This happened back when my daughter was just under a year old. While I spent much of that day tearing my hair out and panicking, by a few days later, it had become the laughter-inducing memory it was meant to be. And to this day, it remains one of the clearest memories of her childhood...

It started when my daughter, less than a year old and able to get around entirely too well for my tastes, settled down for a nap. I laid her in her crib, turned out the light, and closed the door oh-so-quietly. And then, more than a little worn myself, I went to settle down for a bit of quiet relaxation in front of my computer. I sat and puttered around online for around an hour before I started hearing the sounds that suggested my daughter was done with her nap.

But since she wasn't fussy, I left her to play by herself in the crib for a while longer, as I was wont to do when the naps seemed entirely too short for a day. Sometimes, she passed out again for another hour. Sometimes, she became fussy in only five minutes. That day, she remained relatively quiet, in no hurry to get up from her nap, though I could hear her chattering away to herself in that unique language that all babies learn to speak.

After forty minutes or so of waiting for her to become fussy, I decide that perhaps it would be best if I checked on her. It was heading toward time for a diaper change and food anyway. I set my computer aside, got up, and walked to the bedroom door. As I put my hand on the doorknob, I had the brief sensation that perhaps something was actually wrong. But I dismissed it. I could hear her inside the bedroom playing happily, so she wasn't hurt or in danger. Nothing could be wrong.

Or so I thought.

Upon opening the door, I discovered her sheets white with some sort of substance. Looking closer, I realized the same substance was all over her. And I do mean all over. It covered her face, her chest (bare, for it was overly warm when I laid her down, and no air conditioning), her legs, her hands and feet, her diaper... even her hair was caked with the stuff. I went to stand over her, in something of a panic as I realized that the bars of her crib were coated, and a corner of her change table, which she could reach when she stood up in her crib, was also painted white with the stuff.

"The stuff" turned out to be zinc oxide. I had no idea that so small a tin of the stuff could go so very far. And I also had no idea just how much WORK would be involved in getting it out of her hair and off the sheets.

Zinc Oxide, during the days of diapers and training pants, felt like a miracle cream... but every time I applied it after that day, I was reminded once again, of how the miracle can become a nightmare when introduced into hair.

And I never put the tin on the side of the change table that she could access again... ever.