Before your baby is potty trained, you will go through more than 8,000 diapers; that's about 250 diapers per month, which means you will change your child 250 times. To minimize the environmental impact of all this changing, we offer various eco-friendly and sustainable alternatives on our website, such as Muumi. And to make changing your child as easy as possible, we have listed a series of handy diaper hacks in this blog!
Tips for preparing to change your child
1: Place the clean diaper under your little one
Make sure you have the clean diaper, baby wipes, and the trash can for the dirty diaper ready to go. It can be useful to place the clean diaper under your little one while they are still in the dirty one. This way, the new diaper is already in the right position when you remove the current one. If it’s a poopy diaper, be sure to clean your little one thoroughly before placing them down onto the clean diaper.
Tips for during the change
2: Distract your baby!
Some babies get very restless during a change, so keep them distracted. Talk to your little one, sing a song, play some music, or give them a toy. Also, your baby might have a tendency—especially boys—to pee as soon as the diaper is removed. But we have a hack for that too!
3: Pull the onesie off downwards
One of the best diaper-changing hacks that not every parent knows yet is that the onesie can also be taken off downwards. Open the snaps on the shoulders and pull the onesie down; this way, you keep your little one’s upper body clean.
4: Prevent peeing while changing
Before removing the diaper, rub a baby wipe just below the navel; this may feel a bit cold to your baby, but it can trigger them to pee before you even remove the diaper. When you do remove the diaper, hold the baby wipe over the genital area so that if your little one does pee, it will be caught in the wipe.
5: The most convenient way to lift your little one
To change the diaper easily, it is best to lift your baby up. Do not do this by the feet or ankles, as that is not good for your child's hips. The best way is to gently push the feet toward your baby's belly; this will cause your child to lift up naturally. It takes a little practice with one hand, but once you get the hang of it, you’ll easily have a hand free to do everything else.
6. Preventing diaper rash
An entire blog could be dedicated to tips for preventing diaper rash! Here are the most important tips summarized:
- Change your little one regularly. How often you need to change a diaper depends on your child, but for a newborn, it is about 8 times a day.
- Choose diapers made of soft material with high absorbency.
- Choose baby wipes with natural ingredients!
- If you use ointment after changing, give it enough time to dry before putting on a new diaper.
Tips for after the change.
7. How do you check if a diaper fits well?
When a diaper doesn't fit properly, it’s uncomfortable for your little one and the diaper won't do its job well. About one finger should fit between the belly and the diaper edge for a snug fit. Also, always check if the leak guards of your little one's diaper are positioned correctly. These leak guards are around your child’s legs and should be folded outward.
8. Prevent diaper leaks
To prevent blowouts, especially in the first few months when your little one's stool is still runnier, you can fold the front and back edges of the diaper inward slightly. Take the top part of the edge and fold it inward to create an extra barrier. This can also help if the diaper is still a bit too big for your baby.
9. Make it easier for your future self
To make it even easier on yourself, try to make it a habit to lay out all the items you need for a change in preparation for the next one. That way, you are already fully prepared for next time!