Oh! No! Not again! She shouted.
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Jane is a new mom trying to cope with motherhood. She has a newborn baby who had just done it (poop) the fifth time in a day. And she was pissssssssed off.
Jane is like every regular new mom, finding it hard to cope with changing diapers. But the thing is as a mom you know it is your duty to clean up your baby when they are messy. When I say messy, I mean the real deal, Poop.
But the thing is, it is not an easy task especially when the baby is not making the job easier either; they wriggle out of your arms, crawl away, cry or fuss, turning a 2 minutes process into 15minutes of work.
What if I tell you that diaper changing is not as difficult as it seems.
What you need are diaper changing hacks that will make the job faster, cleaner and easier for you.
Fortunately, I have compiled 35 diaper changing hacks just for you – the first time mom.
Let’s get started.
Let’s start with the essentials you need to make diaper changing a breeze.
What you need for a diaper change
- Diaper changing station
- Portable baby diaper organizer, a diaper changing basket or a diaper caddy.
The items on the changing station and in the portable changing basket are:
- Diapers
- A changing diaper bag
- 100% water-based Wipes
- A receiving blanket or a flat cloth diaper
- Butt cream and butt spatula
- Baby powder
- Hand sanitizer
- A basket or an old picnic basket.
- Diaper change toys (to keep the baby still while you change the diaper)
Now, armed with the arsenals above, let’s move to the diaper changing hacks.
35 Mind-blowing diaper changing hacks
1. Make sure the baby diaper changing essentials mentioned above are ready all the time. This will enable you to avoid emergencies, save time in running up and down, keep your baby happy and healthy.
2. Keep all the diaper changing essentials close by : If you forget anything in the room and will have to go look for it, take the baby with you, don’t leave them alone.
3. Keep the baby safe on the changing table: If you’re using a changing station, ensure the baby doesn’t roll off. Use changing tables that have sides or flat bassinets with 3-in 1 playpens. It is much safer.
4. Don’t use many clothing layers: Don’t put your baby in many layers of clothing as it will be difficult to remove when you need to quickly change the diaper.
5. Onesie is a miracle: Onesie can save you a lot of trouble while changing your baby’s diaper. You can easily pull the flap on the baby’s onesie to pull it open and down in the case of a blowout instead of pulling the onesie over your baby’s head especially when it is stained. Check out some adorable onesies here.
6. Newborn babies don’t cry when they are wet: Newborns are familiar with a wet environment as they spent nine months there. So, when your newborn is wet, they may not cry, though some do. So make it a habit to always check the diapers to ensure it is not wet. On average, newborns need a diaper change 10 times per day. So, you can always check them every hour or two.
7. Wipe your baby carefully: When wiping a baby girl, ensure you wipe from the front to the back to avoid infections.
8. Get some petroleum jelly: It protects your baby’s bum from diaper rash. You can use it instead of baby bum creams.
9. Use coconut oil to remove stains from the baby’s bottom: As a first mom, you notice that the baby’s first poop is sticky and has a tar-like consistency hard to clean up. It is called Meconium. Using coconut oil can help to remove the meconium from the baby’s bottom.
10. Use distractions: Remember the toy on our list? This is the time to use it. Give the baby a toy to avoid kicking, fussing, crying or wriggling out of your arms. Keep the toys clean afterward.
11. Use a blowout blocker: Blowouts happen sometimes. If you have not seen it yet, wait for it. Sometimes, the baby’s poo comes out and stains clothes and beddings. One way you can prevent this from happening is by using a blowout blocker. It is a soft and absorbent fabric you can use and wash to reuse again. It catches any mess between the diaper and the baby’s cloth.
12. Check your baby’s skin while changing diapers: Make it a habit to always look out for rashes on your baby’s bum when changing the diapers. The baby’s skin is very sensitive and prone to skin rashes.
13. Give your baby a bath if the mess is big: Sometimes the baby may be running. At such times the mess may be big or watery. What you need do is to take the baby to the bathroom to clean them up and give them a bath to keep them calm.
14. Pull the diaper down for newborns: Newborns have an umbilical cord that is healing. So, don’t pull the diaper over it. Fold the front of the diaper to allow the umbilical cord to heal quickly.
15. Use disposable diapers that have a strip that changes color when wet: There are different diapers. There is one that changes color whenever the diaper is wet. It saves you the stress of having to check all the time for poo or pee. However, the strip is very sensitive to liquid. Don’t take off your baby’s diaper because it turns blue, wait for some time before you change it. Check out some disposable diapers here.
16. When removing a soiled diaper, put the new diaper under it. This will help you to quickly change the diaper before your baby cry or wriggling.
17. Put dirty diapers out of the baby’s reach: When you change your baby’s diaper, pull it out of their reach. Sometimes, your toddler can easily grab it with their free hand and cause chaos for you to clean up.
18. Diaper ruffles in or out: Diaper ruffles are those edges of a baby diaper. It is there for a reason. You should pull them out to help you stop leakage and keep the baby dry.
19. Keep things out of the baby’s reach: When your baby becomes a toddler, it becomes difficult to keep him still. So keep dangerous objects away from your changing station or around you where you want to change the diaper. This includes wires, sharp-pointed objects, bins, baby powder, etc. Their arms can be anywhere during the time and because you are busy with them, you may not notice.
20. Check your baby after changing the diaper: Sometimes after changing the baby’s diaper, you will discover dirt on their hands or feet. Properly check to ensure that the baby is clean before you dress them up. Wash their hands and feet.
21. Use one size up diapers for the night. This is convenient as it holds more liquid (pee) saving you time in changing diapers. You don’t have to change it often. You know what? Pretty soon, your baby will grow into it.
22. Sanitize your hands after each diaper change: Wash and sanitize your hands when you finish changing the baby.
23. Stockpile baby diapers in different sizes: As a first-time mom, you will need lots of diapers especially at the beginning when the baby is new. This is the reason you need to buy baby diapers in different sizes. However, don’t buy newborn sizes in large quantities because they outgrow them quickly. You can find different deals or coupons to use for stocking up so you reduce the cost.
24. Send back unused diaper boxes: If your baby quickly outgrows a diaper size, and you have not opened the diaper box, you can return it to exchange for the next size for your baby.
25. No need for diaper warmers: You don’t need a diaper warmer. All you need to do to keep the diaper warm is to keep it in your hand for a few seconds to get the cold out of it.
26. Join the Amazon Prime Member or Amazon family: Joining the Amazon prime or Amazon family will help you save a ton on diaper subscriptions. For example, with Amazon family, you get up to 20% off diaper subscriptions and regular coupons for family stuff.
27. Get a diaper genie: It helps to control the odors from the diaper. You can use it to dispose of your diapers. It also holds diapers for changing. They are built with odor-controlling antimicrobial and airtight clamps to seal the odors. It also has a foot pedal you can drag to make changing easy.
Diaper changing hacks for changing diapers in public
Going out with your baby? You need to be prepared. Below is the diaper changing hacks you need to make it through the day.
28. Get a diaper changing bag: A diaper changing bag is essential. You can carry it anywhere you go to make diaper changing easy. This includes bathroom changing stations, parking lot, supermarkets, etc. You can even use it around the house if you don’t want to use the changing station.
29. Get a portable diaper changing mat. This is very handy if you are not at home where you can use your changing table. All you need is to spread it and use it for changing your baby diaper. You can use it in a public change station to avoid infections, on the grass at a picnic, in the back of your car or on the bed when visiting relatives. Check out adorable diaper changing mat here.
30. Get Ziploc bags: You will need Ziploc bags added to your diaper changing essentials. You can always keep used diapers in it after changing it.
31. Create a diapering station in your car: Apart from getting a diaper bag, you can create a small section at the back of your car seat for diaper changing. It will serve in case of emergencies. Make sure you keep diapers, wipes, a change of clothes, changing mat, Ziploc bags, but cream and spatula and baby powder in it. You can use this diaper caddy to organize your things.
Diaper changing hacks for a baby boy
I added some diaper changing hacks for baby boys because they differ from girls and you need some hacks to scale through.
32. Put a wipe on the belly button: When changing a baby boy, put a cloth on the belly button to avoid him peeing on you while you are changing the diaper
33. Use onesies to immobilize baby boys: It can be a hard task changing the diaper of your baby boy. To help you do it easily, roll the baby’s onesie up and over their arms to keep the arms in one place. Leave it like that till you finish changing them.
34. Point the penis down in the diaper: For baby boys, when you finish changing the diaper, point the penis down in it so that the wee will not go up.
35. To prevent the baby from peeing on you, wipe the baby’s tummy and wait for a few minutes before you open the diaper. The cold temperature of the wipe will trigger the baby to pee before you change the diaper.
How to know when to change baby diaper
A study revealed that babies urinate about 20 times daily for the first few months of life. It will be a burden to change the baby’s diaper after each pee. However, you need to change them 2 to 3 hours to change a wet diaper. However, if the baby poo, you will need to change it immediately.
If you use the disposable diaper that changes color when it is wet, it will be easy to know when the baby needs changing. But if not, you can always use your hand to open the backside and look inside the baby’s diaper to know whether it is wet or soil so you can quickly change it.
How often should you change a baby’s diaper at night?
Sleep is very important for you and the baby. So, you might want to allow your baby to sleep more at night than changing the wet diaper at every instance. If the baby is wet, you can allow them to sleep and leave the changing until you are ready to feed them. But if they poop, then you can change the diaper.
However, to allow you to sleep more, you will want to get the best absorbent diapers for the nighttime or use a size that is slightly bigger than the normal size for your child. This will enable the diaper to hold more liquid than normal and it will enable your baby and you to sleep better.
It is also good if you make it a routine to always change the baby before bedtime. Apply diaper cream to prevent diaper rash from wet diapers. This will give you time to rest before you change the diaper.
Diaper changing hacks: When to stop changing diapers at night?
It is good not to disrupt your baby’s sleep at night. If you can reduce the number of diaper changes at night, it is better. Also, some babies have a hard time going back to sleep after a diaper change.
However, you can stop changing your baby’s diaper if the baby stops pooping at night. If it is only wet with urine, you can leave it provided you use bigger diaper size that can hold more liquid than the usual size for your baby.
Diaper changing doesn’t have to be difficult
With the 35 diaper changing hacks above, you will be a pro at changing diapers very soon.
I bet you have learned a new diaper changing hack today. Why not share it with fellow first time moms and even experienced moms? If you have diaper changing hacks that are not listed above, leave it in the comment section below. Have a blast changing diaper sections.
