Best Way to Change Diapers

Don’t worry if you missed the parenting class on diapering. Parents quickly become experts who not only can—but do— change diapers in their sleep.

Cleaning Baby’s Bottom

Some parents like the convenience of premoistened wipes, but there are lots of options.

• Dampen cotton cosmetic pads with water, and store them in a zip-lock bag.
• Keep a roll of toilet paper, soft paper towels, or a box of tis­sues near the changing area

• Use Handi Wipes. They rinse out easily and can be reused.
• Recycyle old cloth diapers by ripping them into smaller pieces and using them as wipes. Toss them in the laundry with the other cloth diapers.
• Wipe a soiled bottom with a cotton ball dipped in baby oil.
• Keep a small spray bottle filled with water near the diaper area to make a messy diaper area easier to clean.
• Change your baby’s diaper on the bathroom vanity. Lay your baby on a towel, hold his legs up, and scoot his bottom to the edge of the sink for easy cleaning. Never take your hands off your baby in such a place.

Diapering Tricks of the Trade

• Keep a roll of masking tape handy to mend diaper covers and torn tabs on disposables.
• Cover a baby boy’s penis with your hand or a diaper to avoid being sprayed. Point the penis down before securing the dia­per, to direct the stream where you want it to go.
• Keep a radio or CD player near the changing table, to soothe a fussy baby.
• Hang a mobile near the changing table, preferably one that plays a song while rotating.

• Only use diaper pins with plastic-covered ends. Never use ordinary safety pins.
• Place your fingers between your baby’s skin and the diaper to avoid poking your baby with a pin.
• Wrap a wrist pincushion around the top bar of the crib or changing table. (Move it to a safer place when your baby is old enough to reach for it.)
• Stick pins into a thick potholder or decorative candle for stor­age, or hang closed pins on a cup hook screwed into the wall.
• Run pins along a bar of soap to help them slide through dia­pers more easily, or run them over a strand of your hair or across the top of your head.
• Attach a few pins to your key chain so you’ll always have ones handy.
• Don’t hold pins in your mouth. Babies are great imitators!