I had never changed a diaper until Caleb was born and I got to change his first diaper. He pissed on me.
Since then, I think I’ve gotten the hang of it. I no longer attempt to use pee-pee teepees. I can handle the shitty diapers. I’m used to the smell of poop, though it can sometimes be really, really bad (especially those teething diapers).
But what I can not handle is this new stage.
This is the stage where he doesn’t like lying on his back. He hates it. For the past couple weeks, if I gave him a Baby Mum-Mum or a bottle, he would stay distracted by that for long enough to change his diaper. But…that’s no longer the case. The very second I set him down on his back, he’s screaming, twisting and turning like nothing I’ve seen before, and making it nearly impossible to get a diaper on him.
Searching around on YouTube, I found this video. And this is the stage we’re in. I’m sure you all have dealt with it:
Last night, after his bath, I’m pretty sure he was working on his exhibitionist skills as he stood on the changing pad, butt naked, showing the whole neighborhood his glory, as I struggled to try and get a diaper on him while he stood. I think it worked last night, somehow, but I tried to do the same thing and I just could not get the diaper on. Sarah finally had to come in and hold him down (lovingly, I should add) on the table while I got the diaper on. This obviously sucks even more when it’s a poopy diaper and he’s twisting and turning and flailing and everything else.
Seriously – it drives me crazy. I want to put him down on the floor and walk out of the room. I want to give him away to someone (for a minute); because as soon as his diaper and clothes/pajamas are on him, he’s happy-go-lucky Caleb, super cute Caleb, my perfect little baby boy.
When in doubt (about anything, really), turn to YouTube, right? I just searched for “how to change a squirmy baby’s diaper” and ran across a few fun videos:
I know I’ll deal with more difficult things with him in the future, but…damn. This is driving me crazy right now. Any suggestions? Any tips for holding a baby down and still enough to get a diaper on them when they clearly do not want to be on their back on the changing table?
hahahahaha I am so done with that. No grands in sight, either. With my first one I did it with pins, and cloth diapers (by choice) that a well-placed kick could unfold. Maybe why some parents jump the gun on potty training?
Put the wiggler on the floor and straddle him facing his feet. You can squeeze with your knees and put the gentlest possible pressure on his chest. His arms can’t reach anything because you’re in the way. Good for the glutes and quads (yours) too1
It varies a bit based on the baby. For JT we use distraction whenever possible. Grab a favorite toy and give it to hold on to… making silly faces to get him to laugh helps. We’ve even given him his juice cup. The iPhone works, too.
Another thing that helps is to use one hand to firmly, not hurting him, hold his two little feet with one hand the whole time. (Firm enough where he knows he can’t get away.) It gives you a lot of practical leverage. Like if he gets really wiggly you can push his feet up so his knees bend up by his chest, tough to rollover from that position. But if he isn’t wiggly it just gives you an easy way to move his legs around so you can wipe what you need to wipe.
Distraction seems to work best for us right now. Feel for ya. It can be tough!
My 11 month old son doesn’t sound quite as bad as Caleb, but we have some difficult moments–particularly at the end of the day when he’s getting really tired. What usually works for us is letting him get his hands on something that he thinks he’s not supposed to have. We have a basket at the end of the changing pad with his diapers and wipes, and we started putting other miscellaneous items in there–thermometer, saline spray, hairbrush, etc. As soon as I sit him down on the changing pad he lunges for the basket and grabs something out as quickly as he can before I lay him down. He is always so proud of himself for getting one of these items that aren’t really toys but we let be toys for the sake of our sanity.