Need Diaper Changing Advice

I sometimes let my little girl (11 mos.) stand on the change table,hands on the wall,to look at the pics on the wall while I put on her diaper.She takes on the "police frisk" stance. It is funny.

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put his favorite food into a nuby nibbler

give him diluted juice in a sippy cup

play lots of peekaboo, paaty cake, etc. - lots of interaction

hang chimes

get him a new favorite little toy, but only let him play w/ it on changing table, on back

be consistent! new rule: no flipping. use the strap or, if none, get changing pad w/ strap

if flips, remove toy/nuby/sippy (my baby can twist around some evn w/ strap)

i'll repeat: lots, lots, lots of interaction. babies love mom better than any toy. make dipe changes special times, even if they take longer. if fun, so what? ;)

1 mom found this helpful

A.,
That is perfectly normal, mine did the same thing, lol. It's funny now, but it was incredibly irritating then. Do you have a changing table to change him on? I did and it was a god-send. If you don't, get one, and get one with a seat belt. I know it sounds stupid, but he's only on there for a couple of minutes while you're changing him, and it makes it really hard for him to roll over, much less crawl off the table and hurt himself. That's the best thing I found to make it easier to deal with the diaper changing run-aways. I hope this helps.
S.

All infant do it. My baby was bad about it and I finally had to start spatting her little leg as bad as I hated to do that - but hey it worked!

I played games with mine while changing their diapers. Our favorite was ears, nose , eyes, and mouth. The game would distract them enough that I would have their diaper on and off before you knew it.

It seemed that we tried everything....with varying degrees of success. One thing that worked for us for a while was wax paper. I would just tear off a few sheets and keep them around my diaper changing areas. She loved the noise it made and it was a new thing for her. You just have to be certain that you get it away from them before they run off so that they are only playing with it while you are doing the actual change. Although it's just paper, you wouldn't want them getting a piece of it off and in their mouth. Good luck. It does pass all too quickly!

Go to the doller store and buy several little rattlie,squeekie toys anything thats colorful and make noise. Buy a basket hang by the changing table lay him down undo the diaper give him a toy and change him. If he has a different one everytime then he wont get bored. I had to do this also. I bought toys at mcdonals just something differnt for him to check out to keep his mind busy and i learned to change her quick!!! Lol!!! Good luck!

My son did the same thing. I started changing him on the floor when he was about that age. I had a travel changing pad that I would lay out and he would lay on that. If he was particularly wiggly, I would pin one of his legs down with mine (not full force, just enough to keep him down) so that he couldn't crawl away. I would also give him a sippy cup while changing him. He eventually grew out of it, but I remember how bad it was until he did!

Good luck! If you figure something out, let me know! My son is 16 1/2 months and every diaper change is a challenge! Wait till your child can run! ha! I give him things to try to occupy him and it generally does not last too long. I made an awesome mobile that I hung from the ceiling above his changing table and it worked before he could stand on his own, but now all he wants to do is grab the coloful ribbons and animals hanging from it! It can get very frustrating, especially when it is a poopie diaper! I started singing the alphabet song and making funny noises (I am NO BEAT BOX!) and this seems to keep him entertained (for this week)! He thinks it is funny! I'm sorry to tell you, but it seems like it has become more challenging, but I try something different everyday. My son is old enough (I think) for me to be a little stern with him and ask him to stop. I hate to admit it, but it really has not helped. So, I would love to hear of the advice you receive! Good luck!

VERY common - keep a basket of toys, small books, maybe some old keys or an old cell phone a hand mirror (things baby is interested in but doesn't normally get to play with.) Talk to baby, sing a song, and change as fast as you can. As with most things - it will get better (and worse again when baby learns to walk :-)

Hi A.,
My daughter sometimes does the same thing. I try to give her something to play with. She really likes playing with a baby wipe, toys, books. I hope this helps! Good Luck!
R. G

Our son did the same, and I finally quit using the changing table and just changed him on the floor or the bed. Maybe try to keep a stack of board books nearby, or sing a song about changing his diaper. Sometimes singing would distract my son. Good luck!

That's what some of them do at that age.
First have everything ready so he will not notice it and plan his escape. Have a soft toy if you need a diversion. Play games with him - talk about his eyes, ears, nose, feet and mouth or whatever. Lay him on his back. Tell him he is a good boy, how handsome his is - make it a special time and not a chore. Then change his diaper while you are talking to him. When my son had a messy diaper I would say "Ooh, now you did it" in a loving voice. Those were probably his first words and his sisters would say "Sammy did it" and he would say "I did it" even though he was too small.

We had this problem, you can put some things on the wall next to the changing table, pictures, mirror etc. Or change him standing up.

My son was also a flipper. I finally started to change him on the floor while holding his arms with my feet. It was a sight to see!! But he eventually grew out of that stage and laid still while I changed him.

A.,

My son is almost 10 months and he has been doing this for months! I no longer change him on the changing table, too dangerous! Sometimes he will be occupied with a toy, but for most changes I get him while he's standing up. I have become very good at it. I am the only one that changes his diaper though. The challenge is poop! I just try to be patient. Resisting diapering is actually a milestone, not the best one of course. Just try to find a favorite toy. That's what I do. Sometimes it works, but most times it doesn't. Good luck.

My youngest is 22 months and he will STILL do this! This is what I do when I get ready to change him because he hates having his diaper changed (He will say "noooo" whenever I tell him it's time to change his diaper.): Anyway, I will pick him up, give him lots of little kisses on his face, talk to him, and make sounds or funny faces. I will keep doing that throughout the diaper change. This allows him to focus on Mommy being silly instead of him being discontent at his diaper being changed. That will buy me just enough time to get the diaper duty done and will get me lots of giggles from my boy. Good luck and it will eventually pass. You will eventually look back on this time in your baby's life and miss it, so just enjoy it while it lasts ;-)

You just have to learn to do it like a pit crew. I used to be able to change just a pee diaper in about 10 seconds. I would put my hand on his chest (not hurting, just holding) and work really fast. It's a challenge of course. I don't have great advice, but it's all I have to offer: get faster. Maybe it'll help. heh heh heh. I'm a first time mom too so you aren't alone in the world...

most of us seem to have the same advice of giving him something to play with. This works most of the time with my 10 month old but she isn't always so easy to please. I aleviate this issue first thing in the morning by making her bottle before I even go into her room to get her and she drinks the bottle while I am changing her diaper. I've also changed her on the floor and used my leg to hold her down on the floor while I changed her diaper with my hands. I obviously don't put all of my weight on her (just in case anyone freaks out by reading that and assuming something wrong). I read one woman used her hand on her baby's stomach while she changed the baby. I have to use both hands so I use my leg instead.

My favorite is when she has a poop and she sticks her hands right in it as soon as I pull the diaper tabs loose. UGH! I don't remember my son being so difficult. LOL

When my children were little I put those bright colored flowers from the dollar store that are bendable around the head of the changing table. I just took the end of the stem and wrapped it around the table a few times so they stood up. They worked great because thhe could pull them down and play with them and they stayed on. I also would sing the abc song and they knew I would be done by the time the song was over. It also helped them learn the song. If they had on a onesie or pants with snaps I would count them as I did them. These seem like silly things but it distracts them long enough to get the job done.

My 1 yr old does the same thing! It's actually easier for me to change him on his changing table still, because on the floor, I think he knows he can roll over and take off. What usually works really well for us is to give him a cup or bottle of juice/water/milk, whatever to suck on while I change him. He also likes to hold things, so I let him hold whatever is close by. Some favorites of his are bottles of lotion, the diaper cream, a toothbrush, a hairbrush, any toy that makes music, and even a flashlight. He shines it on the ceiling while he's laying there. It's fascinating for him! I know it's weird, random stuff, but usually the stuff that's new or that he hasn't seen often will work the best. Good luck!

You mentioned having a toothbrush nearby...does he also have other toys that he can grab? My changing table is on a dresser and on the side of it there are several small toys my son can grab. If he is really fussy I give him his paci which isn't preferred but that works too. Maybe those things will help if you don't already use them. My son will still occassionally flip as well so I don't think you can completely stop it, but hopefully you can limit it. Good luck!

Hi A.,
First of all, this is very normal. And it is challenging. The good news, is that they often grow out of this and go back to being compliant in diaper changing.

My first suggestion was to try to distract him, but looks like you have tried that. I had this problem with one of my sons. I don't remember how old her was, but it got frustrating enough that I actually had to swat his bottom sometimes to get him to stay still. I'm not sure if you want to try that or not. :)

The other method I tried that did work all right was to change him on the floor. I would sit with my legs out and put my legs on top of his legs and arms. He hated it, but it kept him pinned down until I was done. Then the only problem became trying to snap him back up as I couldn't pin him down while I did that. :)

Have fun, it should get better.
M.

My son (even at 2) is a flipper also. When he starts to, I use the strap on the changing table. It is confining but still gives him a bit of wiggle room. I do a lot of distracting. We sing songs, talk, or I give him a little chunky board book to read/look at. As much as I know he likes moving around, for our son, it is not an option. He must let me change him. It doesn't really take that long (even if the thinks it does :).

Good luck.