First

In: Baby, Motherhood
Infant in hospital isolette, color photo

I wish I knew who she (or he) was and what she looked like. Was she young or older, experienced or just starting out? How had her weekend been? Was she starting or ending a work shift at 2:30 a.m. that Monday morning when they ran me into the surgery room? The first few days after my son was born, he was kept in intermediate care as we recovered from an emergency C-section that saved both our lives—his by just a few minutes. I occasionally managed to shuffle over to see him, but was pretty weak myself, so the nurses...

Keep Reading

Hey Mama, This Is Your Labor & Delivery Nurse Speaking

In: Baby, Motherhood
Mother holding newborn baby looking up at labor and delivery nurse and smiling

First of all, mama, I want to congratulate you! Whether this is your first baby or not, I am honored to be here with you through this experience. Before you ask me, no, I do not care if you shaved your you know what. There are plenty of other things I’m thinking of, and that is not one of them. I’m so happy to be here for the birth of you and your baby, but most importantly, I’m happy to be here for YOU. It doesn’t matter to me if you want to breastfeed, it doesn’t matter if you want...

Keep Reading

My Baby Had Laryngomalacia

In: Baby, Motherhood
Mother holding baby on her shoulder

Life’s funny, isn’t it? Just when you think you’ve got the whole motherhood thing figured out, the universe throws a curveball. And, oh boy, did it throw me one with my second baby. There I was, feeling like a seasoned mom with my firstborn—a healthy, vivacious toddler who was 16 months old. Our breastfeeding journey had its hiccups, an early tongue-tie diagnosis that did little to deter our bond. Fourteen months of nurturing, nighttime cuddles, and feeling powerful, like my body was doing exactly what it was meant to do. Enter my second baby. A fresh chapter, a new story....

Keep Reading