6 Tips for Easier Nappy Changes
By Melissa Smith of Little Para Pants
You know it, I know it – sometimes your child just doesn’t want to lie still while you wipe their bum. Or they scream their lungs out as if they’re being tortured.
So how can we make it easier for them, and for us? I had a few ideas of my own and asked the Facebook fans to help me out with more. Here’s what we ended up with.
Prepare. Have everything set up before you put your child on the change table. Snap, stuff, boost, and fold everything. Wet the flannel or wipe in case it’s a poo. If you’re out traveling, make sure the wet bag is open, ready for you to deposit the soiled nappy. Katherine Taylor says, “Sometimes nothing works and you just have to have everything set up ready to go and be bloody quick!”
Distract. Give your child something to play with, read, eat, look at. Put some pictures or a mirror on the ceiling above the change table. Tara Brewer says, “I used to stick a small sticker on the back of his hand.” “Stickers are a good distraction…they don’t even notice you changing their nappy,” says Danielle Riccobono Brooker.
Interact. Talk to your baby, sing to your baby, make a game of the nappy change. Sally Guiver says “I get Brendan, 2y7m, involved in his nappy changes. He loves to wipe his own bottom.”
Relocate. If your toddler doesn’t want to stop watching Thomas, change his/her nappy in front of the TV. There’s no rule that you must change every nappy at the change table, so don’t. If it’s easier on the floor, on the bed, or even on your lap, do it.
Improvise. If you’re using a modern cloth nappy, and you’re not on the very outside snaps, you might find you can snap it on a bigger setting and put the nappy on like pants. Then when it’s on, re-adjust the snaps to fit.
Wait. Once you get to toddler-hood, anything and everything is more interesting than lying down for a nappy change. Obviously this isn’t a good idea if you’ve just had a “poo-splosion” all over your favourite piece of furniture, but sometimes it pays to wait till your child is finished with what they’re doing, or till they come tell you they’re ready for a change.
– Melissa from Little Para Pants in South Australia
Because Cute Babies Deserve Cute Nappies!
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