The diaper thing is a red herring. Somewhere on these convoluted threads the interview with Blake was posted. She did not say in that interview that Stanley Ann Dunham did not know at all how to change a diaper. Blake said that Dunham was not very proficient at changing diapers and Blake claimed to have been better at it.
We don’t need village servants and all to explain a misquotation of the interview.
Oh...OK...
OK. I’ve been refraining from answering this, but here goes. As a person who actually changed a diaper in 1961 (my son is 6 weeks older than Obama) there was a learning curve. I had to be shown several times by the nurses at the hospital, by my husband who had a little sister 15 years younger, and by friends. Diapers were cloth then, and there were several different types that required different folds. It took a little practice to get it just right, particularly on a newborn.
One type of diaper that was sold during that era was already folded and you just put it on and fastened it and put plastic pants on over it. The problem was that it was hard to get it tight on a newborn and they would leak, or slip off after it was wet.
Better were the full sized diapers, but you had to use two with a special trapezoidal fold on the bias. That was the best, but it took practice to learn the fold and get it just right. That also put the bulk of the diaper in the front — perfect for a baby boy. But, when a diaper like that got wet it stretched on the bias but the legs stayed tighter, preventing leaks.
There are lots of other details I could provide, such as how to prevent diaper rash, how to prevent ammonia build up in the diapers, what kind of diaper pin to buy so that it didn’t corrode and irritate the baby’s skin, etc.
As I said, there was a learning curve in 1961. I surely didn’t know it all after 3 weeks of being a mother!
File this under TMI (too much information)!
True.
She said she had to show her how to change a diaper, not that she didn't know how.