Learning to change a baby's diaper is rather tricky. They seem to be determined to stick their feet right in the middle of the mess, and then they pee everywhere. Cleaning your little chickadee's undercarriage can be frustrating to say the least. Here are a few tricks that I have learned over the years that have made the dirty job a little cleaner.
1. Always use a changing pad, even on the changing table.
Even when your baby is only wet, having a changing pad is a great idea. A baby who is getting changed often feels inspired by all of the commotion down there to add a little more excitement to the party. This can mean a big mess, and a lot of laundry, unless you were prepared with a changing pad. Often when mid-diapering accidents happen an changing pad will catch all of the extra goop. This will save you from having to own three or four changing table covers, and needing to constantly launder them.
2. Hold both of your baby's feet in one hand to lift her bottom up.
This maneuver sounds more tricky than it is. if you can hold one ankle with your pointer finger and thumb, then wrap your other three fingers around the second ankle, you can do it. Then when both ankles are secure, bring your baby's feet up near her face. This should gently and naturally lift your baby's bottom an inch or two off of the diaper and make it easier to reach. Babies are very flexible, and though this position may look uncomfortable, it is not for most babies. One exception is, if you baby spits up every time you try to do this, she probably has reflux, and this position will not be ideal for her. If this is the case, try rolling your baby away from you onto her side to expose her booty for washing.
3. Use the clean front of the diaper for the first wipe of dirty diapers.
Sometimes our babies make quite large sticky messes in their fluffy little butt covers. These can use up a huge amount of wipes, which don't come cheap. To save a little elbow grease and a little extra change, when you first open your little food processor's diaper, take a hold of the front of the diaper and wipe from front to back. One big wipe is all that this move is good for. It doesn't clean the whole mess, it just takes off the top layer, so that what is left is easier to deal with. When you reach the back of your baby's rear end with the front of the diaper, just leave it there. This keeps your baby from re-dipping into the mess while you begin cleaning the rest of his hiney. You can also take the diaper away, if you have a handy place to stash it until you can deal with it by itself. The reason I leave the diaper there, is it is one more thing between my changing pad and changing table, so that even if I can't keep both completely clean, I can often reduce the mess.
4. Drape a baby washcloth over your boy's little fire hose.
This can apply to girls who spray when they are being changed too. For some reason, the cool air maybe, babies love to go wee-wee when they are naked. Since getting urine squirted all over the room is probably not one of the things you want to deal with, simply draping a bit of cloth, or a baby-wipe over the front section of your little fire-fighter during a diaper change can save you a major headache.
5. Have a squirt bottle with your cleanser in it handy.
If you have read my tips for natural remedies for diaper rash, you know that I prefer to have natural ingredients with which to wash my little ones buns. I got a great tip from JJ Keith (@jj_keith on twitter, a great person to follow) to keep my natural cleansers in a squirt bottle, and it is SO much easier! Make sure to always clean in the folds. It can be awkward, but it is very important to remove all of the waste. I also recommend keeping any powders (like cornstarch) in old spice bottles (It is much easier to sprinkle if the lid has holes than if it is just open), and oils (like olive oil) work great in old hand-soap pump style bottles. Always be sure to clean any recycled containers thoroughly before using them for your baby's rear-end care kit.
Changing diapers is not fun, not easy and not tidy, but it can be a little less work with a few handy techniques, and a little practice. If you have found these tips helpful, please forward them to any new or expecting parents you might know. Questions, Comments and suggestions are always welcome. Happy parenting!
Showing posts with label cloth. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cloth. Show all posts
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Monday, June 22, 2009
5 tips for bathing your new baby.
The idea of bathing a baby is pretty scary. Your baby is so small and delicate. You measure your every move, trying to maximize his safety and minimize his discomfort. And yet the time will come when you will need to get him wet. I'm not talking about the sponge-baths that you give before your baby's umbilical cord falls off, I'm talking about sitting him in a baby tub of water and covering him with slippery soap! There are quite a few things to think about and keep track of while you are doing this but I have made a list of my top 5.
1. Cover your baby with wash cloths.
Even with a warm room and luke-warm water, your baby will probably start to get cold by the end of the bath. This is because the water on her skin is evaporating, constantly cooling her off. The best way to slow this cooling process is to drape several baby wash cloths over her head, shoulders and belly. They will hold more water, making the evaporation process slower. As you was the various parts of your little dolphin-baby, simply remove or fold back the appropriate part of the cloth, wash, rinse and fold it back or replace it. The cloths will also make your baby less slippery, so when you need to turn her to the side to wash her back she will be less likely to slip out of your grasp.
Even with a warm room and luke-warm water, your baby will probably start to get cold by the end of the bath. This is because the water on her skin is evaporating, constantly cooling her off. The best way to slow this cooling process is to drape several baby wash cloths over her head, shoulders and belly. They will hold more water, making the evaporation process slower. As you was the various parts of your little dolphin-baby, simply remove or fold back the appropriate part of the cloth, wash, rinse and fold it back or replace it. The cloths will also make your baby less slippery, so when you need to turn her to the side to wash her back she will be less likely to slip out of your grasp.
2. Temperate temperature.
As I mentioned in the first tip, the water you wash your little jellyfish in should be only slightly warmer than room temperature. Part of the reason for this is that warmer water dries out your baby's skin and can give him a rash, or exacerbate conditions like eczema and psoriasis. Also, your baby is super sensitive to temperature changes, and hotter or colder water can be very uncomfortable, and this sensitive baby skin can burn at a much lower temperature than an adults. Even if you prefer cool showers or hot baths, don't assume the same is true for your baby.
As I mentioned in the first tip, the water you wash your little jellyfish in should be only slightly warmer than room temperature. Part of the reason for this is that warmer water dries out your baby's skin and can give him a rash, or exacerbate conditions like eczema and psoriasis. Also, your baby is super sensitive to temperature changes, and hotter or colder water can be very uncomfortable, and this sensitive baby skin can burn at a much lower temperature than an adults. Even if you prefer cool showers or hot baths, don't assume the same is true for your baby.
3. Get in those folds.
Babies are growing at an enormous rate. They can shed more skin cells in a week than we do in an entire year. These skin cells accumulate in every fold of your baby's skin, and become a great breeding ground for bacteria, especially when combined with sweat and milk. The kind of bacteria that feeds on dead skin cells is very irritating to your baby's sensitive skin and can leave bright red irritated patches where it is given time to grow. The danger zones are behind your baby's ears, around the neck, under the arms, behind the knees and elbows and in your sweet little seahorse's rear end (though that area gets cleaned pretty regularly at diaper changes).
Babies are growing at an enormous rate. They can shed more skin cells in a week than we do in an entire year. These skin cells accumulate in every fold of your baby's skin, and become a great breeding ground for bacteria, especially when combined with sweat and milk. The kind of bacteria that feeds on dead skin cells is very irritating to your baby's sensitive skin and can leave bright red irritated patches where it is given time to grow. The danger zones are behind your baby's ears, around the neck, under the arms, behind the knees and elbows and in your sweet little seahorse's rear end (though that area gets cleaned pretty regularly at diaper changes).
4. Have fresh warm water nearby for rinsing.
By the end of your baby's bath the bathwater will be a tepid soup of soapy water and dead skin cells. To make the most of your sweet little water monkey's bath it is a good idea to have a pitcher of clean warm water nearby. If you are doing the bath by yourself, before you begin get a pitcher of very very warm, nearly hot, water and place it nearby. By the end of the bath the pitcher should have cooled down to the point where it will be comfortable for your baby. Then give your baby one last rinse with the clean warm water just before you lift her out of the bath and place her on a clean soft towel (if you have help, one person can lift your baby, while the other pours the water to give her a better rinse). As a side note, do not use fabric softener on any of your baby's laundry, including towels, because the chemicals left in the fabric can be very irritating to that soft-as-silk baby skin.
By the end of your baby's bath the bathwater will be a tepid soup of soapy water and dead skin cells. To make the most of your sweet little water monkey's bath it is a good idea to have a pitcher of clean warm water nearby. If you are doing the bath by yourself, before you begin get a pitcher of very very warm, nearly hot, water and place it nearby. By the end of the bath the pitcher should have cooled down to the point where it will be comfortable for your baby. Then give your baby one last rinse with the clean warm water just before you lift her out of the bath and place her on a clean soft towel (if you have help, one person can lift your baby, while the other pours the water to give her a better rinse). As a side note, do not use fabric softener on any of your baby's laundry, including towels, because the chemicals left in the fabric can be very irritating to that soft-as-silk baby skin.
5. Keep your baby's face pretty dry.
The only washcloth you have draped on your baby that should be kept fairly dry for the majority of the bath time is the one on his head. If this cloth is dry, it can soak up any drops of water that are running down toward your babies face. Babies have a survival instinct that is meant to help them avoid drowning which is to arch their backs and intake a large gasp of air if they feel water running over their face. This is meant to give them a big breath of air before they are submerged in water, but if they are on their backs, as in a bath, they often will accidentally inhale a fairly large amount of water, causing a coughing and crying fit, and creating negative associations with bath time. You should wash your baby's face with a soapy wash cloth, and rinse it with a very wet clean wash cloth that has been dipped into the pitcher of warm rinsing water you have standing by. If you wait to wash your baby's face till the end of the bath, you also can use this as an opportunity to test the temperature of the water in the pitcher, to make sure it has cooled enough. When you wash your baby's hair you can roll up the washcloth and lay it across your baby's forehead to prevent water and soap from running down.
Trick: Wash your baby's back-side first.
Since your baby's backside is undoubtedly the hardest part to wash and rinse, I recommend that parents hold their baby in one arm using the football hold, with their baby's face near their elbow, their forearm supporting their baby's belly, while firmly holding onto one of their babies legs, while they use a washcloth to soap up and rinse their baby's tookus before taking their baby with both hands and carefully lowering her into the bathwater.
Remember to rinse all areas that you have used soap on thoroughly, because soap, even baby soap, can irritate your little starfish's delicate skin. With practice you will get better at the juggling that you have to engage in with the soap and the cloth and the keeping-the-baby's-face-out-of-the-water. When your baby learns to sit up, the whole bath experience will become a lot less stressful (the best tip I know of for reducing the stress of bath time on your baby is described here). If you have found these tips helpful and informative, please forward them to any new or expecting parents you know. Questions and comments are always welcome, unless you are a spammer. ;^) Happy parenting!
The only washcloth you have draped on your baby that should be kept fairly dry for the majority of the bath time is the one on his head. If this cloth is dry, it can soak up any drops of water that are running down toward your babies face. Babies have a survival instinct that is meant to help them avoid drowning which is to arch their backs and intake a large gasp of air if they feel water running over their face. This is meant to give them a big breath of air before they are submerged in water, but if they are on their backs, as in a bath, they often will accidentally inhale a fairly large amount of water, causing a coughing and crying fit, and creating negative associations with bath time. You should wash your baby's face with a soapy wash cloth, and rinse it with a very wet clean wash cloth that has been dipped into the pitcher of warm rinsing water you have standing by. If you wait to wash your baby's face till the end of the bath, you also can use this as an opportunity to test the temperature of the water in the pitcher, to make sure it has cooled enough. When you wash your baby's hair you can roll up the washcloth and lay it across your baby's forehead to prevent water and soap from running down.
Trick: Wash your baby's back-side first.
Since your baby's backside is undoubtedly the hardest part to wash and rinse, I recommend that parents hold their baby in one arm using the football hold, with their baby's face near their elbow, their forearm supporting their baby's belly, while firmly holding onto one of their babies legs, while they use a washcloth to soap up and rinse their baby's tookus before taking their baby with both hands and carefully lowering her into the bathwater.
Remember to rinse all areas that you have used soap on thoroughly, because soap, even baby soap, can irritate your little starfish's delicate skin. With practice you will get better at the juggling that you have to engage in with the soap and the cloth and the keeping-the-baby's-face-out-of-the-water. When your baby learns to sit up, the whole bath experience will become a lot less stressful (the best tip I know of for reducing the stress of bath time on your baby is described here). If you have found these tips helpful and informative, please forward them to any new or expecting parents you know. Questions and comments are always welcome, unless you are a spammer. ;^) Happy parenting!
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