Mr Hardcastle Babied. Images by Dave Lomas

After Mrs Hardcastles encounter with Mrs Drummond and her baby husband Arthur outside Trendy House Boutique, she decided her own husband Reginald should be subject to a strict babying regime.

A play date was arranged and Reginald was wheeled in his new pushchair to spend an afternoon with Arthur. The boys had great fun splashing about in the pool with Mr Duck and playing on the swing.

Unfortunately there was soon tears and tantrums as Reginald was told it was time to say goodbye as it would shortly be time for him to be bathed and put into his pyjamas ready for his new baby bedtime.

"Oh dear is the new baby crying because he has to go home to beddy byes then?" Cooed Mrs Drummond as he was fastened into his pushchair for the journey home.

"Yes I'm afraid Reginald becomes quite upset when I put him in his new cot at
6 pm, in fact he sometimes need a smacked botty before bedtime, don't you mummy's sweetheart?" Reginald nodded tearfully, knowing he was not allowed to speak, "gwown up talk".

Meanwhile Arthur was being encouraged to, "wave bye-bye", by his wife as the pushchair and its incumbent was wheeled homewards clutching his dolly.

"Clever boy," she praised as she helped him out of the paddling pool. "Nana is going to babysit you this evening so mummy can go out with her friends, clap hands for Nana," she encouraged. Arthur complied and clapped his hands together enthusiastically but his heart sank, Nana was far too keen on bedtime spankings.

When Reginald and his mummy arrived home, she strip washed Reginald at the kitchen sink as his nappy was still dry and she asked him if he needed to go potty.

He shook his head fervently so she dressed him in his pyjamas ready for bed. Mummy had no sooner buttoned up his pyjama jacket and pinned his dummy to his pyjamas when he desperately began to clutch at the front of his nappy. Mummy lowered his pyjama bottoms to reveal the telltale yellow stain spreading across his nappy.

"No! You naughty baby, I just asked if you needed to go potty." Reginald could tell his wife was annoyed and looked shamefaced as his nappy began to sag.

"Well I am not going to change you yet, onto your naughty chair. You can just stand there looking ashamed of yourself until Susie and her mother arrive."

Reginald struggled to hold back the tears, Susie's mother Mrs Jackson used to be his secretary when he had a big boys job.

"Oh dear has baby wet his nappy then? Diddums was all ready for beddy-byes too in his lovely jimmy-jams."  Susie teased her mother's ex-boss mercilessly. "Isn't baby Reginald a Betsy-Wetsy babykins den?"

His wife was preparing clean nappies and plastic pants. "Come along then, let's get you changed and tucked into beddy-byes, Susie, perhaps you would like to change babykins?"

Susie eagerly positioned Mr Hardcastle onto his changing mat and removed his pyjama bottoms and soaking nappy before she wiped him dry.

"Plenty of cream on him please Susie, we don't want Mr Hardcastle to get nappy rash now do we?"

His wife and Mrs Jackson laughed as they sipped tea and watched young Susie talc Reginald before pinning him into two thick towelling nappies and enveloping them in a pair of teddy bear motif plastic panties. She  threaded his legs into his pyjama bottoms and stood him up.

"There, babykins is all changed and ready for night-night." His former secretary held out her arms and Reginald  tottered unsteadily toward her, his double nappying making him waddle infant like.

"Who's a clever boy then," she praised as he fell into her outstretched arms.

His wife stood up, "come along Reginald, wave night-night to the nice ladies."
She popped his dummy into his mouth and pushed his dolly under his arm. The dummy bobbed in and out as he nervously used it to soothe his anxiety.

Timidly he slowly raised his arm and weakly closed his fingers toward the palm of his hand in an infantile wave.

The three females roared with laughter at this pathetic, infantile pyjama and nappy clad male.

"Night-night Baby Reginald ,"chorused Susie and her mother, "night-night."

Mrs Hardcastle led her baby husband away and tucked him into his cot. She kissed his forehead before raising the cot rail.

"Straight to sleepy-byes sweetheart, it's ten past six, way past your bedtime."