Have you ever felt scared while holding a baby in your arms? Now think about a new parent trying to feed, pamper, or trying to change their child’s diaper for the first time. A person with zero experience will find it hard to take care of a baby.
Many a time changing diapers may leave you feeling overwhelmed. You may not want to see the mess, or probably your child’s constant moving may hinder you from performing this task. To alleviate the stress and burden for first time parents, I have discovered some amazing tips. Whenever we try to initiate anything, we need to follow certain steps. In this case, you also need to go step by step, from relaxing and entertaining your baby to keep them distracted.
It is ok to take some while mastering this task; after all, no course teaches you how to do it properly. As new parents, you are likely to change diapers a hundred times a day; hence, it becomes vital to know some tips on how to change your newborn’s diapers.
These 7 tips may help you while changing your kids diapers:-
Tip 1 – Wash your hands
Infants are very sensitive and prone to fall ill when exposed to unhygienic conditions. You need to wash your hands very carefully before and after changing a diaper. Even if you are not at home, keep a hand sanitizer in your purse. Use it to sanitize your hands before you touch your baby’s skin while changing their diapers. Your hands should be clean. Also, take care to ensure that the surface of the table or mattress that you lay the baby on while changing their diaper is clean and tidy.
Tip 2 – Relax your baby
Babies are restless, they love to play and move their little hands and feet all the time. However, these cute activities can make it difficult to change their diaper. What you can do is, play a song or sing to them instead; your voice may calm your baby, and when your baby is quiet and not moving too much, change the diaper quickly.
Your baby can twist, bend, kick or even cry while you are changing their diaper. You have to learn the correct timing of when to remove a used diaper, and when to put a new one on. This will come to you automatically as you gain experience. However, you should know what relaxes your baby so that you can perform these tasks easily.
Tip 3 – legs overhead
It is like a little circus for the babies when you lift their legs up. It is hard to recall how old this technique is, but mothers all around the world have used this trick for decades. I can bet many of your friends and parents have given you this tip as well. This is how it actually works. When you lifting your baby’s legs over the head, makes it easier to remove a used diaper and position a fresh diaper. You can also twist their legs left and right if your baby likes it that way.
Tip 4 – Wipe the bottom area
Ideally, you may need to change your newborns diaper up to twelve to fifteen times a day, while older babies may need to be changed five to seven times. By now, you may know how a newborn’s skin is affected if you change their diapers carelessly. It is important to use a wet cloth or wipes to wipe their skin a bit before putting a new diaper on. This helps to keep their sensitive skin free from itching and allergic reactions.
Choose an absorbent diaper of the right size. Irrespective of whether you need an adult diapers or one for a baby, diapers are available in every possible size; choose the correct size to prevent leaks and irritation.
Tip 5 – Give them something to play with
Toys are every kid’s first love, irrespective of how old they may be. When it is time to change their diaper, give them something to play with, a car, doll or even a milk bottle. When they play with stuff, they forget about what is happening with them for a while and you can accomplish your part of the job.
Tip 6 – Place the new diaper inside your baby’s butt
Changing diapers means removing a used diaper and putting a new one on. Now, this will obviously take two to three minutes. However, do you think your baby will remain silent for these few minutes? To ensure they do, you need to minimize the time it takes to change their diaper. While changing your baby’s diaper, lift them by their ankles and slide a new diaper underneath.
Doing this reduces the time required to change a diaper by up to one minute. Since a new diaper is available, you do not need to open a new one and throw the old one away. Did I mention to keep an ointment with you? use an ointment cream to soothe your baby’s tender skin Between diaper changes.
Use pull-ups or order free adult diapers for your parents and not willing to wear a diaper, they are like underwear, and can be changed in thirty seconds.
Tip 7 – Provide distractions
Expect your baby to cooperate with you during a diaper change may not happen. All you can do is to distract them as much as you can. However, please remember that even though babies are innocent and sweet; they know when you try to fool them. So provide them with a distraction, for instance, make stupid faces, produce funny sounds and walk them around the house. Somewhere in between doing all this, change their diaper quietly and quickly. Children love being the center of attention, so do things that make your baby feel like everyone is watching their gestures. You can clap for them after changing their diaper; it will make them feel as if this is something they should do more often.