It is a question that, when you are not a parent, can seem unattainable, difficult and a bit repulsive. But as soon as you start practicing it, you end up being an expert and you see that it is quite simple and you will get used to “living” with your baby’s diaper and its contents. This is a quick five-step guide to diaper changing .
Because it is not that complicated and we hope it will be useful for those first-time parents who will soon have to start dealing with meconium, poop and various pee.
1) have everything ready
Extend the changing table if you are away from home in the right, stable place and put everything you need within easy reach. At home, everything is usually prepared in the changing area, but it does not hurt to check from time to time that nothing is missing. The reason for these preparations is that we cannot leave the baby alone in the changing table if we have forgotten something due to the risk that it may fall to the floor.
2) Remove the dirty diaper
Remove the lower part of the clothes (bodysuit, romper, tights …), open the dirty diaper and lift the baby by the ankles to the kidneys area (with the butt up, without touching a diaper or changing table) to start Cleaning. Push the dirty diaper down so it doesn’t rub against her skin.
If the diaper is only pee, you can remove it from under the baby and insert the new one. If it is poop, you can fold to “wrap” the dirty part and move the diaper so that the clean part is where we support the baby if necessary. This is to try to avoid staining the stool changer (since cleaning in the case of poop is more laborious and has to be more exhaustive).
3) Clean the diaper area well
To do this, you can use special wet towels for babies or a clean damp cloth. If you are at home, you can clean with soap and water and then dry the skin well. We must always clean it from front to back, in order to avoid infections and complications in the baby’s genital area. Remember to check all the folds to check that there is no dirt left.
4) Apply protective cream
Add to the bum protective cream (one of the essentials in baby cosmetics) that isolates the skin from moisture and feces, preventing irritation of the delicate skin, so exposed and prone to them.
5) Put on the clean diaper
This can also be done before adding the cream, once the area is clean. Check that you put it on correctly (back and front as they correspond), with the stickers at the level of the navel (if you still have the cord with the clip, it must be underneath).
It is important that the diaper corresponds to the size of the baby. It does not have to be squeezed, but it does have to stay snug against the baby’s body.
Check the diaper to avoid irritations
Finally, remember that diapers still do not have an alarm to warn when they are wet, so do not forget to check the baby from time to time to avoid excess moisture and redness or irritation of the area, dermatitis appears …
We hope this quick guide to diaper changes for new parents will be of use to you, it can show us all that it is not so difficult to change the baby and that it remains clean … until the next change, which sometimes will not take too long … You will see how at first the diapers seem to overlap!
Photos | iStockphoto
In Babies and more | “I help you and you participate”, the message of autonomy that we give to a child when changing the diaper standing up
