Help! My Squirmy Toddler Will Not Lay Still for Diaper Changes

My 10 month old does this too... I usually end up changing him while he's standing up, because all he really wants to do is get up. If he has a *really* exciting toy to chew on, that also tends to hold his attention for a minute or so. My husband takes a different approach, he changes our son's diaper on the floor and uses his feet to help hold the squirmy guy still.

Someone also mentioned the idea of putting pictures on the wall to distract them... I love that idea!

My son went through the same thing and I found if I gave him a toy when he was getting changed that he did a lot better. I made the toy a diaper changing toy meaning that is the only time he could play with it. Every once in a while I would switch out the toy for another. I have a friend that would sing a song and get her son to sing a long (the best he could). Maybe this will help.

I'm having the same problem with my 21 month old. Lately I grab any "interesting" object on my way to the changing table. I try to choose something he hasn't seen before or that I wouldn't typically give him (my watch, an envelope, a remote, a small travel-size bottle of something from the bathroom, etc.) Toys worked for awhile, but now he is so interested in holding something "new" that he is distracted just long enough to change him. (although I still have to be pretty speedy!) Good luck!

Something that has worked for us since my son was very tiny are those plush baby toys that play little songs and have light up cheeks. You can get them at Target or in any dept. store that sells Carters clothes. I just got him the santa claus one and the kid is 15 months, they are magical I'm telling you.

Both of my girls did this and I've been dealing with it for a few months now with my 13 month old. I give her a toy or the diaper ointment. Just keep her hands busy and change fast:)

We had issues with this for a REALLY long time with DS. Sometimes a special toy that he either really loved, or he only got at changing times helped. But what helped the most was when I switched him to Pullups. We're not potty training yet (he's just barely 16 months), but we switched to them because he's a big kid (size 7 in Pampers)... Anyway - the Pullups help him have a sense of control. I do still have to lay him down to change a poopy, but he's much better about it now because as soon as he's clean, he can either sit in my lap or stand up and get his pullup on, rather than have to stay laying down. And if he's just wet, I don't have to lay him down at all.

The only way I could get my daughter to was to hold her legs down to the floor until she stopped moving and then continue it took only a week or so to know that when we change her diaper she sits still. I know it's hard to do and they don't like it but it doesn't hurt them and they learn quickly it isn't playtime. They need to be taught just like everything else what is excpected of them.

If it's not a poop diaper, let her walk around and play with her toys while you do it. If you stay calm and just let her move around without the expectation that she lay still, you should be able to do a quick diaper change.

Hi-

My son was the same way at about the same age...We solved the problem by putting up pictures on the wall next to his changing table; nothing fancy at all, just pictures I clipped from magazines, mostly of cars and trucks, as those were his particular obsession.

The key, at least with my son, was to change the picture fairly frequently, so that there was always something new, i.e. interesting, to grab his attention during the diaper change. I also kept a spare in the changing table, in case he tore the picture from the wall in order to get a closer look- a fairly frequent occurrence, which was also okay, as it kept him occupied during the diaper change.

Good luck! It's amazing how long a squirmy toddler can drag out the diaper changing process!

M.

We also went through that phase. We would pin him to the floor with one of our legs. He didn't like it and usually screamed or cried. He would also try to fight to get away. After doing it a few times we then told him that we would change normally if he laid still, but that if he squirmed we'd have to put our leg across and hold him down.

That did the trick. We still have problems once in awhile - now it's mainly kicking.

Oh - one of the suggestions that I got that did help us was giving them the option of where to be changed. But they can only pick if they are going to lay nice - if they don't lay nice next time they don't get to choose. The ladies that gave me that advice said they changed diapers in strange places, but it worked - one lady told me that her child wanted to be changed on the stairs...

Good luck,
J.

well for a while it took two of us...

now I grab a book or a favorite toy, I sing, I do anything I can, tickle, I even nearly have to straddle my son to get him to stay in one spot...try anything, and toy she could hold or any book she really really likes, anything to just get her still for a few minutes...

I've always found to give them a toy or something to hold onto while you're changing them works.

At 19 months?!...my little girls is only 8 months and is all over the place when I change her diaper too. I was hoping she would grow out of it soon, but looks like this phase is probably here to stay from what I am reading.

I have become a professional baby wrestler and have become very skilled at changing her diaper while she is on the move. It doesn't always get on perfect, but I haven't had any problems with it leaking yet. I've also tried engaging her in an activity, tickeling and kissing her tummy or feet, singing and everything else that desperate Mom's do! What works sometimes does not work every time for me. Good luck!

I am going through the same thing right now with my 17 month old. Most of the time I can give her something she finds interesting to distract her while I change her, but even that is slowly starting not to work anymore. I'm hoping they grow out of it fast!

Hi there!
My 19 month old daughter is going through the same thing right now. What has worked wonders is we have a cd player in her room with a Baby Einstein cd in it. When we go to change her, we turn the cd on (it has songs like Wheels on the Bus, all those classics) and sing along. She just lays there and smiles.
Hope this helps, I know it can be frustrating!