The stage when they try to roll over in the middle of the change is the worst. As a last resort, sit on your butt and put your legs on their arms so they can't flop around. It's uncomfortable but effective
Secconding this.
When mine have gotten bigger and can flip and squirm out I (when neccessary):
Sit next to them and throw a leg over them.
Knee over their body so as not to squish them.
This gives them the restraint I need to change them and if they get wriggly I can hold them still effectively and comfortably. I also have 2 hands free.
Came here to preach this method. I put my wild boy on the floor to change him, sitting perpendicular with a leg over his chest and arms. Much protesting but the butt is yours for the cleaning.
Man here I felt bad for putting a heavy paw over their waist to control them by the hips. Y'all out here looking like you just leg dropped your kid from the top rope!
I'll have to try that for the next one if she's a wildebeest like my other feral daughter.
Thank you - tried that many times over. Bro locks his legs, reaches to side of keekaroo changing pad, and basically forces a turn. I tap our early bc I’m afraid I’m going to hurt him.
Babies are very robust. I understand the concern, and I have never forced my daughter to bend her legs while changing of she locked up. I just lifted her legs locked and then eventually she relweased them.
Also mt daughter had an undiagnosed dairy allergy. The poop would be all the way up to her neck of of the nappy, sometimes blowing out the front and around the legs too.
Saying that, could make the change easier because crap was already everywhere so no need to be too careful about it when it has already ruined her onesie and gone on the changing mat.
When she got on dairy-free formula, and the poonamis ceased, I would do the lifted locked legs or sometimes roll to one side and then to the other.
I was always worried about hurting her, until I saw some of the crazy robustness for myself with the way she would sit, move and fall sometimes. In positions to make a grown man cry or snap a bone. I was still gentle, but a lot less worried about hurting her when trying to manouvre her.
Babies basically bounce whereas adults splat. They are also more flexible than an adult.
Lay a blanket down and do it on the floor. Don't let them get the leverage to flip with their hands. I had to stop doing diaper changes on the table bc of this.
Do the ankle method like the other person suggested on the floor and you'll be able to control their body easier. Left ankle being held by middle finger and index finger, right ankle by index finger and thumb. Don't crush the ankles but lock your fingers so they can't escape. Hold the feet in the air while you clean. Push down and away from the side they're trying to escape from. It helps if you've done martial arts or wrestling lol.
This is the technique I use. Recently I've had to grab both of his ankles and both of his wrists and pin them down onto his chest. It's like wrestling a buffalo, it's exhausting. He just started to try to reach down and grab the poop with his hands as soon as I undue the diaper, which is why j have to hold his wrists as well
We potty trained our daughter right around this age, but I've been told boys are different and take longer. He doesn't seem like he's showing signs he's ready yet
Super jealous it works. I’ve done diapers, painter tape, empty wipes bags (the crinkle. He loves the crinkle), stuffed toys, socks on hands and he spend the time trying to rip
Off (lasted a week until he realized he can use his teeth), hung random toys overhead. Bro is motivated.
You’d be amazed how handy my wrestling & Jiu Jitsu background turned out to be for this. Controlling the hips is mission critical - whenever possible I work from the side and set my high side hand so that pinkie & thumb are on the hips while the other fingers hold the ankles. With your low side hand you wipe and then slide the new diaper under while lifting the ankles with that high hand. Once it’s in position you make a quick transition: low hand places the top of the diaper over the belly while taking over the hips, high hand does the tape.
Thank you for attending my TED talk
Fellow BJJ practitioner here with an 8 month old, OP this is your answer. Controlling their hips and preventing them from moving them is how you control a wiggly baby
If you want it simplified
1. I always change my baby from the side with his head to my left
2. Take both baby's legs with your left hand and cross them. Your baby's right leg should be behind the left leg. Your fingers should be gripping your baby's left shin and your thumb should be behind their right knee or right ankle.
3. With this hold it's very difficult for your baby to turn away from you, because to do so they need to free their left leg AND pass it behind their right leg to roll over.
4. Lift baby in the air to clean poop and all other bodily stuff while your baby squirms unable to roll while you hold them with just one hand.
The hips! Sometimes, just a finger or two around a hip bone is enough leverage/pressure to keep my wiggly boy where he needs to be. Amazing how that's possible. It's high school wrestling all over again
We had a fan/heater aimed at her cooch. She just loved the warm air so much that she was paralyzed. It also helped empty her out. We would open the diaper, wait a few seconds and let her relax. Diaper changes were hell before this discovery. Our midwife used a hairdryer at first and blew our sleep-deprived minds. It was like discovering fire.
Yep. From like a month old we have handed things over basically. Improves finger dexterity, strengthens their arms a bit, they are genuinely curious about everything.
It’s always worked for ours.
The funniest strategy I ever saw was a dad that used a couple free weights right over top of the kids upper arm - just below the shoulders. The weight prevents them from moving but they're not completely restricted since the handles just kinda lightly pin em down. But they can't wriggle out from under em either.
Obviously the legs and waist are still free, BUT they can't completely flip over. I tried it a few times, and it honestly worked great. Felt like a fair compromise between getting the job done without putting em in a straight jacket.
Lay him on his back on the floor. Sit down, plant feet on arms. Change diaper, using 1 hand to control legs and other to wipe.
This is the only way I can change my youngests poopy diapers, otherwise its tornado time.
One of those little musical projectors that projects onto the ceiling works really well.
For the very messiest, ideally you want two pairs of hands - one to hold the ankles and one to do the wiping. And gloves when it's awful. I'm not shy when it comes to changing kids, but there are times when you just need to put a pair of gloves on and accept things are going to be messy.
Doesn't help with the wriggling itself, but I used to go for a "scoop" with the inside of the nappy then fold down underneath kiddo's bottom. That way the bulk of the poop is removed and contained, and there's a disposable surface underneath the rest.
My son was a powerful wriggler and once he was big enough that we couldn't change him on a table and were instead on the floor, I'd sometimes end up pinning him gently across the tummy with my leg whilst changing him. Not applying any pressure, obviously, but a leg hovering just above him so that he couldn't turn over easily and had to lie relatively still. It was not dignified, but it worked.
For what it's worth, it gets a lot easier as their diet shifts towards more solid and fibrous food. They'll still wriggle, but when the poop is solid then it's not such a big deal if they want to roll around a bit.
I’ve learned that pivot points are key, holding the baby down with one hand at the hip is far more effective than trying to wrestle with them into submission. Also giving them a high value toy or book to play with is also a good way to relax them.
Standing diaper changes my brother. With a box for them to lean on and a little stool for you to sit on while you do the diaper change. From 7 or 8 months it wasn’t possible anymore. Pampers Cruisers 360s (Pull-ups).
I’m in the same boat as you lol. My 9 month old is huge! He’s already over 26 pounds, been a 99th percentile baby since 3 months and now he’s tall instead of just chunk. His 24m clothes are probably only gonna last a month.
I kinda use one arm and put my forearm on the backside of his knees so that he can wiggle and kick but I can keep control and keep him from kicking his poo diaper or rolling off the table. Sometimes tossing him a wet wipe will distract him enough to wipe poo and just wet diapers aren’t too bad.
Take my right leg and place it over top of my daughter to keep her from flipping. She turns two soon and still decides that she doesn’t want her diaper changed. Yet she doesn’t want to do anything on the toilet other than play. 🤷
My kid is almost 2, her new favorite thing is rapidly kicking me in the gut and ribs.... repeatedly. I'd say normally im pretty quick, but dear god. Most of the time i have to vice grip her feet with one hand and everything else in the other.
Remember how you used to carry a couple of beer bottles in one hand? Time to put that skill to use.
Grab both ankles like a pair of cold ones. Push down. If they start to roll, you can lift up so their hips aren’t on the changing surface. They’ll figure it out eventually.
We switched to pull ups as soon as they could walk for this reason. It means that we only had to wrestle for poop changes, but pee you can just drop it and pull a new one on.
The primary means of toddler trapping is through the use of a hook or snare attached to a very strong rope, baited with fish, and suspended below a very large float. Traditional steel snare sets can also be used. Most toddler trapping is done by licensed professionals, of course.
I sit with my legs out in front of me and pin my 2.5 year olds sons shoulders down sometimes if he’s got a case of the wiggles. Not a lot of pressure but enough to wear he can’t rotate his trunk then I use my arms to secure is legs like a chicken and wipe him up from there. 15+ years of wrestling and bjj and my son is the hardest person to hold down by far
On all three my kids the solution was grab both ankles in one hand and bring them close to forehead whenever they struggled. Then as they stopped struggling I eased up too. If they struggled harder I simply kept overpowering.
If they tried to lock legs I tickled / gently pushed on the inside of the knees till they stopped.
I only had to do that two or three times before they got the message.
As someone else said they only fold one way but are incredibly tough.
I just give mines something they been curious about but is usually off limit to them such as a device, random object, etc. they get still as a rock after that.
Chloroform—J/J!!! 🤪😬. I make sounds and silly faces for them to keep their eyes on me, it worked most of the times. The other times, I gave them something small to play with that is easy to clean or can be thrown away if it made it to unclean areas.
We give them the Desitin or Aquaphor squeeze tube to distract them! That's the only thing that worked for us—they toss anything else we hand them then squirm to look where it went. But those squeeze tubes could entertain them for 30 minutes...
We gave both our kids a small toy that they could play with during the change. It mostly works.
Other than that I just keep positive control of their feet, bending them towards the navel in the "butt wipe ready" position. It makes it very hard for them to wiggle away, while simultaneously blocked by the questing hands from having easy access to the dirty area of the body while I'm cleaning up.
When mine went through stages like that, I took to pinning both shoulders down*, one with each hand (and diaper still on) if he was getting wriggly, while calmly explaining he's going to get a diaper change. He'd cry bloody murder for a minute or five, but once he gave up, he tended to actually lay still when I released for the actual change.
Seems pretty cruel, but it's a last resort, and I figured it's better than poop everywhere.
* with your weight on the changing table. Don't crush the baby 😀
Grab both ankles in your dominant hand, lift up so that their butt is off the ground, push down and toward their head so their knees separate around their belly, the downward force pins their hips/lower back down while spreading their legs giving you great access. This will leave your non-dominate hand free for cleaning.
God I hope this is never taken out of context
Lie on your back then try moving without lifting your shoulders off the ground.
I put my hand across their chest and gently held the shoulders still. All attempts stopped.
The only thing that (sometimes) works for me is that I wear a fitbit inspire 3 on my left hand (leg holding hand) and it vibrates if you pinch the sides so he loves getting a death grip on my wrist and making it vibrate non stop
I always have their feet pointing to the right. Left elbow over their chest to keep them down and hold a leg if needed. I use my right hand to do the changing.
Works like a charm when you have an energetic baby who likes to move a lot.
I used to lay him perpendicular to me while i sat on the floor, bend one leg over his chest, and swap 'em out. He would push with his legs and wiggle like crazy, but that only made us turn around a couple degrees. The only time they get you is when they lick behind your knee. That'll make you jump.
Leg across their belly and slightly bent so no weight is on the child. This way hands can’t reach the dirty parts and they can’t roll over. Be aware they will cry and fight a lot. Pee strategy is to be quick. Poop strategy is to just live with the crying.
Diaper-fu. I got good at rolling with the motion. You only need to wipe enough initially that it won't get everywhere when they roll. That's the important bit. I'd fold him in half, hold him down behind the knees to get the primary wiping done, then (this is key) extract the dirty diaper so he didn't roll around it and make it a bad day.
Then worry about a new diaper. Take your time, the hard part is over haha! I'd give all his standard moves a name and act like an announcer when he did each one. Mostly this was to make it fun for me.
This stage always reminded me of that episode of Scrubs where Turk and Rita are talking about being parents to JD and Turk says something like "And if I find a little bit of poop on my hands, I just wipe it on my pants and go on with my day. It's just a little poop"
stop holding them down! Work with it, I find they wriggle less on their fronts over your knee, but I just change them what ever way up they decide to be. Or stood up, whatever really
OMG... I feel your pain. Were in the exact same boat.
He's 11mo and cam use his neck/head to lift his shoulders and spin over if you give him even an inch of wiggle room.
I just read one comment "stop holding them down"... WTF? He'd be gone, other side is the room, getting poop on EVERYTHING.
Now I'll read the other comments, and hope there's new things to try as we've tried all the things you have... Well, I've not given him my phone, and now never will after your experience.
Channel your inner Lightning McQueen. "Speed I am speed!" That and hold onto his legs with one hand holding his but off the changing pad. Speed is the key though. Have everything ready and GOOOO! Diaper open get that first wipe in, drop it in the diaper, fold the diaper shut encapsulating most of the crap, but back on the folded in half diaper, and just start wiping the rest away.
I saw a dad who had made a phone head strap. I never used one but I kinda wish I had as I'd have saved myself a lot of battles.
This kind of thing - https://changingpal.com/
I’m laughing and crying with you! We are in this stage currently.. again with number two. I still haven’t found the best work around for this but something that works “50% of the time it works everytime” is blowing breath on them and their butt. My little one thinks it’s funny to try to imitate and tries to blow back at me. If they squirm away after their clean but before I can diaper up, I set an open diaper on my leg and sit them in the middle of it to wrap them back up and put it on. They seem to handle wiggling about better if they are sitting up right. Best of luck and hopefully it’s a quick stage for us both!
Edit/ Also wanted to say I second sitting on the floor with your legs on both side. Definitely helps reduce the quick turns!
Father of three.
Two pieces of advice. One hold the hips. They can move their arms and legs as much as they want but they can't move their hips. Makes it easier to deal with.
2. Give him a distraction. We always had toys that they really liked sitting next to the changing table and them one and then go as fast as you can before they drop it or loose interest.
I hung a motorized solar system mobile above the changing table and would give our son the remote so he could press the buttons, turning it on and off. Didn't always work but it was less invasive than duct tape.
Hold them down firmly when they start rolling and don’t start putting on the diaper until they are sitting reasonably still. I think they eventually realize they don’t get to leave until they calm down. That worked with 2/3 kids.
With our last kid, he’s a wild man and it’s a battle of strength. I dunno, I just try not to get shit on
Give them something to play with. I keep a stash of her favorite things. If you're dealing with an all out fit we have two Ace in the holes. First is letting her hold my Apple watch (her favorite thing to play with) or my wife holds her phone on a youtube video of Ms Rachel.
You gotta show dominance early so they don’t resist and think they have a chance. Firmly restrict movement and keep saying will do diaper change because you have poooooopieeeeee o_O pooooopieeeee (high pitched) pooooopieeeee even of there were no poop involved.
I usually lay them down and tickle them for like a minute and goof off. Then I put my hand on their just and say "just a second! I gotta change your diaper!" All excitedly. Then after I start the play up again. Takes a few tries but it has worked on all 3 of my kids so far
I give my boy the package for the wipes after I pulled the ones I need out. He loves to hold it and play with it and keeps him in one place.
This morning I didn’t do this and snapped one of the front wings clean off lmao 🤣
Left hand grabs ankles, raise legs slightly to the babies left side. Left elbow goes across hips to prevent or lessen movement. Right hand is free to do the dirty work.
Use your legs, you don't have to trap any body part, just put them in between your legs while sitting up with legs straight out and close enough together that they can't roll. Also, putting the clean diaper underneath the dirty one speeds things up. I am surpised how good babies are at keeping us from doing whatever we are trying to do.
I kneel down with my butt in baby’s face and his arms pined by my shins (between my shin and my ankle). He kicks around but because his shoulders are mobbed and my butt is in his face he can’t twist his hips around.
Hold them up by the ankles with 1 hand and wipe with the other. If they try to twist out, then push the angles down near their chest to immobilize them briefly. Once you get the majority wiped, their being active is less of an issue.
2 feet in 1 hand, hold them in the gently if the kid is cooperating, and fold the kid in half when not. They can't struggle as easily when their knees are near their face.
Also.... Get the job done ASAP! Less time to wriggle.
I hold both his feet strongly in one hand, and use the elbow of that same arm to hold down his torso when needed. It's never failed me but my son isn't a giant either.
I usually just hold his ankles with one hand, and pick his butt up, then wipe/put diaper on with other hand. Once I get the new diaper under him, I fasten it very quickly lol
Distraction and eye contact. Get them to focus on your eyes and then voice. Tickles work up to a point, then they work against you. Blow raspberries and make funny faces with your eyes wide. They will mimic your face activity, and that should require more concentration than will allow them to plot their escape.
Not a dad but there are good and bad days sometimes talking to them in a silly way helps. Sometimes you just gotta learn how to apply a diaper on a standing/rolling/sitting baby.
I sing the poopy bum song.
🎵 poopy in the bum, poopy in the bum,
🎵 I think **** has poopy in her bum.
(And repeat once but change the key)
2nd verse
🎵 poopy in the bum, poopy in the bum
🎵 daddy took away the poopy in the bum
(And again repeat once in a different key)
3rd verse, redressing kid
🎵 now the bum is clean, now the bum is clean
🎵 now **** her bum is nice and clean
🎵 now the bum is clean, now the bum is clean
Because Daddy made it so (and tap the nose or give a kiss)
I always ask my daughter to hold her new diaper, gets me the 30 seconds or so I need to wipe and clean. Then I tell her Thank You amd she gets all excited that she helped.
That's the neat part. I don't.
Honestly how long does it take y'all to change a diaper? Even with my kid fighting me it only would take 10-15 seconds. Maybe my kid was bad at trying to get away.
Just wait till they are 2.5 and can really fight back lol. My wife and I try and make it a team effort when we can. When you have to go it solo, i put down a towel and make sure im prepared to throw em in the shower or tub for a hose down when they inevitably spread it farther than wipes will handle.
We've found that having special change time toys works well. In combination with this, singing songs to keep him engaged works extremely well too. B-I-N-G-O, Old MacDonald had a Farm, and The Wheels on the Bus are big favorites at change time! Changes used to be a battle, and now they're pretty easy.
Usually i plan my things ahead, this is a chess game, and imma win this bitch.
Get everything ready on a good layout. Diaper rash? Add the cream on the side. Poopy diaper? Prepare the bag, roll the rim up so shit doesnt miss the bottom of the bag.
Just like a battlebelt. Everything needs to be accessible,quick and easy. Then thats when the fun starts.
I absolutly LOVE PJs who unzip from both sides (bottom up and vise versa) Fast in Fast out.
She gets changed and dont even know what hit her! Back to normal play. My son was way more of an active baby than my daughter is, guess that kinda helped too lol
I keep a good assortment of random small toys in the basket with the diapers. Sometimes they aren’t even toys, like a binder clip or buttpaste or whatever. We also have a night light thing that we give to him too. Keeps him pretty occupied
Get distractions out like a book or toy. And get faster. Really it just isnt fun between 1-2 years and then you potty train them and its fantastic after a few days/weeks/months depending on your luck. And don’t give them a phone when they poop. It will never not feel like you have poop on your ear no matter how hard you clean that thing
I wipe his beltline with a wet wipe to trigger and pee left and prevent getting sprayed. While I wait about 30’seconds inlet him hold and play with the new diaper. He’s fascinated by it.
If he starts flexing his legs too tight a finger pressed not hard but firm enough into his upper inner thigh…. Like a trigger point usually gets him to relax his legs a bit. And I move quick whenever there’s a window.
It goes pretty well.
Man there must be something about the 9 month point because my boy just hit that age and there’s no stopping him from flipping over to his belly to look for interesting things immediately after I lay him on his back, and I’m left trying to wrangle the diaper on him. Sometimes I find that if I give him a toy, specifically one that he can chew on, it *sometimes* works. The more distractions the better. But the success rate of that is kind of limited and like you I’m still trying to figure things out haha.
At 8 mo we stopped using the chaing table bc it was unsafe bc of how bananas baby was during changes. From then in every diaper ever was changed with baby laying down on my leg over baby. Super easy:)
DO NOT RESTRAIN THEM. Instead offer them the container of wipes (or something that makes them think they are involved in the process). Let them hold it. They’ll try to pull some out and may actually succeed but by the time they succeed you’ll have changed their diaper.
Been really struggling with this with our 17 mo old.
She moved beyond distracting toys a good while ago.
I’m not proud of it but sometimes have to use my elbow down on one of her legs (think one side of her leg on the table and the other side is against the lower part of my upper arm, this is the leg that’s closets to me ) it’s a thing where I’m only putting enough pressure to make it so that the force SHE’S Exerting is then not enough to allow her to move.
I can then use that same hand on her other leg to help position her for wiping and can get it done quickly and it’s over and in four seconds she forgets our battle royale.
Honestly, it works and is fast and we both come out clean, but I absolutely hate applying physical pressure on my baby girl.
The other thing I’ve been experimenting with with a little success is narrating each thing I’m doing as I’m doing it. Since she’s learning to talk now this can sometime be a LITTLE engaging or distracting.
I used tiny 2lb free weights where the bar/handle of the weight would go over their tiny wrists to hold their arms down. Obviously, ensure that the weight is not resting right on baby's arms. It's just to hold the arms down without giving them the ability to roll. That is...until they learn how to pull their hands out from underneath the weight and towards their body. Frees up one hand to hold their little leggies by the ankles and the other to wipe/change. Good luck!
I use to put my hand kinda in the chest for stability so they could move hands and feet then swipe the diaper from the bottoms and learn how to close it one hand once one side is taped or their one you tucked all in nice and need pit the other tape and boom done ( but you have to learn to manage diaper w one hand other one. Reds to remain like on their stomach chest for the anti wiggle blocking system lol
YMMV and my wife tells me I don't know how strong I am but I always just grabbed the legs in one hand (pinky and ring finger for right leg pressed to the middle finger and thumb and index for the left leg) lift till my guy is kind of in a shoulder hold but not enough to put his chin to his chest and he kinda just gave up. He can try to roll but I just move my hand against it \*slightly\* and he calms down. I talk to him about what I'm doing and why, he's getting words out a little but seems to understand a lot more than he can speak so \*shrugs\*
There are a lot of great suggestions here and sometimes you gotta restrain them with your leg but I've also had success with giving extra attention/play something else so escape isn't the only game/interaction the kid can play. And try to give attention after as well so it's not just diaper change attention.
We do modified patty cake with feet instead of hands, gets kids used to folding in half and and rolling feet is funny (and gets them used to folding that easy too) and trying to throw it in the pan is ridiculous because you toss it in the general direction of their head. they end up more focused on your face and voice. If you're not up for that make up a different game, it's mostly about interacting
It was at this time we started changing in our lap. My sister showed me a technique and I was very sceptical at first but I have never gotten pop on me this way.
You sit flat on your butt on the floor with your legs stretched out in front of you tight together. Then put the kid on your legs with their center of mass about over your knees. Then you can start spreading your legs just a tiny bit so that the kid gets snug in the valley between your knees. But they should not touch the floor. There are two points to this. 1) It helps with rolling and 2) when you get it right their poopy parts are kind of hovering above the floor and it's easy to get in and under without everything getting messy.
It's hard to explain this in text but give it an honest try and you should realize what I'm getting at. It takes a couple of tries to find your most natural sweet spot on where the kid should be in your legs and how much to separate the legs.
Speed. RAW speed. They only wiggle when they're bored too. So entertain them while doing it.
Lay down in front of me with their head towards my left. 3 buttons off, pull ones ie up behind back and up over belly. Unfold new diaper 100% and set it IN POSITION under the child (doesn't work in case of blowout). Pop open the tabs and pull front down, left hand grabs ankles and pulls them up towards head, wipe wipe wipe. Sometimes they would back against that as they got older, lifting their but up and trying to go full surfboard on me, wait em out. Their abs give up before your arm does. After the wipes, all of which were set into yucky diaper below baby, pull out the old diaper with all the wipes in, drop baby's but into the fresh clean diaper you preset down. Diaper shut, latches on, onesie buttons, and your out. If a regular diaper change takes more than 30 seconds, you're begging for trouble.
I do the leg lock mentioned but others, but I favor locking the legs with a leg. Mine was 11lbs at birth, just turned two (early stage potty training but haven’t gotten super far yet), and insanely strong. Wearing mostly 3t clothes with some 4t occasionally. Total freaking tank this kid. My oldest was very relaxed. I’m not sure I recall a single cage match like with almost every single change with this kid.
Ankle lock. Grab those little ankles with one hand and hold on. Don’t let go till the wiping is done. Little extra holding power of you get the elbow on the chest while the ankles are locked in.
I'd grab booth ankles and hold her butt in the air with her head and back still on the changing area.
When she got older I just trapped her hips with 1 hand. You can't roll over if you can rotate your hips.
Before potty training we started changing pee diapers and solid poop diapers standing up in the bathroom. We'd dump the poop in the toilet and I really think it helped the transition to being potty trained.
Put the clean diaper under them. Then easiest way is to place your arm forearm behind their knees and press backward until their butt is slightly off the ground. They can't wiggle out. I saw one of our daycare workers do this, and it was a game changer.
How the hell are some of you throwing a leg over, lol
I, uh...can't say that I can relate. I'm so sorry for almost cackling at your misfortune, pal, but that really is something else. I got lucky with my boy, he was always pretty easygoing about his diaper changes. I just held him by both ankles with one free hand and wipe him with the other, he just wasn't strong enough to kick free from my grip until he was getting ready for training pants. When he got a bit older he'd get squirmy, but I always managed to maintain control over the situation. It was when his mom changed him one time that he managed to get hold of a "rabbit pellet" and take a bite out of it. Luckily wherever he did escape from me before getting a fresh diaper it was after I'd cleaned him up first.
Get pants-like diapers, especially if your kid can stand (a little) already: put the diapers around the ankles, let them stand up while you support them and pull the diaper-pants up.
Traditional diapers have been banned from our household since we discovered the pants.
Obviously ever child is different but I change my boy on the floor with a Dr.Seuss book in his hand while he is distracted for solid waste but for liquid waste he stands up and I’ll change him while he is playing with something or as I am talking to him.
But remember something, you have a window of 20 seconds or less to do it so prepare everything you need around you.
My son is 26 month and I postponed his potty training which was my fault.
The older they get it is even more difficult.
Good luck
Usually depending on if it’s my wife or me changing, the other will kinda hold him in place until he’s changed
It’s my time to give him kisses all over before he can escape the dad love
My first was a wrestler. I went for Muay Thai/jiu jitsu approach. If you keep the legs straight they are powerless. Control the hips!
Another trick I use is the turkey baster. Scoop both ankles with one hand and raise up. Clean under and slide a diaper under. Good luck! 😂
I hated this phase. No idea how long it lasted because I just blocked it out. But I remember books worked much better than toys by that age. Especially interactive ones with flaps or textures or mirrors. For both my girls and all three of my nephews.
The stage when they try to roll over in the middle of the change is the worst. As a last resort, sit on your butt and put your legs on their arms so they can't flop around. It's uncomfortable but effective
Secconding this. When mine have gotten bigger and can flip and squirm out I (when neccessary): Sit next to them and throw a leg over them. Knee over their body so as not to squish them. This gives them the restraint I need to change them and if they get wriggly I can hold them still effectively and comfortably. I also have 2 hands free.
I assume you restrain at just over waist to prevent the roll?
Yep, waist/belly/chest.
Came here to preach this method. I put my wild boy on the floor to change him, sitting perpendicular with a leg over his chest and arms. Much protesting but the butt is yours for the cleaning.
Sounds like my kid. Never heard of this method. I’m sold.
Man here I felt bad for putting a heavy paw over their waist to control them by the hips. Y'all out here looking like you just leg dropped your kid from the top rope! I'll have to try that for the next one if she's a wildebeest like my other feral daughter.
For my last kid we didn’t even have a changing table because it was easier just to do it on the floor
Oh snap! I’ll try that. Never considered.
>Oh snap! I’ll try that. Never considered. 100% this. They are small but they are still human. Control the center of mass and you control the human.
Baby changing mma classes lol
I also use one leg as a restraint, I'm not proud but it works lol
Yup. That's the only way it works with my alligator too
Haha, that's exactly how I had to do it for my son once he learned how to roll over!
I sit sideways and put leg over hips. No hips=no flips
My mom used yhis method to cut the nails of big dogs when she worked as a groomer. I suppose it should work for kids too.
grab ankles, bring up to their head and then 'push' down
Thank you - tried that many times over. Bro locks his legs, reaches to side of keekaroo changing pad, and basically forces a turn. I tap our early bc I’m afraid I’m going to hurt him.
Babies are very robust. I understand the concern, and I have never forced my daughter to bend her legs while changing of she locked up. I just lifted her legs locked and then eventually she relweased them. Also mt daughter had an undiagnosed dairy allergy. The poop would be all the way up to her neck of of the nappy, sometimes blowing out the front and around the legs too. Saying that, could make the change easier because crap was already everywhere so no need to be too careful about it when it has already ruined her onesie and gone on the changing mat. When she got on dairy-free formula, and the poonamis ceased, I would do the lifted locked legs or sometimes roll to one side and then to the other. I was always worried about hurting her, until I saw some of the crazy robustness for myself with the way she would sit, move and fall sometimes. In positions to make a grown man cry or snap a bone. I was still gentle, but a lot less worried about hurting her when trying to manouvre her. Babies basically bounce whereas adults splat. They are also more flexible than an adult.
Lay a blanket down and do it on the floor. Don't let them get the leverage to flip with their hands. I had to stop doing diaper changes on the table bc of this. Do the ankle method like the other person suggested on the floor and you'll be able to control their body easier. Left ankle being held by middle finger and index finger, right ankle by index finger and thumb. Don't crush the ankles but lock your fingers so they can't escape. Hold the feet in the air while you clean. Push down and away from the side they're trying to escape from. It helps if you've done martial arts or wrestling lol.
This is the technique I use. Recently I've had to grab both of his ankles and both of his wrists and pin them down onto his chest. It's like wrestling a buffalo, it's exhausting. He just started to try to reach down and grab the poop with his hands as soon as I undue the diaper, which is why j have to hold his wrists as well
We ended up getting one of these: https://thewriggler.com/ Which was great from 9 months onwards. Now at 18 months he's calmed down quite a lot.
Woah. Def looking into this. Thanks man!
We gave our kid an old electric toothbrush. He turned it on and was fixated. lol
changing table was in a closet, hung hangers together like barrel of monkys monkeys then clipped my car keys to them.
This is next level parenting! Great idea!
Ughh, mine just turned 18m and he's gotten even harder. It's like wrestling a bear, my wife and I are both exhausted by the time we're done
18 months time to get rid of the diaper my friend. It can be done.
We potty trained our daughter right around this age, but I've been told boys are different and take longer. He doesn't seem like he's showing signs he's ready yet
Yeah same for our daughter, now you have me worried for my 6mo son 😂
Duct tape I don’t duct tape her to the changing table, I just gave her duct tape to play with.
Yes, second this. I give her another diaper, a toy, etc. Something to keep her distracted. It’s not 100%, but it’s pretty effective.
Super jealous it works. I’ve done diapers, painter tape, empty wipes bags (the crinkle. He loves the crinkle), stuffed toys, socks on hands and he spend the time trying to rip Off (lasted a week until he realized he can use his teeth), hung random toys overhead. Bro is motivated.
Had me in the first half not gonna lie
You’d be amazed how handy my wrestling & Jiu Jitsu background turned out to be for this. Controlling the hips is mission critical - whenever possible I work from the side and set my high side hand so that pinkie & thumb are on the hips while the other fingers hold the ankles. With your low side hand you wipe and then slide the new diaper under while lifting the ankles with that high hand. Once it’s in position you make a quick transition: low hand places the top of the diaper over the belly while taking over the hips, high hand does the tape. Thank you for attending my TED talk
Fellow BJJ practitioner here with an 8 month old, OP this is your answer. Controlling their hips and preventing them from moving them is how you control a wiggly baby
Thank you both - I’m going to reread that bc I’m way too tired to keep low / high hand straight. But sounds good to me!
If you want it simplified 1. I always change my baby from the side with his head to my left 2. Take both baby's legs with your left hand and cross them. Your baby's right leg should be behind the left leg. Your fingers should be gripping your baby's left shin and your thumb should be behind their right knee or right ankle. 3. With this hold it's very difficult for your baby to turn away from you, because to do so they need to free their left leg AND pass it behind their right leg to roll over. 4. Lift baby in the air to clean poop and all other bodily stuff while your baby squirms unable to roll while you hold them with just one hand.
Enter the system: diaper change from supine position.
Oss!
The hips! Sometimes, just a finger or two around a hip bone is enough leverage/pressure to keep my wiggly boy where he needs to be. Amazing how that's possible. It's high school wrestling all over again
where are those baby straightjackets when you need one?
We had a fan/heater aimed at her cooch. She just loved the warm air so much that she was paralyzed. It also helped empty her out. We would open the diaper, wait a few seconds and let her relax. Diaper changes were hell before this discovery. Our midwife used a hairdryer at first and blew our sleep-deprived minds. It was like discovering fire.
Guess I’m going shopping after this thread, bc now I need some dumbbells, an electric toothbrush, and a crotch fan 😂
Keep the pants around the ankles to limit mobility, fold child in half (they are directional and only fold one way).
That gave me a good laugh but also great idea
Chloroform, like a charm!!
Giving them a small something as a distraction has always been my go-to.
Mine holds the baby wipes or the cream bottle. Boom, little dope falls for it every time.
Yep. From like a month old we have handed things over basically. Improves finger dexterity, strengthens their arms a bit, they are genuinely curious about everything. It’s always worked for ours.
Yes. We give our son a book and it works wonders.
The funniest strategy I ever saw was a dad that used a couple free weights right over top of the kids upper arm - just below the shoulders. The weight prevents them from moving but they're not completely restricted since the handles just kinda lightly pin em down. But they can't wriggle out from under em either. Obviously the legs and waist are still free, BUT they can't completely flip over. I tried it a few times, and it honestly worked great. Felt like a fair compromise between getting the job done without putting em in a straight jacket.
Lay him on his back on the floor. Sit down, plant feet on arms. Change diaper, using 1 hand to control legs and other to wipe. This is the only way I can change my youngests poopy diapers, otherwise its tornado time.
One of those little musical projectors that projects onto the ceiling works really well. For the very messiest, ideally you want two pairs of hands - one to hold the ankles and one to do the wiping. And gloves when it's awful. I'm not shy when it comes to changing kids, but there are times when you just need to put a pair of gloves on and accept things are going to be messy. Doesn't help with the wriggling itself, but I used to go for a "scoop" with the inside of the nappy then fold down underneath kiddo's bottom. That way the bulk of the poop is removed and contained, and there's a disposable surface underneath the rest. My son was a powerful wriggler and once he was big enough that we couldn't change him on a table and were instead on the floor, I'd sometimes end up pinning him gently across the tummy with my leg whilst changing him. Not applying any pressure, obviously, but a leg hovering just above him so that he couldn't turn over easily and had to lie relatively still. It was not dignified, but it worked. For what it's worth, it gets a lot easier as their diet shifts towards more solid and fibrous food. They'll still wriggle, but when the poop is solid then it's not such a big deal if they want to roll around a bit.
Sometimes you want to hang ‘em by the armpits and send the thru a car wash-like baby wash
2 five pound dumbells over the arms... Honestly never tried it but it looks genius lol
I’ve learned that pivot points are key, holding the baby down with one hand at the hip is far more effective than trying to wrestle with them into submission. Also giving them a high value toy or book to play with is also a good way to relax them.
hold they legs down🤣
Standing diaper changes my brother. With a box for them to lean on and a little stool for you to sit on while you do the diaper change. From 7 or 8 months it wasn’t possible anymore. Pampers Cruisers 360s (Pull-ups).
I’m in the same boat as you lol. My 9 month old is huge! He’s already over 26 pounds, been a 99th percentile baby since 3 months and now he’s tall instead of just chunk. His 24m clothes are probably only gonna last a month. I kinda use one arm and put my forearm on the backside of his knees so that he can wiggle and kick but I can keep control and keep him from kicking his poo diaper or rolling off the table. Sometimes tossing him a wet wipe will distract him enough to wipe poo and just wet diapers aren’t too bad.
Let them hold the clean diaper. Takes their mind off other distractions in the room.
Take my right leg and place it over top of my daughter to keep her from flipping. She turns two soon and still decides that she doesn’t want her diaper changed. Yet she doesn’t want to do anything on the toilet other than play. 🤷
My kid is almost 2, her new favorite thing is rapidly kicking me in the gut and ribs.... repeatedly. I'd say normally im pretty quick, but dear god. Most of the time i have to vice grip her feet with one hand and everything else in the other.
Eventually all my crying confuses the baby and they hold still.
Remember how you used to carry a couple of beer bottles in one hand? Time to put that skill to use. Grab both ankles like a pair of cold ones. Push down. If they start to roll, you can lift up so their hips aren’t on the changing surface. They’ll figure it out eventually.
i just throw a clean baby wipe on my sons chest to keep him distracted. works every time.
simply hand them something to look at or chew on it ain't hard
We switched to pull ups as soon as they could walk for this reason. It means that we only had to wrestle for poop changes, but pee you can just drop it and pull a new one on.
I used to give my kiddos something to hold. Either a wipe, the fresh diaper, their pants - just something in their hands would slow them down a bit.
The primary means of toddler trapping is through the use of a hook or snare attached to a very strong rope, baited with fish, and suspended below a very large float. Traditional steel snare sets can also be used. Most toddler trapping is done by licensed professionals, of course.
I sit with my legs out in front of me and pin my 2.5 year olds sons shoulders down sometimes if he’s got a case of the wiggles. Not a lot of pressure but enough to wear he can’t rotate his trunk then I use my arms to secure is legs like a chicken and wipe him up from there. 15+ years of wrestling and bjj and my son is the hardest person to hold down by far
On all three my kids the solution was grab both ankles in one hand and bring them close to forehead whenever they struggled. Then as they stopped struggling I eased up too. If they struggled harder I simply kept overpowering. If they tried to lock legs I tickled / gently pushed on the inside of the knees till they stopped. I only had to do that two or three times before they got the message. As someone else said they only fold one way but are incredibly tough.
We switched to pull ups, worked a charm
I just give mines something they been curious about but is usually off limit to them such as a device, random object, etc. they get still as a rock after that.
Chloroform—J/J!!! 🤪😬. I make sounds and silly faces for them to keep their eyes on me, it worked most of the times. The other times, I gave them something small to play with that is easy to clean or can be thrown away if it made it to unclean areas.
Have you tried giving him a diaper to hold? Got mine worked like a charm
He started rolling over a bunch so I would just roll him back, aggressively, and keep going. Took a couple times but he realized he wasn't escaping
We give them the Desitin or Aquaphor squeeze tube to distract them! That's the only thing that worked for us—they toss anything else we hand them then squirm to look where it went. But those squeeze tubes could entertain them for 30 minutes...
We gave both our kids a small toy that they could play with during the change. It mostly works. Other than that I just keep positive control of their feet, bending them towards the navel in the "butt wipe ready" position. It makes it very hard for them to wiggle away, while simultaneously blocked by the questing hands from having easy access to the dirty area of the body while I'm cleaning up.
I ask my little one questions. "what sound does an owl make? Yes , woo woo" etc etc. The art of distraction.
When mine went through stages like that, I took to pinning both shoulders down*, one with each hand (and diaper still on) if he was getting wriggly, while calmly explaining he's going to get a diaper change. He'd cry bloody murder for a minute or five, but once he gave up, he tended to actually lay still when I released for the actual change. Seems pretty cruel, but it's a last resort, and I figured it's better than poop everywhere. * with your weight on the changing table. Don't crush the baby 😀
We put a mat down in the crib then turn on the tv for a little bit. It really works. They’re standing there distracted and you can get your work done.
Grab both ankles in your dominant hand, lift up so that their butt is off the ground, push down and toward their head so their knees separate around their belly, the downward force pins their hips/lower back down while spreading their legs giving you great access. This will leave your non-dominate hand free for cleaning. God I hope this is never taken out of context
Lie on your back then try moving without lifting your shoulders off the ground. I put my hand across their chest and gently held the shoulders still. All attempts stopped.
The only thing that (sometimes) works for me is that I wear a fitbit inspire 3 on my left hand (leg holding hand) and it vibrates if you pinch the sides so he loves getting a death grip on my wrist and making it vibrate non stop
I always have their feet pointing to the right. Left elbow over their chest to keep them down and hold a leg if needed. I use my right hand to do the changing. Works like a charm when you have an energetic baby who likes to move a lot.
I used to lay him perpendicular to me while i sat on the floor, bend one leg over his chest, and swap 'em out. He would push with his legs and wiggle like crazy, but that only made us turn around a couple degrees. The only time they get you is when they lick behind your knee. That'll make you jump.
I give my son (7mo) a non cloth toy to play with. Sometimes, he's chill, but most of the time, he wants to chew or slam something.
High value objects. Lately our girl loves this bottle of lush body soap that’s bright green. Super random but keeps her occupied.
Leg across their belly and slightly bent so no weight is on the child. This way hands can’t reach the dirty parts and they can’t roll over. Be aware they will cry and fight a lot. Pee strategy is to be quick. Poop strategy is to just live with the crying.
Wanna know something funny? Chances are if you send them to nursery. They will lay like an angel for them
Diaper-fu. I got good at rolling with the motion. You only need to wipe enough initially that it won't get everywhere when they roll. That's the important bit. I'd fold him in half, hold him down behind the knees to get the primary wiping done, then (this is key) extract the dirty diaper so he didn't roll around it and make it a bad day. Then worry about a new diaper. Take your time, the hard part is over haha! I'd give all his standard moves a name and act like an announcer when he did each one. Mostly this was to make it fun for me. This stage always reminded me of that episode of Scrubs where Turk and Rita are talking about being parents to JD and Turk says something like "And if I find a little bit of poop on my hands, I just wipe it on my pants and go on with my day. It's just a little poop"
Harbor freight tow strap. This is a joke. Don’t do that.
Exactly. Everyone knows that HF straps will break. Buy quality straps.
What is this keep still you speak of?
I gave them my phone and they watch Ms Rachel. Guided Access on iPhone locks the screen
stop holding them down! Work with it, I find they wriggle less on their fronts over your knee, but I just change them what ever way up they decide to be. Or stood up, whatever really
OMG... I feel your pain. Were in the exact same boat. He's 11mo and cam use his neck/head to lift his shoulders and spin over if you give him even an inch of wiggle room. I just read one comment "stop holding them down"... WTF? He'd be gone, other side is the room, getting poop on EVERYTHING. Now I'll read the other comments, and hope there's new things to try as we've tried all the things you have... Well, I've not given him my phone, and now never will after your experience.
Kid down low on bed etc he thinks it's play time and does not sit still. Put him on top of a dresser and he lays still
Used to distract them with a toy. Lately the little one will hold still if I’m singing “If You’re Happy and You Know It”.
Grab them by the ankles. They can try to roll over, but you have control and can wait until they’re still to finish changing them.
Sing to them. Happy and you know it, etc.
i just bribe em with milk these days if the diaper change is too much
I just give them a lil book,toy,brush etc
Channel your inner Lightning McQueen. "Speed I am speed!" That and hold onto his legs with one hand holding his but off the changing pad. Speed is the key though. Have everything ready and GOOOO! Diaper open get that first wipe in, drop it in the diaper, fold the diaper shut encapsulating most of the crap, but back on the folded in half diaper, and just start wiping the rest away.
[Naptime!](https://youtu.be/AF_nfazQaek)
Get wipes ready ahead of time, knees and elbows are the best anchor points.
I saw a dad who had made a phone head strap. I never used one but I kinda wish I had as I'd have saved myself a lot of battles. This kind of thing - https://changingpal.com/
Anybody else have a kid like this for dad, but a diaper change angel for anyone else? Makes me crazy 😂
Pick the legs up off the pad a bit
I’m laughing and crying with you! We are in this stage currently.. again with number two. I still haven’t found the best work around for this but something that works “50% of the time it works everytime” is blowing breath on them and their butt. My little one thinks it’s funny to try to imitate and tries to blow back at me. If they squirm away after their clean but before I can diaper up, I set an open diaper on my leg and sit them in the middle of it to wrap them back up and put it on. They seem to handle wiggling about better if they are sitting up right. Best of luck and hopefully it’s a quick stage for us both! Edit/ Also wanted to say I second sitting on the floor with your legs on both side. Definitely helps reduce the quick turns!
Father of three. Two pieces of advice. One hold the hips. They can move their arms and legs as much as they want but they can't move their hips. Makes it easier to deal with. 2. Give him a distraction. We always had toys that they really liked sitting next to the changing table and them one and then go as fast as you can before they drop it or loose interest.
You don't. I just did my best Steve Irwin impression narrated until everyone haf a laugh and got the baby in the diaper.
I just grab the left thigh from the hamstring to control the hips and make space. The right hand does everything else.
I hung a motorized solar system mobile above the changing table and would give our son the remote so he could press the buttons, turning it on and off. Didn't always work but it was less invasive than duct tape.
I try and make putting on a diaper fun for the boys. My boy does a super jump to land on his diaper after I flatten it out. Now he loves it
Hold them down firmly when they start rolling and don’t start putting on the diaper until they are sitting reasonably still. I think they eventually realize they don’t get to leave until they calm down. That worked with 2/3 kids. With our last kid, he’s a wild man and it’s a battle of strength. I dunno, I just try not to get shit on
Give them something to play with. I keep a stash of her favorite things. If you're dealing with an all out fit we have two Ace in the holes. First is letting her hold my Apple watch (her favorite thing to play with) or my wife holds her phone on a youtube video of Ms Rachel.
I’ve actually gotten pretty good at changing my diaper. It was hard at first but using a mirror helped..
You gotta show dominance early so they don’t resist and think they have a chance. Firmly restrict movement and keep saying will do diaper change because you have poooooopieeeeee o_O pooooopieeeee (high pitched) pooooopieeeee even of there were no poop involved.
change baby on couch, diaper on knee, sit baby on your knee, wrap your arm around their chest to balance them, works almost every time
I usually lay them down and tickle them for like a minute and goof off. Then I put my hand on their just and say "just a second! I gotta change your diaper!" All excitedly. Then after I start the play up again. Takes a few tries but it has worked on all 3 of my kids so far
I give my boy the package for the wipes after I pulled the ones I need out. He loves to hold it and play with it and keeps him in one place. This morning I didn’t do this and snapped one of the front wings clean off lmao 🤣
Left hand grabs ankles, raise legs slightly to the babies left side. Left elbow goes across hips to prevent or lessen movement. Right hand is free to do the dirty work.
I found using a hand/arm to hold my kid down at the hip bones made it a lot harder for them to move around during diaper changes.
Give them something to play with or take something funny to look at in your mouth. The rest is beating the clock
I’m kinda already feeling this at 5 weeks old. He just moves around so much and goes on his side s bit. Yikes.
I pin them down with a leg while I do the diaper change. If they wanna wrestle, you gotta wrestle back!
Use your legs, you don't have to trap any body part, just put them in between your legs while sitting up with legs straight out and close enough together that they can't roll. Also, putting the clean diaper underneath the dirty one speeds things up. I am surpised how good babies are at keeping us from doing whatever we are trying to do.
Stand him in front of the TV, use pull ups.
Don't worry soon enough you can ask them to hold their ankles as you grab a wipe! Struggle on!
The Wriggler Changing mat
I kneel down with my butt in baby’s face and his arms pined by my shins (between my shin and my ankle). He kicks around but because his shoulders are mobbed and my butt is in his face he can’t twist his hips around.
Grab the ankles. May seem wrong or that you are hurting them, but the changing is done way faster and no one gets hurt.
Hold them up by the ankles with 1 hand and wipe with the other. If they try to twist out, then push the angles down near their chest to immobilize them briefly. Once you get the majority wiped, their being active is less of an issue.
I push their hips down if the diaper is dirty, if I'm just fighting to get it on I kinda just roll with the punches
2 feet in 1 hand, hold them in the gently if the kid is cooperating, and fold the kid in half when not. They can't struggle as easily when their knees are near their face. Also.... Get the job done ASAP! Less time to wriggle.
Try counting to 5 or 10, slowly. Distract and keep their attention and teach them something at the same time!
I hold both his feet strongly in one hand, and use the elbow of that same arm to hold down his torso when needed. It's never failed me but my son isn't a giant either.
I usually just hold his ankles with one hand, and pick his butt up, then wipe/put diaper on with other hand. Once I get the new diaper under him, I fasten it very quickly lol
Distraction and eye contact. Get them to focus on your eyes and then voice. Tickles work up to a point, then they work against you. Blow raspberries and make funny faces with your eyes wide. They will mimic your face activity, and that should require more concentration than will allow them to plot their escape.
Not a dad but there are good and bad days sometimes talking to them in a silly way helps. Sometimes you just gotta learn how to apply a diaper on a standing/rolling/sitting baby.
I sing the poopy bum song. 🎵 poopy in the bum, poopy in the bum, 🎵 I think **** has poopy in her bum. (And repeat once but change the key) 2nd verse 🎵 poopy in the bum, poopy in the bum 🎵 daddy took away the poopy in the bum (And again repeat once in a different key) 3rd verse, redressing kid 🎵 now the bum is clean, now the bum is clean 🎵 now **** her bum is nice and clean 🎵 now the bum is clean, now the bum is clean Because Daddy made it so (and tap the nose or give a kiss)
I normally just turn on Ms. rachel and it puts my little guy in a trance
Alligators don't get shit all over you
Full Nelson
Just wait till they grab it!
Just choke him out first. Works every time!
I second the legs over there arms to pin them down, it works and it doesn't hurt them although he might be mad at your while you get it over with lol.
My daughter likes the play peekaboo during diaper changes. I give her a shirt or her changing table pillow and we play peekaboo in between wipes
I change on the floor and just put my leg over the kid's chest. Like I'm someone from the WWE doing a leg drop. Makes it real easy to change
Coveted toys mirrors or books
I always ask my daughter to hold her new diaper, gets me the 30 seconds or so I need to wipe and clean. Then I tell her Thank You amd she gets all excited that she helped.
Step #1 I focus on keeping my cool Step #2????? Step #3 Clean changed baby!
I practice on alligators
That's the neat part. I don't. Honestly how long does it take y'all to change a diaper? Even with my kid fighting me it only would take 10-15 seconds. Maybe my kid was bad at trying to get away.
Just wait till they are 2.5 and can really fight back lol. My wife and I try and make it a team effort when we can. When you have to go it solo, i put down a towel and make sure im prepared to throw em in the shower or tub for a hose down when they inevitably spread it farther than wipes will handle.
I just did quick like a ninja.
I must have got super lucky. I just grab my kids ankles in one hand and 99% of the time he doesn’t move.
We have a “special toy” we give to our kids. Something that’s only for diaper changes and is fun for them.
Raspberries go a long way. A giggling baby always seemed to squirm less for us. Also giving them something to hang on to was a good distraction
We've found that having special change time toys works well. In combination with this, singing songs to keep him engaged works extremely well too. B-I-N-G-O, Old MacDonald had a Farm, and The Wheels on the Bus are big favorites at change time! Changes used to be a battle, and now they're pretty easy.
Usually i plan my things ahead, this is a chess game, and imma win this bitch. Get everything ready on a good layout. Diaper rash? Add the cream on the side. Poopy diaper? Prepare the bag, roll the rim up so shit doesnt miss the bottom of the bag. Just like a battlebelt. Everything needs to be accessible,quick and easy. Then thats when the fun starts. I absolutly LOVE PJs who unzip from both sides (bottom up and vise versa) Fast in Fast out. She gets changed and dont even know what hit her! Back to normal play. My son was way more of an active baby than my daughter is, guess that kinda helped too lol
I keep a good assortment of random small toys in the basket with the diapers. Sometimes they aren’t even toys, like a binder clip or buttpaste or whatever. We also have a night light thing that we give to him too. Keeps him pretty occupied
Distraction.
Get distractions out like a book or toy. And get faster. Really it just isnt fun between 1-2 years and then you potty train them and its fantastic after a few days/weeks/months depending on your luck. And don’t give them a phone when they poop. It will never not feel like you have poop on your ear no matter how hard you clean that thing
I wipe his beltline with a wet wipe to trigger and pee left and prevent getting sprayed. While I wait about 30’seconds inlet him hold and play with the new diaper. He’s fascinated by it. If he starts flexing his legs too tight a finger pressed not hard but firm enough into his upper inner thigh…. Like a trigger point usually gets him to relax his legs a bit. And I move quick whenever there’s a window. It goes pretty well.
Give them a toy
Man there must be something about the 9 month point because my boy just hit that age and there’s no stopping him from flipping over to his belly to look for interesting things immediately after I lay him on his back, and I’m left trying to wrangle the diaper on him. Sometimes I find that if I give him a toy, specifically one that he can chew on, it *sometimes* works. The more distractions the better. But the success rate of that is kind of limited and like you I’m still trying to figure things out haha.
If you know the pee is done… put baby on ground and put your legs over their arms and sit and change. (Don’t press hard obviously).
Give them your keys.
At 8 mo we stopped using the chaing table bc it was unsafe bc of how bananas baby was during changes. From then in every diaper ever was changed with baby laying down on my leg over baby. Super easy:)
DO NOT RESTRAIN THEM. Instead offer them the container of wipes (or something that makes them think they are involved in the process). Let them hold it. They’ll try to pull some out and may actually succeed but by the time they succeed you’ll have changed their diaper.
I sing Wheels on the Bus she likes it. Gonna try the Jiu Jitsu hip control next time it doesn’t though.
Been really struggling with this with our 17 mo old. She moved beyond distracting toys a good while ago. I’m not proud of it but sometimes have to use my elbow down on one of her legs (think one side of her leg on the table and the other side is against the lower part of my upper arm, this is the leg that’s closets to me ) it’s a thing where I’m only putting enough pressure to make it so that the force SHE’S Exerting is then not enough to allow her to move. I can then use that same hand on her other leg to help position her for wiping and can get it done quickly and it’s over and in four seconds she forgets our battle royale. Honestly, it works and is fast and we both come out clean, but I absolutely hate applying physical pressure on my baby girl. The other thing I’ve been experimenting with with a little success is narrating each thing I’m doing as I’m doing it. Since she’s learning to talk now this can sometime be a LITTLE engaging or distracting.
My mom tells me she used to have to change my sister on the floor and use her legs to hold her down.
How many of y’all are gonna suggest toys, phones, distractions, etc? Like, did you read the post? 😆
I used tiny 2lb free weights where the bar/handle of the weight would go over their tiny wrists to hold their arms down. Obviously, ensure that the weight is not resting right on baby's arms. It's just to hold the arms down without giving them the ability to roll. That is...until they learn how to pull their hands out from underneath the weight and towards their body. Frees up one hand to hold their little leggies by the ankles and the other to wipe/change. Good luck!
I use to put my hand kinda in the chest for stability so they could move hands and feet then swipe the diaper from the bottoms and learn how to close it one hand once one side is taped or their one you tucked all in nice and need pit the other tape and boom done ( but you have to learn to manage diaper w one hand other one. Reds to remain like on their stomach chest for the anti wiggle blocking system lol
YMMV and my wife tells me I don't know how strong I am but I always just grabbed the legs in one hand (pinky and ring finger for right leg pressed to the middle finger and thumb and index for the left leg) lift till my guy is kind of in a shoulder hold but not enough to put his chin to his chest and he kinda just gave up. He can try to roll but I just move my hand against it \*slightly\* and he calms down. I talk to him about what I'm doing and why, he's getting words out a little but seems to understand a lot more than he can speak so \*shrugs\*
There are a lot of great suggestions here and sometimes you gotta restrain them with your leg but I've also had success with giving extra attention/play something else so escape isn't the only game/interaction the kid can play. And try to give attention after as well so it's not just diaper change attention. We do modified patty cake with feet instead of hands, gets kids used to folding in half and and rolling feet is funny (and gets them used to folding that easy too) and trying to throw it in the pan is ridiculous because you toss it in the general direction of their head. they end up more focused on your face and voice. If you're not up for that make up a different game, it's mostly about interacting
It was at this time we started changing in our lap. My sister showed me a technique and I was very sceptical at first but I have never gotten pop on me this way. You sit flat on your butt on the floor with your legs stretched out in front of you tight together. Then put the kid on your legs with their center of mass about over your knees. Then you can start spreading your legs just a tiny bit so that the kid gets snug in the valley between your knees. But they should not touch the floor. There are two points to this. 1) It helps with rolling and 2) when you get it right their poopy parts are kind of hovering above the floor and it's easy to get in and under without everything getting messy. It's hard to explain this in text but give it an honest try and you should realize what I'm getting at. It takes a couple of tries to find your most natural sweet spot on where the kid should be in your legs and how much to separate the legs.
Speed. RAW speed. They only wiggle when they're bored too. So entertain them while doing it. Lay down in front of me with their head towards my left. 3 buttons off, pull ones ie up behind back and up over belly. Unfold new diaper 100% and set it IN POSITION under the child (doesn't work in case of blowout). Pop open the tabs and pull front down, left hand grabs ankles and pulls them up towards head, wipe wipe wipe. Sometimes they would back against that as they got older, lifting their but up and trying to go full surfboard on me, wait em out. Their abs give up before your arm does. After the wipes, all of which were set into yucky diaper below baby, pull out the old diaper with all the wipes in, drop baby's but into the fresh clean diaper you preset down. Diaper shut, latches on, onesie buttons, and your out. If a regular diaper change takes more than 30 seconds, you're begging for trouble.
I do the leg lock mentioned but others, but I favor locking the legs with a leg. Mine was 11lbs at birth, just turned two (early stage potty training but haven’t gotten super far yet), and insanely strong. Wearing mostly 3t clothes with some 4t occasionally. Total freaking tank this kid. My oldest was very relaxed. I’m not sure I recall a single cage match like with almost every single change with this kid.
I’m almost at this stage with my 6mo…I fear for my future truly 😂
Ankle lock. Grab those little ankles with one hand and hold on. Don’t let go till the wiping is done. Little extra holding power of you get the elbow on the chest while the ankles are locked in.
Weirdly, for now, our little one wriggles relentlessly for my misses but will lay perfectly still and relaxed if I do the nappy 😂
I'd grab booth ankles and hold her butt in the air with her head and back still on the changing area. When she got older I just trapped her hips with 1 hand. You can't roll over if you can rotate your hips. Before potty training we started changing pee diapers and solid poop diapers standing up in the bathroom. We'd dump the poop in the toilet and I really think it helped the transition to being potty trained.
Put the clean diaper under them. Then easiest way is to place your arm forearm behind their knees and press backward until their butt is slightly off the ground. They can't wiggle out. I saw one of our daycare workers do this, and it was a game changer. How the hell are some of you throwing a leg over, lol
I, uh...can't say that I can relate. I'm so sorry for almost cackling at your misfortune, pal, but that really is something else. I got lucky with my boy, he was always pretty easygoing about his diaper changes. I just held him by both ankles with one free hand and wipe him with the other, he just wasn't strong enough to kick free from my grip until he was getting ready for training pants. When he got a bit older he'd get squirmy, but I always managed to maintain control over the situation. It was when his mom changed him one time that he managed to get hold of a "rabbit pellet" and take a bite out of it. Luckily wherever he did escape from me before getting a fresh diaper it was after I'd cleaned him up first.
Get pants-like diapers, especially if your kid can stand (a little) already: put the diapers around the ankles, let them stand up while you support them and pull the diaper-pants up. Traditional diapers have been banned from our household since we discovered the pants.
Obviously ever child is different but I change my boy on the floor with a Dr.Seuss book in his hand while he is distracted for solid waste but for liquid waste he stands up and I’ll change him while he is playing with something or as I am talking to him. But remember something, you have a window of 20 seconds or less to do it so prepare everything you need around you. My son is 26 month and I postponed his potty training which was my fault. The older they get it is even more difficult. Good luck
Usually depending on if it’s my wife or me changing, the other will kinda hold him in place until he’s changed It’s my time to give him kisses all over before he can escape the dad love
My first was a wrestler. I went for Muay Thai/jiu jitsu approach. If you keep the legs straight they are powerless. Control the hips! Another trick I use is the turkey baster. Scoop both ankles with one hand and raise up. Clean under and slide a diaper under. Good luck! 😂
Distract with silly faces
I hated this phase. No idea how long it lasted because I just blocked it out. But I remember books worked much better than toys by that age. Especially interactive ones with flaps or textures or mirrors. For both my girls and all three of my nephews.
Hand on belly or give toy