So here we are at the start of a New Year, looking back over the past 12 months. Whilst things may not change that much for us grown-ups over the course of a year, it’s a quantum leap for a pre-schooler.

A year ago I was still pushing my youngest around in a pushchair, he had a vocabulary of only a few words, and there was no sign of an end to nappies in sight.

A year on, and we can barely get a word in edgeways around the dinner table. Jamie has gone from being the quiet one to dominating the conversation. As for the pushchair, that’s been disposed of as part of my New Year clear out which also included giving a huge consignment of old baby clothes to charity. These moments make me feel more than a little sad. They are a sign of how fast time is passing. For many years I have heard people using the phrase “they grow up so quickly” and I am really beginning to appreciate the truth of that now.

The one thing I won’t be sad to see the back of though is nappies. Finally this autumn I managed to get Jamie toilet trained, so for the first time since August 2007 I’m nappy free! I’ve calculated that since then I have changed around 2,000 nappies so I definitely think I’m up for parole. There are plenty of benefits. As well as the money saved, there is actually room in my dustbin for some other things now. We can also go out and about far more freely without having to worry about finding a baby changing facility.

Someone posted a picture up on facebook the other day of a hugely overflowing nappy bin in a baby change room in a supermarket here in Bicester. Once it was full, people had just chucked the nappies on top or onto the floor. They hadn’t even bothered to bag most of them. I’m not sure who to blame more, the supermarket for not emptying the bin, or the parents for making such a mess, all I know is I’m just glad I don’t have to frequent such places anymore.

I’m not sure where changing 2,000 nappies puts me in the overall dad’s nappy changing league table, but it must be pretty high, even by today’s standards. I could have held the world record a generation or two ago when many men rarely if ever changed a nappy. It’s certainly difficult to imagine Lord Grantham from Downton Abbey doing so, and I doubt whether his working class contemporary would have either. Things have certainly changed since then, and if Prince William’s willing to set an example by doing it, then we all can.

I have heard many a non-parent citing changing nappies as one of the key things that puts them off having children, but once you actually have your own flesh and blood baby needing your care, you don’t give it a second thought.

Happy New Year!