Chapter 8 continued. Finding my feet.

Home with a newborn. One room granny flat with small kitchenet. Thought I'd be good to the environment and had been given cloth nappies. Changed my first nappy in corner of my one room on change table. Tried to wrap it up tight without pricking his squirming legs with the pins. That's all I had. Mitchell soon filled the nappy after the first feed and the nappy didn't contain it all even with Plastic pants over it. I felt sick and threw it in the soak bucket. The laundry was outside and I wondered when I'd be able to get out there to wash nappies and how I'd take Mitchell. I filled a bath to clean him up on the small table in kitchen. Mitchell liked his bath on his belly, I held him carefully and then he pooped again in the bath. I took him out and dressed him warmly as it was winter in Adelaide, Australia and cold. I put him in the pram and left the bath as he was crying. Walked to the shops, as had no car and bought a box of disposables. As I walked back mum was driving past on way to my place. She couldn't believe I was out the day I got home. She came back to flat and helped clean up bath with a laugh. That was my first day home in 1993 as a single parent. I look back now and think how resilient I was and determined to do this as best I could, like I'd done everything in my life so far.