Leah got to her feet in the playpen, bent her knees into a squat, and began to push. Rita, hearing the grunting coming from the playpen, looked over with a smile.
"Of all the kids your age I've met, you go through the most diapers!" she laughed.
Her third day into staying with Rita, Leah had fully adjusted to her circumstances. It helped that Rita was so organized. Apparently, Rita had read somewhere that babies and toddlers did best with routines. So she set one up for Leah.
In the morning, Rita got Leah from her crib, changed the diaper she soiled during the night, dressed her, and then brought her to the kitchen for breakfast. After breakfast, Leah sat in the playpen in Rita's study, so that Rita could work from home and keep an eye on Leah. Leah didn't spend the entire work day in the playpen; she had her morning and afternoon naps, as well as lunch. Once Rita was done with work, she put Leah in a stroller and went for a walk around the neighborhood. When they got back, it was time for dinner, a bath for Leah, and then Leah was put in her crib for the night.
Leah had expected to hate all of it. But, to her surprise, it was actually rather freeing. She didn't have any responsibilities like chores or homework; she didn't even need to use the toilet or clean herself! There was no judgement over her size, difficulty controlling her bladder (something that had been a problem long before that day in the store), or even her sleepiness in the middle of the day. The pressure to prove herself as a perfectly normal, functional teen was completely gone.
As Leah pushed a log into her diaper, she realized she'd never felt so free. Truly, she could get used to this life.
With one small exception.
Not being able to read, write, count, talk, move properly, or really do any of the skills learned in elementary school was frustrating. For a couple reasons. First, Leah had worked hard on those skills the first time around. It was upsetting for her hard work to be wiped away. Second, it made her days rather boring.
Rita would play with Leah and let her watch TV, but since she had work, there was only so much playtime she could fit into her schedule. And she was very strict about how much "screen time" Leah had, given her apparent age.
Leah did her best to occupy herself in the playpen with the toys she had been given, but she would love her phone back, some freedom to walk around on her own. She'd even take a book at this point.
Leah finished filling her diaper and sat back down. She sucked on her thumb (another thing she enjoyed not being judged for) while she waited for Rita to change her. Maybe Tina could adjust things for her after the week, give her some skills back but still allow her to mostly be a baby.