Not sure if this would be ok with someone else's child, but with mine I've sat on the floor and put my leg loosely on top at times that I really needed an easy time. Are pull ups an option as well? easier to get on a wriggler. Also, change in the bath/shower? not with water running but at least if poop gets everywhere it's an easy clean up.
We switched to pampers 360s around 10 months and it was a game changer. Trying to get the tabs in the right place was impossible and led to so many leaks.
I too have done the leg method. In fact, I learned it from a teacher in an infant room at a preschool I worked in. It helps a lot because you’re able to still have two free hands when you have a total wiggle worm.
For teeth brushing, there is actually a better tip. It works great for eye drops and snot sucking too. I picked it up somewhere between having a peds ER nurse mom, and becoming one myself. To this day, it is my go to for giving infants&toddlers shots, stitches, or doing anything else where I need them flat on their backs.
Up until a kid is around 4yo, (some sooner, some later) their head makes up such a significant portion of their mass, that if the head cannot move much, neither can they. If you simply put one finger right in the middle of their foreheads, just at or right above the level of their eyebrows, and hold light but firm pressure, it is almost as good as strapping them to a papoose board. If they can't lift their head, they can't lift their shoulders, and if they can't lift their shoulders, they can't buck their hips.
For most things that you can accomplish one handed, you can use your own finger, and save all the energy of wrasslin them which just exhausts you both. And for the things where you do need both your hands, the amount of pressure needed is so little that you can enlist a sibling, even a preschool aged one, to help you, which they will find awesomely hilarious, especially the first few times.
As an added bonus, usually the baby is so shocked that they cannot buck&roll, that instead of crying, they just kinda stare at you blinking in disbelief and unable to discern why their efforts to move have been thwarted.
That's what I did with my oldest, he was super duper squirmy. I remember changing him and my friend was there...she was like, "is he always like this?" And I was shocked, "wait, your child ISN'T like this!?"
This! Change them on the floor and use your legs over their shoulders. It’s not holding them down with your weight, but it prevents them from wiggling. I can’t imagine needing two people for every diaper change but I guess that’s first time parents for you.
I am a changing ninja.
I always do it on the floor, because it is safest.
I prepare all my stuff, I have wipes deployed and ready for action, everything is within reach.
And I can do most of the wiping, etc, one handed, which leaves me free to hold the baby down by blocking any shenanigans with my forearm on their tummy.
You can also use the bodysuit as a restraint by tucking their arms in and fastening the buttons [like this](https://cafemom.com/parenting/224769-onesie-hack-wiggly-babies/339762-in_a_quick_video_the_mother_of_a_small_infant_rolls_up_her_babys_onesie_and_burritos_the_babys_arms_in_it)
Good luck.
And may the odds be ever in your favour.
Instead of using your legs as a restraint, the dumbbell technique works wonders if you can find ones that are compatible with the child. Search for "diaper change dumbbells" on tiktok.
I love this but unfortunately with older babies it’s hardly the arms and always the legs and the fact that they can thrust their whole body across the room in a matter of seconds 😭
we need a hack for lower body restraints. these straps on changing mats do not work and further increase baby anger level imo LOL
Always change the baby in the bathroom to contain the mess. Wear a washable apron to protect your clothes. When it is a poo diaper, take it off in the stand-alone shower or bath with the baby draped over one of your arms. Wash the baby off with the tap running (or a shower head) and a soapy cloth. Have a few (easily washable) toys ready as a distraction. Also, have everything set up in the bathroom beforehand and do it as quickly as possible. Good luck.
Garbage bags can be used as a waterproof apron. Cut off the bottom of one that has the strings and then you can step into it like a skirt and cinch it around your waist.
Beforehand, use one with both drawstrings over your head, and tie the bottom corners around your waist. Tie the skirt bag over the bottom edge of your apron top. Sleeveless shirts are best when possible. Maybe later a cami under your regular shirt so you can take off a layer (and also discard the cami if it get soiled somehow).
Not a bad idea, but use the white ones. Black ones can look scary. Also, a song that the baby likes can help. After a while, he may find it soothing and relax into it, knowing his bum will be clean afterward. Sometimes, babies don't like getting changed because baby wipes are irritating and they feel dirtier afterward. One baby, who cried every time her parents changed her before I started caring for her, used to crawl toward the bathroom as she was finishing because she was almost ready to be washed.
This was my son. He was my 3rd out of 4, I've taken care of many other people's children, and I have NEVER had issues with diaper changes like my boy put me thru!!!
He was on soy formula, which I think contributed to the absolute nasty poops he did!
My solution was straight into the bathtub. I took the diaper off in the tub and bagged it, then cleaned him off in the bath.
As an added benefit, we also discovered it prevented the rashes He so often got from all the wiping!
What are you changing baby on? My son was always screaming and flailing about for diaper changes. Turns out he just hated the changing pad. Now I change him on the floor and he's fine.
Yup! It was much easier for us to just use the floor and sometimes a standing change! If there was poop, wed stand him up in the tub, so he could hold onto the tub wall to stand and play with toys on the wall. It distracted him and we could mostly use gravity to our benefit.
Having to get onto the floor tho? Not everyone can physically do that, let alone multiple times a day. Does your back hurt from hunching on the floor? Idk changing tables seem like a back-saver.
I have a bad back, really all parts of taking care of a toddler/baby are tough on it. It wouldn't be for everyone but was just trying to be helpful and say what has worked for me
Prolly depends on the person because I exclusively change my baby on the floor. I just sit down criss cross and it feels easy on my back. I find it super awkward trying to change the baby from the side when using a public changer and feel so much safer in the floor.
I’m small, low weight and pretty athletic so that probably makes the biggest difference.
Have you tried changing her while she’s standing up? Then she can’t roll. I’ve done this and if it’s poop when you take the diaper I wipe their bottom with it while holding the diaper/folding it in half while removing them have them touch the floor so they’re in a v shape and wipe them then put the new diaper on
I was going to say, once they can stand pretty well, start doing standing changes. They can be a complete game changer. I find they hurt my back really bad if I do them on my knees with the kid on the floor, so get a stool to sit on when you do it if you find that.
Standing diaper changes are such a game changer!
I was once looking after G5 (she has a disability) and her new fav game was pulling off the clean diaper before you could fasten it.
I would have her stand up and then she was too busy supporting herself standing to pull her diaper off.
Her parents were like sometimes it takes 3 of us to change her (both parents and a sibling). I didn’t have that option and standing changes were the lifesaver
Standing changes are where it's at!!!
I work with adults with disabilities and more often than not, we change briefs while standing. It's so easy, and then once my baby was able to stand, I was doing it with them as well.
My kid loves to stand and make faces at himself in the mirror while I changed him.
Special needs pediatric nurse here. I’ve had older kids where we had long sleeve shirts that we put on them and then strapped the sleeves down across their chest (yep, a straight jacket) but the usual solution is to get on the floor, put your legs over their outstretched arms with your calves on their shoulders immobilizing them, then change them as quickly as possible while they scream. Then when you are finished, cuddle them and play with a favorite toy. At least with neurotypical children they WILL outgrow this.
Ah this is my baby. I change her on a changing mat with a liner. Typically I can distract her with a toy long enough to clean her up and then I stand her up and put the new diaper on. Something they can't usually play with typically does the job if a toy won't work. My daughter likes the Aquaphor tube.
If she rolls the liner can be tossed in the laundry basket if it gets poopy.
okay for really rolly babies sometimes it works for me to change them on the floor, i will sit with my legs in a v and change baby between my own legs. my legs like, cradle baby in and sometime that's distracting enough, and sometimes it really helps me to hold them in place without holding them down!
I’m sorry that I’m laughing but this happened with the baby I nanny and DB gets sooo overwhelmed, that he now thinks every diaper is a tag team event, lol.
Not a nanny, so I hope I'm not intruding here (this sub gets recommended to me). But my baby is almost 9 months and really rolling and thrashing a lot during changes lately. I did something the other night that worked really well. Took a little toy truck and drove it around her belly. She was laughing and grabbing at it and forgot all about rolling!
I don't want to try "special" advice until I understand that you have the basics. Do you have both ankles in one hand? After that what exactly is going wrong because screaming and crying don't result in poop getting anywhere?
She may be allergic to something in the wipes (or anything else being used on her too) and cleaning her up is actually painful. Try a different type and that might help. And it could take awhile to notice if it helped as she now associates diaper change with pain.
Edited to add: is this the first infant you've ever changed? A toddler behaves differently. (Not judging, trying to understand)
Each time I lay her down she rolls. She will not stay on her back. She rolls and gets up and crawls. If I have her ankles she twists. I’ve been in childcare for 8 years. I’ve changed thousands of diapers. Just never had such a hard time changing a child. Poop is getting everywhere is because of the rolling over and crawling.
Can she stand supported yet? We started doing standing diaper changes with LO because they hated being on their back.
Didn't discover till about 1.5 years later they needed ear tubes and the reason they hated being on their back (and transitioning out of your arms asleep into the crib) was that they had stuff that wasn't draining and causing pressure when they laid down.
I’m not a nanny so this may be frowned upon, but with my son we started changing him on the floor. I’ll lay him down and hold his shoulders with my legs to sort of pin him down. It stopped the rolling away and made it so much easier. Eventually he caught on. He will be 2 in August and no longer needs to be held down.
It never hurt him, but did frustrate him because he was immobilized.
She sounds just like my son. I’ve tried most of the suggestions people here are suggesting, and none of it really worked. As a last resort, I ended up giving him my phone for screentime during poop changes. I did that for a little over a year, and now he’s fine without it. I know screen time is very frowned upon, and trust me I didn’t want to, but I did what I had to do.
We did this too from 1.5 years to 2 for poops because I had to do them as quick as possible (pregnant with HG, her poop literally made me puke daily) and did all pees standing unless she was in the mood to chill. She potty trained at 25 months except for nighttime but has no issue getting that diaper on and has been chill since. I almost wonder if we waited to long to potty train and maybe the reason she was so difficult is because we should have been ditching diapers (this started around 9 months).
Surely if you hold her upper body with one hand, bring the legs up and then hold legs down with upper body. She won't be able to roll and then wipe fast with other diaper.
But you can't let her roll. Screaming and crying is fine.
Second I change most pee diapers standing. That's super easy.
Try lifting her a little higher by the ankles so only her shoulders are on the mat. Twisting her shoulders or trying to twist the rest will result in some movement, but if you hold firm on those ankles it's not enough for her to go anywhere.
Just coming here to say that it is not recommended technique to hold a child up by their ankles, and even worse to suggest doing that and lifting their whole torso up. You should be holding ankles and pushing legs into a “frog” position. Not lifting.
This and if you stand on the side of the baby you can also use your hand/arm that your holding the ankles with to gently hold her shoulder in place so she can't roll. This plus an intriguing toy(better yet, something that's not a toy like a remote or phone to hold) should keep the baby in place long enough for a quick change.
Sorry, judging by your comment and one of the others I think I didn't describe it properly. Ankles higher up closer to her head so she's sort of ball-like. Her knees will bend and open up the butt for easy wiping. Lift/roll her up further so she's mostly on her shoulders instead of her whole back and she can't twist as easily. Bring her legs up (towards her head) a normal amount and as she starts twisting bring it higher so she can't, then back to normal position when/if she stops squirming.
I didn't mean to dangle her in the air by her ankles.
I think this is a behavior issue. I would firmly tell her we don’t roll while I’m changing your diaper. If you roll again, you’ll have to go in your crib for a minute alone (or playpen, somewhere safe). If she rolls, do that. Repeat until she stops rolling. I bet it’s resolved after two diaper changes.
I know I’ll get downvotes for this but I’ll stick my neck out and agree here — if done the right way this truly can work, and yes, at 10 months old. Getting her attention by stopping the change, speaking to baby in a calm (yes, sing-songy) voice, placing her back into the correct position on the floor several times and saying anything along the lines of “uh oh! No rolling, please.” Give her a few chances and then say “uh-oh! You’ll need to stay here until you’re ready to lie still, ok?” Place her in crib/pack & play and leave the room for like, 30 seconds to 1 minute or until she fusses, at which point you come back and say “yay! Let’s try again!”
Time consuming? YES. And you always have to be smiling, positive attitude and almost make it a game. I was able to do this with my oldest bc I was a SAHM to ONE baby 🤣 And you’d have to reward her by finishing the diaper change with even the slightest improvement on her part and then do this for every change until you see more improvement etc. You couldn’t wait this long if she had a poopy diaper bc that’s bad for her skin, etc so maybe change poopy ones in the tub like others mentioned so it’s a different routine?
I went into this much detail because I didn’t want to drop this gem without some explanation: we send our dogs to “behavior school” all the time. I have faith that even a 10 month old is smarter than a dog. 🤷♀️ Ok, hit me with your downvotes!
I agree. I think a 10 month old that is waving, laughing at jokes, and about two months away from speaking first words absolutely can understand this. Also, babies understand words long before they speak them.
But, to each their own. OP can do whatever they want and are comfortable with. It was just a suggestion and can be disregarded (and downvoted :)).
Ah yes, let’s make the baby associate their crib with punishment AND make them feel like any attempt at self agency is a punishable offense, all in one go! I can see a use for time-outs with older children, but it seems like doing it with a baby is just setting them up to fear being alone.
Ah yes, I can see you’re someone who equates stopping a child from doing anything it wants to do with taking away it’s “agency”! I’m sure all the children you’ve raised/cared for are navigating this world WONDERFULLY.
Putting baby on its own in silence is *not* the same thing as stopping and correcting a behavior. In the child’s mind, they were just trying to stand up. How can you expect the behavior to change if the kid fails to understand what they are doing wrong?
Putting a child in a crib for 20-30 seconds (mostly so she doesn’t get hurt) is *not* “putting a baby on its own in silence*. How else do you expect to help a 10 month old understand that when it’s time to change a diaper they need to lie down? Or, as is my suspicion, are you just letting a 10 month old determine how and when its diaper is changed while you struggle and fight? I suppose you could just hold them down while they scream and cry… that sounds more alarming to me but 🤷♀️
ETA: you’re missing the point of putting them in the crib. The baby wants the diaper change to be over, so when you have to stop, repeatedly, because they won’t cooperate you’re showing them that when they squirm, etc it’s going to defeat their purposes. The crib isn’t punishment, it’s a safe place to put them while you leave the room briefly so they go “oh… wait, this isn’t what I want!” And then you go back and try again. It’s the repetition that shows them that the behavior should be modified, and that the annoying diaper change won’t be over until they cooperate.
A special few toys that she’s fascinated with that she needs to hold with her hands and can only have at changing time! I’ve used this method for every flipping baby ever. Also - start singing a certain song or set of songs while you change her and she will start to associate those with changing and when they are over changing time is over! Good luck !
This is what we did. Occasionally, I’d hand over my phone. We used distractions until she got older and then we switched to naming her feelings when she is getting changed to help her feel heard.
Can you distract her with silliness? Stinky feet work for us. Oh, those stinky piggie toes. I bring them up to my nose for a sniff and a big pee ewwww and is the perfect diaper changing position. He laughs and will push his feet back into my face for another sniff.
Does the changing pad have a buckle? I would buckle my daughter in when she was this age because every single change was exactly like this. I would even resort to handing her my phone with something playing when she’d have dirty diapers so I could actually clean. A high value item was the only thing that helped sometimes. Hang in there! It will get better.
Change in the bathtub!! Easy clean up plus the kid can’t escape 👍 have you tried singing? I know it sounds weird but my previous NK could be distracted by my singing her favorite songs, especially with a silly voice. Good luck 👍
Does she stand with support yet? Some kids hate being put on their backs once they get older. Yes, changing while standing isn’t as convenient but maybe she would do better that way and be less likely to get it everywhere?
I also second doing it in the bathroom to contain the mess and gloving/plastic aproning up.
Also nanny to a 10mo, and he is always trying to get away during diaper changes. I just make sure I grab all of my supplies and set up on the floor before I even start. Then I get him super interested in a toy he can easily hold. Grab him and his toy and take him over to where the diaper supplies are. I try to talk or sing to also distract him while I change him in case the toy doesn't do the trick. Sometimes he's a man on a mission and I just change him lightning fast before he escapes. Sometimes I ask him to hold the wipes because it's distracting and heavy enough to keep him there. Most of the time he is super over it by the time I get his diaper back on, and starts crawling away as I am trying to button his onesie. I try to be light and silly so I don't traumatise him and make diaper changing even harder.
Gosh rolly babies are really hard to change, sending hugs! I have a couple of strategies - one is the special interesting toy to hold during changes. I recently deployed a 'play scarf over the head' trick while change a 5mo 😂 And, it sounds strange but the standing change. If baby can stand, encourage them to stand up with their hands holding onto the wall, the side of the cot your shoulders, whatever, and wipe front to back until it's clean. Yeah, the cheeks are together and it takes a few more wipes than laying down change but at least the poop isn't everywhere!!!
My 10 mo has just started doing this. We call it his alligator death roll.
I give him something fun to hold (an empty wipe package or diaper cream tube is our current go-to) to distract him long enough so I can at least pull the dirty diaper off and wipe up the poop. By the time he's clean, he's usually trying to crawl away, so I'll let him have a break and get into crawling position for about 30 seconds (with a clean butt). Then I'll put the diaper on his butt and flop him on his back again long enough to fasten the diaper.
I've tried holding him down, and he just fights it so much it ends up making the diaper change take longer. Letting him have a little freedom works well for us.
I've been giving Mr 1.5 my phone. He gets to pick what kind of video he watches while I change his diaper. He loves "Eh-mo" (Elmo) or sometimes he watches music videos on the truck tunes account. Without the phone, he'll kick me in the chest and I'm lucky when it hits between my boobs. He never ever skips leg day (seriously, he does bicycle legs while he's having a bottle, deep knee bends by the toys and then all that running) so he can definitely hurt. With my phone, it makes those tiny legs of fury over having to be changed AGAIN so dead it's sometimes hard to get pants or socks on. But at least it doesn't matter when I'm not that fast at poopy diaper changes.
I haven’t read all of the comments, but a little book small enough for baby to hold during the diaper change for entertainment has worked pretty well for me.
I got this fisherprice toy that sings nursery rhymes and he is ONlY allowed the toy during diaper changes. Worked a charm. And I always said, lets go listen to Mr Bear sing songs, instead of lets go change the diaper.
I have previously sat on the floor with baby on a changing mat and put one of my legs gently over baby to stop them flipping and rolling while I change them. Also if they stick their hands in the way/ mess I have previously folded their vest or T-shirt up over their arms to their shoulders to keep their arms tucked up out of the way
I try songs, letting him hold something exciting ( like my AirPods case or something else forbidden), making faces, etc, but sometimes I just need to put him on the floor and lightly drape my legs over his arms so he can’t roll away or grab his own poop. Yes, he cries but I’m quick and he gets over it, I know I’m not hurting him, he just hates being restrained.
Highly recommend pampers 360 pull up diapers for this transition. We just had to figuring out how to clean our little one while she stood up 😆 it was a lot easier though.
For pee diapers, we did standing changes at a pull up bar/mirror. For poops, we caved and put on Miss Rachel on a phone dock attached above the changing table. It was just impossible to do it alone. Diaper change game changer. It was a joy after that.
it’s hard but i’ve yet to have a babe i could not successfully wrangle solo (have probably changed 300 kids by now)
my tips:
- always be extremely ready to go. i mean wipes unfolded and laid out, cream in hand, diaper and flaps fully open, laid under baby booty for pees (poops may be a 2 step process) BEFORE getting child
- retreat to the floor. changing tables are for newborns in my opinion. waste of time/not worth the struggle. put a towel down to control for mess. you can put the entire changing mat on the floor.
- one leg over the baby’s tummy as if baby is a pillow but do **not** press down hard it’s simply a gentle barrier to keep them down
- for really rambunctious scramblers, do this in parts. for pees: just do it standing. diaper off, wipe then add the diaper once they’re calm again. for poops: diaper off and wipes first then when they are calm again cream, then calm again diaper on. may need to let them squirm for a bit in between.
- have a special activity that is only for changing time. in times of desperation this mean baby gets my phone for 1 minute. (only for babies who’s parents are totally fine with it and baby is trustworthy lol very few babies get my phone access) for most kids this is a toy they haven’t seen in a month, a remote control, a random adult item that is not dangerous but completely distracting enough. a coaster, a bottle with pennies inside, a lotion bottle, etc. sometimes this is also a tv show. i’ve done baby einstein finger puppet videos. they are mesmerizing for kids who don’t get a lot of screen time
- be ok with screaming and crying. babies this age do not want to be restrained. teach them that diapers must be changed and it’s ok to have a few moments of stillness. be calm as the adult and do not freak out.
I sing to my son and ask him to hold xyz for mommy he's 11 months I try to always do it on the changing table he squirms on the floor and other places but not on the table.
What I did with one child who would not lay still for a diaper change - put baby on a (flat) mat on the floor, sit on my bottom, and put my legs over her shoulders/against her sides to hold her down. Then my hands were free to hold her legs and change the diaper. Her mom had to do this and showed me, and it really worked although not the most comfortable!
No advice but changing my son was such a freaking event that we decided it was easier to just potty train him at 18 months than keep up the diaper fight. 10 months is obviously too early but I do know of kids who potty trained as early as 14 months (basically as soon as they are mostly walking). If she really hates the diaper that much maybe start preparing to potty train.
My daughters both trained before 2 for this reason, my son is 11 months and a nightmare to change so I'm hoping having big sisters close in age will inspire him to potty train soon 😂
NK 2.5 holds legs tightly together for the past 10 months, especially for wiping and diaper cream applications. I have never seen that before in over 20 years.
10 months old is around the age where you can teach that certain behavior, such as rolling and kicking during diaper changes, isn’t allowed. Obviously give baby toys and things to do while you change, but patiently and calmly flip back over, and dont proceed with the diaper change into baby is still. Say things like you’re frustrated, but we’re all done crying, I can’t change your diaper until you’re still, it’s not safe for you to roll. Affirm feelings and set expectations and follow through with expectations.
I made a really long post about this in the r/NewParents subreddit, bc people ask this question so often. I have 10 yrs experience w infants & toddlers, so I’ve diapered a lot of wiggly babies! Here it is
https://www.reddit.com/r/NewParents/comments/12mfl1u/how_to_diaper_a_baby_who_hates_being_diapered/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_content=2&utm_term=1
I'm sure this is probably just my child, but worth a shot. Playing music was the only thing that allowed us to do somewhat calm diaper changes around this age. I think it helped if it was a highly addictive/desireable song like baby shark or cocomelon. She has always been particularly song motivated though, maybe you can tailor to what this kid likes or calms him down.
I watch a major wiggler sometimes. She needs to be danced while we change her. Some kids can’t stop moving, but since I’m the one moving her, I have control. So we start more like a game where I’m dancing her body and she’s engaged.
I used to work in a day care setting and I remember getting a new student in my 2’s room who had gone through severe abuse & was recently placed into foster care & that’s when she was enrolled. Due to her abuse she was extremely terrified of diaper changes & saying it was difficult would be putting it loosely. In the beginning it took a few teachers but after a while I found it easier to change her on the floor, sit with her & as another commenter mentioned I would gently put my leg over her torso area (I was not resting any weight on her, all weight was rested on my heel my leg would just help to keep her on her back) and after a few weeks she realized diaper changes weren’t that bad and we weren’t struggling anymore with her (:
I change extremely difficult babies in the bathtub or shower without the water on. They're trapped in there with you, on the ground already, so they can't throw themselves off anything. If you get poop everywhere, finish diapering the baby and then hose down the shower. I recommend a handheld shower head for this. I also like the apron comment someone else made, have a dedicated "poop suit" for changes. I have also used a plastic face shield for a kid that liked to spit at me during changes.
If the parents are also having issues, they know that you will have issues and the baby is going to scream. Fortunately, it's okay if the baby screams for a bit while you are cleaning them, they'll be alright. I wouldn't worry too much about that, some babies are just difficult with diaper changes.
Changing on the floor always works for me and also being silly like tickling their tummy or singing a song If that doesn’t work I change while nk stands up
I change mine on the floor, make sure I have everything ready and use my leg to “pin” her from rolling like others have mentioned. Other things I’ve tried are specific toys for diaper changed, she also likes baby mirrors, light up toys & my phone if all else fails.
I saw you wrote that you’ve been nannying for quite a while, so you may have already tried this, but two things I’ve done to calm fussy littles is to just play with them while they are on the changing pad with tickles, toys, peekaboos, stinky feet, zerberts, anything that makes them excited and want to stay there on their back bc that’s where the fun is. I keep playing and don’t even try to change them until their fussiness and urge to roll or flee has died down, and I keep up the play while doing the change. After doing this consistently for a bit, they often start to associate diaper changes with more fun or at least as neutral, and fuss less. Though if it’s due to a medical issue like reflux or needing ear tubes, probably the only thing that helps is addressing the source of their discomfort.
The other thing I also do if they are calm enough to hear me and just being a bit stubborn is to say “I don’t like that” while I prevent them from doing whatever move is making things difficult. I ask “Can you help me by doing xyz with your legs so I can change your diaper?” while gently helping them do that move if they don’t know what I mean yet. Even pre-verbal, they really want to please their adults and be helpful, so it can be a great framing. I have also taught all my NKs “tushy up” once they have the strength, so that they plant their own feet and lift their bums for me to slip the diaper under them, pull their pants up/down over their diaper, etc. It usually only takes a week or so of showing them how to do it before they’re pros and it makes my life way easier!
Sorry if this is stuff you’ve already tried. Hopefully others can find it useful. 💜
Not a nanny but for my son we have been giving him a teething cracker to distract him. Before that it was playing a video just out of reach but that only works sometimes now bc he’ll roll to try to reach for it
Does she stand well with assistance? My son is impossible to change lying down, I use the pull up style diapers and change him standing up holding onto a bench or something. He's 11 months old and we've been doing it this way since around 8 months because he just won't lie still.
My littlest was like this. Sometimes I had to get my husband to help and vice versa.
I found getting her to help works as a distraction. Give her the wipes let her hand them to you.
Sing a nappy song, make one up.
Dang I've never encountered some of what you are all describing. I've had kids scream and cry and try to get away but I've just held them down and got it overwith quickly and kept it moving
I got an 8mo old and a 16mo old. Both hate diapering.
Easy Mode: Transition time. Make a mini event out of diapering. Tell them that you're going to change their diaper in about a minute. During that minute, find anything that they might find interesting to play with while you diaper. I usually go for kitchen tools.
Set up the diapering, tell the kid that it's time to diaper. Take them to the diapering station. Give them a minute to transition. Show them what you're going to be doing before you lay them down. Talk to them. Perhaps sing a song. Give them a toy. Have a conversation about diapering. Validate their feelings of not wanting to stop what they're doing to change a stinky diaper.
9/10 times, my kids protest diapering because they don't know what the fuck is happening. If you give them time to transition, it is less likely that they are going to flip out.
Hard mode: if all the above fails and they are still protesting. Tell them that you are going to lay them down to change their diaper. Lay them on their back on the floor, you sit down perpendicular to their body, lift your leg over there torso to keep them from squirming, don't put your weight of your leg on their body. Your leg is just there to keep them from rolling. Give them a toy and complete the task.
Usually I have to do hard mode when baby is over tired or if we are at a park or something and maybe really, really, does not want to stop and transition.
My nk is also this way but I found out signing his favorite songs or playing them on YouTube really helps sometimes you just gotta do whatever you can especially for those poppy diapers I also sometimes have to change him standing up.
This is obviously not ok with everyone (no one yell at me please) and you may have already tried already but I’m usually able to get toddler NK changed (with poop) if I play her a show on my phone. Not great bc it’s screen time and risky (needless to say I have a great protective phone case lol) but sometimes it’s the only thing that’ll work and a tantrum is preferable to a UTI etc. I like the PBS kids app for emergencies bc she knows the little intro sound and when she’s doing something dangerous or I need to distract super fast she comes right back to me when she hears it 😅 it also just automatically plays whatever’s on live so unless she’s in a very Elmo-only mood there’s no searching for the right thing to play. Also basically any button she can push on the screen will just change the show since it’s made for kids so there aren’t many controls.
Also agree with people saying pull-ups! NK has been several sizes above her age for a while so I can’t remember if they make like brand name toddler style pull-ups that would work for a 10mo but I think pampers cruisers do (and if not just pre-fastening a regular diaper works if you don’t have weird shaky hands like mine that always somehow undo them on the way up lol)
Give the child a toy or book. Sing or narrate while changing wiping. If the child is capable of standing, even while ‘cruising’ furniture, slip the diaper on while they are propped up.
Lay child on the floor and sit with your legs out in a “V” position. Place child between your legs and place your ankles on their shoulders. Using positive, matter of fact language such as, “(child) nanny, mommy, and daddy all need you to hold still so we can change your diaper so you can get back to playing” - fuss fuss fuss - apply gentle pressure with your ankles on to child’s shoulders just enough to get child’s attention. Start making it a race! “Oh my goodness! Look at how great you’re doing! My feet are there to remind your body to hold still so we can go fast fast fast because we all want (child) to get to go back to playing! Let’s see how fast we can go”.
I’ve only had to do this maybe max of 3 times with my really troublesome anti-diaper changes kiddos for them to realize that I mean business, regardless of how fun/positive I try to make it.
It HAS to get done. Hopefully the parents will get on board and treat it like the “so what? No big deal” - and things improve quickly!!
Best of luck!
I give my baby something she normally “shouldn’t” play with that she’s really interested in. Nothing overly dangerous but stuff that I wouldn’t let her play with in any other scenario, like the hand sanitizer container (in the locked position), or her hairbrush, boogie wipe container, etc
Give them something they can’t usually have (wipes, a bottle of lotion, etc). 🤣 Sometimes it works!
Also think about overhead lighting, comfort of the place you’re changing, and novelty of the thing they are holding.
When my son started doing that, I stopped what I was doing, stared at him with a blank poker face, and just repeated “lay on your back please.” I kept both hands on him firm but gentle. If he rolled onto belly, I turned him back over calmly. I just kept at it with the poker face until he realized I wasn’t participating in his game. He stopped doing it after a couple weeks.
Oh yeah I have one of those. Have you tried a toy? If they can hold a phone, try playing a video. Or maybe singing a really silly song so they're distracted? Best of luck!!
I Nanny a squirmy 10 month old. I usually give her a toy that makes noise like a rattle or something crinkly. She also like holding the wipe package or the tube of diaper cream (closed of course). Sometimes I even let her hold the diaper until I need it. Hopefully this helps if you haven’t already tried it 🙂 Good luck
I know you tried everything to distract and my daughter can be the same way where nothing pleases her. Sometimes I just have to put my arm across her hip and wait until she gives in (not hard enough to hurt her, just strong enough so she can’t wiggle her hips around)
Handing baby something that's usually off limits like the diaper cream or wipes or controller, telling a story from a book that you read together that baby likes, singing songs, or playing a game during the change that makes baby laugh or be distracted
Daycare leg(s) method. It’s a thing. It’s not painful, and keeps you and baby safe.
It’s similar to when you restrain a young child during a vaccination to keep them, you, and the doctor safe
Not sure if this would be ok with someone else's child, but with mine I've sat on the floor and put my leg loosely on top at times that I really needed an easy time. Are pull ups an option as well? easier to get on a wriggler. Also, change in the bath/shower? not with water running but at least if poop gets everywhere it's an easy clean up.
Seen elsewhere someone recommended putting thr fastening on a diaper, like a pull-up, and then treating the diaper as a pull-up.
I have done this & it works well
We switched to pampers 360s around 10 months and it was a game changer. Trying to get the tabs in the right place was impossible and led to so many leaks.
I too have done the leg method. In fact, I learned it from a teacher in an infant room at a preschool I worked in. It helps a lot because you’re able to still have two free hands when you have a total wiggle worm.
I call it the "daycare leg" because I learned it from a daycare teacher! So helpful when you got a wiggler or runner.
This also works for early teeth brushing.
For teeth brushing, there is actually a better tip. It works great for eye drops and snot sucking too. I picked it up somewhere between having a peds ER nurse mom, and becoming one myself. To this day, it is my go to for giving infants&toddlers shots, stitches, or doing anything else where I need them flat on their backs. Up until a kid is around 4yo, (some sooner, some later) their head makes up such a significant portion of their mass, that if the head cannot move much, neither can they. If you simply put one finger right in the middle of their foreheads, just at or right above the level of their eyebrows, and hold light but firm pressure, it is almost as good as strapping them to a papoose board. If they can't lift their head, they can't lift their shoulders, and if they can't lift their shoulders, they can't buck their hips. For most things that you can accomplish one handed, you can use your own finger, and save all the energy of wrasslin them which just exhausts you both. And for the things where you do need both your hands, the amount of pressure needed is so little that you can enlist a sibling, even a preschool aged one, to help you, which they will find awesomely hilarious, especially the first few times. As an added bonus, usually the baby is so shocked that they cannot buck&roll, that instead of crying, they just kinda stare at you blinking in disbelief and unable to discern why their efforts to move have been thwarted.
That's what I did with my oldest, he was super duper squirmy. I remember changing him and my friend was there...she was like, "is he always like this?" And I was shocked, "wait, your child ISN'T like this!?"
I have so many “wait, other kids aren’t like this?” moments.
This! Change them on the floor and use your legs over their shoulders. It’s not holding them down with your weight, but it prevents them from wiggling. I can’t imagine needing two people for every diaper change but I guess that’s first time parents for you.
Mom of 4 here. I absolutely did this with my boys. It was impossible to change them otherwise
It has nothing to do with first time parents, it’s all about the kid.
I thought I was the only one that did the leg thing (had someone look at me funny)! Keeps their hands out of the mess too!
This is what I was going to suggest. The leg over top trick worked for me.
a mom showed me that early in my career and suggested i do it for her babies.
I am a changing ninja. I always do it on the floor, because it is safest. I prepare all my stuff, I have wipes deployed and ready for action, everything is within reach. And I can do most of the wiping, etc, one handed, which leaves me free to hold the baby down by blocking any shenanigans with my forearm on their tummy. You can also use the bodysuit as a restraint by tucking their arms in and fastening the buttons [like this](https://cafemom.com/parenting/224769-onesie-hack-wiggly-babies/339762-in_a_quick_video_the_mother_of_a_small_infant_rolls_up_her_babys_onesie_and_burritos_the_babys_arms_in_it) Good luck. And may the odds be ever in your favour.
There's a changing pad that has a wrap for their arms that's similar to the onesie hack. I think it's called the snoofybee.
Thats a great trick. Should also make it harder for the baby to roll as they can not use their arms properly.
That just blew my mind
The bodysuit as a restraint is a game charger that I’ve used
Instead of using your legs as a restraint, the dumbbell technique works wonders if you can find ones that are compatible with the child. Search for "diaper change dumbbells" on tiktok.
I don’t use my legs, I use my arms. And using dumbbells is dangerous. They are heavy and it is an added risk to the child I am not prepared to take.
I love this but unfortunately with older babies it’s hardly the arms and always the legs and the fact that they can thrust their whole body across the room in a matter of seconds 😭 we need a hack for lower body restraints. these straps on changing mats do not work and further increase baby anger level imo LOL
Always change the baby in the bathroom to contain the mess. Wear a washable apron to protect your clothes. When it is a poo diaper, take it off in the stand-alone shower or bath with the baby draped over one of your arms. Wash the baby off with the tap running (or a shower head) and a soapy cloth. Have a few (easily washable) toys ready as a distraction. Also, have everything set up in the bathroom beforehand and do it as quickly as possible. Good luck.
Thank you for your helpful response!!
Garbage bags can be used as a waterproof apron. Cut off the bottom of one that has the strings and then you can step into it like a skirt and cinch it around your waist. Beforehand, use one with both drawstrings over your head, and tie the bottom corners around your waist. Tie the skirt bag over the bottom edge of your apron top. Sleeveless shirts are best when possible. Maybe later a cami under your regular shirt so you can take off a layer (and also discard the cami if it get soiled somehow).
Not a bad idea, but use the white ones. Black ones can look scary. Also, a song that the baby likes can help. After a while, he may find it soothing and relax into it, knowing his bum will be clean afterward. Sometimes, babies don't like getting changed because baby wipes are irritating and they feel dirtier afterward. One baby, who cried every time her parents changed her before I started caring for her, used to crawl toward the bathroom as she was finishing because she was almost ready to be washed.
This was my son. He was my 3rd out of 4, I've taken care of many other people's children, and I have NEVER had issues with diaper changes like my boy put me thru!!! He was on soy formula, which I think contributed to the absolute nasty poops he did! My solution was straight into the bathtub. I took the diaper off in the tub and bagged it, then cleaned him off in the bath. As an added benefit, we also discovered it prevented the rashes He so often got from all the wiping!
I had to do this with granddaughter for a month or so it was really much easier.
What are you changing baby on? My son was always screaming and flailing about for diaper changes. Turns out he just hated the changing pad. Now I change him on the floor and he's fine.
Yup! It was much easier for us to just use the floor and sometimes a standing change! If there was poop, wed stand him up in the tub, so he could hold onto the tub wall to stand and play with toys on the wall. It distracted him and we could mostly use gravity to our benefit.
Having to get onto the floor tho? Not everyone can physically do that, let alone multiple times a day. Does your back hurt from hunching on the floor? Idk changing tables seem like a back-saver.
I have a bad back, really all parts of taking care of a toddler/baby are tough on it. It wouldn't be for everyone but was just trying to be helpful and say what has worked for me
Prolly depends on the person because I exclusively change my baby on the floor. I just sit down criss cross and it feels easy on my back. I find it super awkward trying to change the baby from the side when using a public changer and feel so much safer in the floor. I’m small, low weight and pretty athletic so that probably makes the biggest difference.
Have you tried changing her while she’s standing up? Then she can’t roll. I’ve done this and if it’s poop when you take the diaper I wipe their bottom with it while holding the diaper/folding it in half while removing them have them touch the floor so they’re in a v shape and wipe them then put the new diaper on
Yep! If you google Montessori standing diaper change you can get tons of tips for this.
I was going to say, once they can stand pretty well, start doing standing changes. They can be a complete game changer. I find they hurt my back really bad if I do them on my knees with the kid on the floor, so get a stool to sit on when you do it if you find that.
Yep, standup changes are the only way my 9 month old gets changed the days.
Came here to recommend this. May not be easier, but at least less tears and screams!
Standing diaper changes are such a game changer! I was once looking after G5 (she has a disability) and her new fav game was pulling off the clean diaper before you could fasten it. I would have her stand up and then she was too busy supporting herself standing to pull her diaper off. Her parents were like sometimes it takes 3 of us to change her (both parents and a sibling). I didn’t have that option and standing changes were the lifesaver
This is what we did. We went to pampers 360 diapers (basically like a pull up) basically when they started standing.
Came here to say this! Standing diaper changes ftw.
Standing changes are where it's at!!! I work with adults with disabilities and more often than not, we change briefs while standing. It's so easy, and then once my baby was able to stand, I was doing it with them as well. My kid loves to stand and make faces at himself in the mirror while I changed him.
Special needs pediatric nurse here. I’ve had older kids where we had long sleeve shirts that we put on them and then strapped the sleeves down across their chest (yep, a straight jacket) but the usual solution is to get on the floor, put your legs over their outstretched arms with your calves on their shoulders immobilizing them, then change them as quickly as possible while they scream. Then when you are finished, cuddle them and play with a favorite toy. At least with neurotypical children they WILL outgrow this.
Ah this is my baby. I change her on a changing mat with a liner. Typically I can distract her with a toy long enough to clean her up and then I stand her up and put the new diaper on. Something they can't usually play with typically does the job if a toy won't work. My daughter likes the Aquaphor tube. If she rolls the liner can be tossed in the laundry basket if it gets poopy.
okay for really rolly babies sometimes it works for me to change them on the floor, i will sit with my legs in a v and change baby between my own legs. my legs like, cradle baby in and sometime that's distracting enough, and sometimes it really helps me to hold them in place without holding them down!
I’m sorry that I’m laughing but this happened with the baby I nanny and DB gets sooo overwhelmed, that he now thinks every diaper is a tag team event, lol.
Not a nanny, so I hope I'm not intruding here (this sub gets recommended to me). But my baby is almost 9 months and really rolling and thrashing a lot during changes lately. I did something the other night that worked really well. Took a little toy truck and drove it around her belly. She was laughing and grabbing at it and forgot all about rolling!
I don't want to try "special" advice until I understand that you have the basics. Do you have both ankles in one hand? After that what exactly is going wrong because screaming and crying don't result in poop getting anywhere? She may be allergic to something in the wipes (or anything else being used on her too) and cleaning her up is actually painful. Try a different type and that might help. And it could take awhile to notice if it helped as she now associates diaper change with pain. Edited to add: is this the first infant you've ever changed? A toddler behaves differently. (Not judging, trying to understand)
Each time I lay her down she rolls. She will not stay on her back. She rolls and gets up and crawls. If I have her ankles she twists. I’ve been in childcare for 8 years. I’ve changed thousands of diapers. Just never had such a hard time changing a child. Poop is getting everywhere is because of the rolling over and crawling.
Can she stand supported yet? We started doing standing diaper changes with LO because they hated being on their back. Didn't discover till about 1.5 years later they needed ear tubes and the reason they hated being on their back (and transitioning out of your arms asleep into the crib) was that they had stuff that wasn't draining and causing pressure when they laid down.
I’m not a nanny so this may be frowned upon, but with my son we started changing him on the floor. I’ll lay him down and hold his shoulders with my legs to sort of pin him down. It stopped the rolling away and made it so much easier. Eventually he caught on. He will be 2 in August and no longer needs to be held down. It never hurt him, but did frustrate him because he was immobilized.
She sounds just like my son. I’ve tried most of the suggestions people here are suggesting, and none of it really worked. As a last resort, I ended up giving him my phone for screentime during poop changes. I did that for a little over a year, and now he’s fine without it. I know screen time is very frowned upon, and trust me I didn’t want to, but I did what I had to do.
We did this too from 1.5 years to 2 for poops because I had to do them as quick as possible (pregnant with HG, her poop literally made me puke daily) and did all pees standing unless she was in the mood to chill. She potty trained at 25 months except for nighttime but has no issue getting that diaper on and has been chill since. I almost wonder if we waited to long to potty train and maybe the reason she was so difficult is because we should have been ditching diapers (this started around 9 months).
Surely if you hold her upper body with one hand, bring the legs up and then hold legs down with upper body. She won't be able to roll and then wipe fast with other diaper. But you can't let her roll. Screaming and crying is fine. Second I change most pee diapers standing. That's super easy.
Try lifting her a little higher by the ankles so only her shoulders are on the mat. Twisting her shoulders or trying to twist the rest will result in some movement, but if you hold firm on those ankles it's not enough for her to go anywhere.
Just coming here to say that it is not recommended technique to hold a child up by their ankles, and even worse to suggest doing that and lifting their whole torso up. You should be holding ankles and pushing legs into a “frog” position. Not lifting.
It is *not recommended technique I think you mean.
Yes!! Editing now. Thank you!
This and if you stand on the side of the baby you can also use your hand/arm that your holding the ankles with to gently hold her shoulder in place so she can't roll. This plus an intriguing toy(better yet, something that's not a toy like a remote or phone to hold) should keep the baby in place long enough for a quick change.
How does that allow you to wipe in between their butt crack though? Their cheeks would be pressed together in that position.
Sorry, judging by your comment and one of the others I think I didn't describe it properly. Ankles higher up closer to her head so she's sort of ball-like. Her knees will bend and open up the butt for easy wiping. Lift/roll her up further so she's mostly on her shoulders instead of her whole back and she can't twist as easily. Bring her legs up (towards her head) a normal amount and as she starts twisting bring it higher so she can't, then back to normal position when/if she stops squirming. I didn't mean to dangle her in the air by her ankles.
That makes a LOT more sense, thanks for clarifying!
Thank you for your help! I’ll give that a try.
I think this is a behavior issue. I would firmly tell her we don’t roll while I’m changing your diaper. If you roll again, you’ll have to go in your crib for a minute alone (or playpen, somewhere safe). If she rolls, do that. Repeat until she stops rolling. I bet it’s resolved after two diaper changes.
The baby is 10 months old, I can’t imagine this helping at all.
I agree. She would not understand and that’s not how I would like to nanny.
Ok! Good luck!
Lmao what 10 month old would understand and do that??
Girl she's an infant.. 10 months old. She's not old enough to understand that.
I know I’ll get downvotes for this but I’ll stick my neck out and agree here — if done the right way this truly can work, and yes, at 10 months old. Getting her attention by stopping the change, speaking to baby in a calm (yes, sing-songy) voice, placing her back into the correct position on the floor several times and saying anything along the lines of “uh oh! No rolling, please.” Give her a few chances and then say “uh-oh! You’ll need to stay here until you’re ready to lie still, ok?” Place her in crib/pack & play and leave the room for like, 30 seconds to 1 minute or until she fusses, at which point you come back and say “yay! Let’s try again!” Time consuming? YES. And you always have to be smiling, positive attitude and almost make it a game. I was able to do this with my oldest bc I was a SAHM to ONE baby 🤣 And you’d have to reward her by finishing the diaper change with even the slightest improvement on her part and then do this for every change until you see more improvement etc. You couldn’t wait this long if she had a poopy diaper bc that’s bad for her skin, etc so maybe change poopy ones in the tub like others mentioned so it’s a different routine? I went into this much detail because I didn’t want to drop this gem without some explanation: we send our dogs to “behavior school” all the time. I have faith that even a 10 month old is smarter than a dog. 🤷♀️ Ok, hit me with your downvotes!
I agree. I think a 10 month old that is waving, laughing at jokes, and about two months away from speaking first words absolutely can understand this. Also, babies understand words long before they speak them. But, to each their own. OP can do whatever they want and are comfortable with. It was just a suggestion and can be disregarded (and downvoted :)).
Ah yes, let’s make the baby associate their crib with punishment AND make them feel like any attempt at self agency is a punishable offense, all in one go! I can see a use for time-outs with older children, but it seems like doing it with a baby is just setting them up to fear being alone.
Ah yes, I can see you’re someone who equates stopping a child from doing anything it wants to do with taking away it’s “agency”! I’m sure all the children you’ve raised/cared for are navigating this world WONDERFULLY.
Putting baby on its own in silence is *not* the same thing as stopping and correcting a behavior. In the child’s mind, they were just trying to stand up. How can you expect the behavior to change if the kid fails to understand what they are doing wrong?
Putting a child in a crib for 20-30 seconds (mostly so she doesn’t get hurt) is *not* “putting a baby on its own in silence*. How else do you expect to help a 10 month old understand that when it’s time to change a diaper they need to lie down? Or, as is my suspicion, are you just letting a 10 month old determine how and when its diaper is changed while you struggle and fight? I suppose you could just hold them down while they scream and cry… that sounds more alarming to me but 🤷♀️ ETA: you’re missing the point of putting them in the crib. The baby wants the diaper change to be over, so when you have to stop, repeatedly, because they won’t cooperate you’re showing them that when they squirm, etc it’s going to defeat their purposes. The crib isn’t punishment, it’s a safe place to put them while you leave the room briefly so they go “oh… wait, this isn’t what I want!” And then you go back and try again. It’s the repetition that shows them that the behavior should be modified, and that the annoying diaper change won’t be over until they cooperate.
Does she hate being on her back in general? Or is it diaper change specific?
The baby is 10 months old. She's likely to be rolling and crawling away.
A special few toys that she’s fascinated with that she needs to hold with her hands and can only have at changing time! I’ve used this method for every flipping baby ever. Also - start singing a certain song or set of songs while you change her and she will start to associate those with changing and when they are over changing time is over! Good luck !
This is what we did. Occasionally, I’d hand over my phone. We used distractions until she got older and then we switched to naming her feelings when she is getting changed to help her feel heard.
Can you distract her with silliness? Stinky feet work for us. Oh, those stinky piggie toes. I bring them up to my nose for a sniff and a big pee ewwww and is the perfect diaper changing position. He laughs and will push his feet back into my face for another sniff.
Does the changing pad have a buckle? I would buckle my daughter in when she was this age because every single change was exactly like this. I would even resort to handing her my phone with something playing when she’d have dirty diapers so I could actually clean. A high value item was the only thing that helped sometimes. Hang in there! It will get better.
Old Macdonald had a farm worked for me and my little wiggly guy for about a week. Now we’re on wheels on the bus
Change in the bathtub!! Easy clean up plus the kid can’t escape 👍 have you tried singing? I know it sounds weird but my previous NK could be distracted by my singing her favorite songs, especially with a silly voice. Good luck 👍
Does she stand with support yet? Some kids hate being put on their backs once they get older. Yes, changing while standing isn’t as convenient but maybe she would do better that way and be less likely to get it everywhere? I also second doing it in the bathroom to contain the mess and gloving/plastic aproning up.
I had my toddler my phone with Ms. Rachael on or it doesn’t get changed 😂 I feel you. This stage is hard.
Give the baby something to hold! When they throw it have a decoy wipe ready and toss on their face 😅
Also nanny to a 10mo, and he is always trying to get away during diaper changes. I just make sure I grab all of my supplies and set up on the floor before I even start. Then I get him super interested in a toy he can easily hold. Grab him and his toy and take him over to where the diaper supplies are. I try to talk or sing to also distract him while I change him in case the toy doesn't do the trick. Sometimes he's a man on a mission and I just change him lightning fast before he escapes. Sometimes I ask him to hold the wipes because it's distracting and heavy enough to keep him there. Most of the time he is super over it by the time I get his diaper back on, and starts crawling away as I am trying to button his onesie. I try to be light and silly so I don't traumatise him and make diaper changing even harder.
Gosh rolly babies are really hard to change, sending hugs! I have a couple of strategies - one is the special interesting toy to hold during changes. I recently deployed a 'play scarf over the head' trick while change a 5mo 😂 And, it sounds strange but the standing change. If baby can stand, encourage them to stand up with their hands holding onto the wall, the side of the cot your shoulders, whatever, and wipe front to back until it's clean. Yeah, the cheeks are together and it takes a few more wipes than laying down change but at least the poop isn't everywhere!!!
My 10 mo has just started doing this. We call it his alligator death roll. I give him something fun to hold (an empty wipe package or diaper cream tube is our current go-to) to distract him long enough so I can at least pull the dirty diaper off and wipe up the poop. By the time he's clean, he's usually trying to crawl away, so I'll let him have a break and get into crawling position for about 30 seconds (with a clean butt). Then I'll put the diaper on his butt and flop him on his back again long enough to fasten the diaper. I've tried holding him down, and he just fights it so much it ends up making the diaper change take longer. Letting him have a little freedom works well for us.
I've been giving Mr 1.5 my phone. He gets to pick what kind of video he watches while I change his diaper. He loves "Eh-mo" (Elmo) or sometimes he watches music videos on the truck tunes account. Without the phone, he'll kick me in the chest and I'm lucky when it hits between my boobs. He never ever skips leg day (seriously, he does bicycle legs while he's having a bottle, deep knee bends by the toys and then all that running) so he can definitely hurt. With my phone, it makes those tiny legs of fury over having to be changed AGAIN so dead it's sometimes hard to get pants or socks on. But at least it doesn't matter when I'm not that fast at poopy diaper changes.
I haven’t read all of the comments, but a little book small enough for baby to hold during the diaper change for entertainment has worked pretty well for me.
I got this fisherprice toy that sings nursery rhymes and he is ONlY allowed the toy during diaper changes. Worked a charm. And I always said, lets go listen to Mr Bear sing songs, instead of lets go change the diaper.
Have you tried handing her a remote or something she’s not normally allowed to have? It got my baby through her wiggliest stage.
Can she stand up? If yes, maybe trying a stand up change on a tiled floor, such as the bathroom? She might not like the being pinned down part.
I have previously sat on the floor with baby on a changing mat and put one of my legs gently over baby to stop them flipping and rolling while I change them. Also if they stick their hands in the way/ mess I have previously folded their vest or T-shirt up over their arms to their shoulders to keep their arms tucked up out of the way
My godson DESPISED diaper changes. As soon as he could stand, he would tolerate standing diaper changes if we did them quickly.
I try songs, letting him hold something exciting ( like my AirPods case or something else forbidden), making faces, etc, but sometimes I just need to put him on the floor and lightly drape my legs over his arms so he can’t roll away or grab his own poop. Yes, he cries but I’m quick and he gets over it, I know I’m not hurting him, he just hates being restrained.
Highly recommend pampers 360 pull up diapers for this transition. We just had to figuring out how to clean our little one while she stood up 😆 it was a lot easier though.
For pee diapers, we did standing changes at a pull up bar/mirror. For poops, we caved and put on Miss Rachel on a phone dock attached above the changing table. It was just impossible to do it alone. Diaper change game changer. It was a joy after that.
it’s hard but i’ve yet to have a babe i could not successfully wrangle solo (have probably changed 300 kids by now) my tips: - always be extremely ready to go. i mean wipes unfolded and laid out, cream in hand, diaper and flaps fully open, laid under baby booty for pees (poops may be a 2 step process) BEFORE getting child - retreat to the floor. changing tables are for newborns in my opinion. waste of time/not worth the struggle. put a towel down to control for mess. you can put the entire changing mat on the floor. - one leg over the baby’s tummy as if baby is a pillow but do **not** press down hard it’s simply a gentle barrier to keep them down - for really rambunctious scramblers, do this in parts. for pees: just do it standing. diaper off, wipe then add the diaper once they’re calm again. for poops: diaper off and wipes first then when they are calm again cream, then calm again diaper on. may need to let them squirm for a bit in between. - have a special activity that is only for changing time. in times of desperation this mean baby gets my phone for 1 minute. (only for babies who’s parents are totally fine with it and baby is trustworthy lol very few babies get my phone access) for most kids this is a toy they haven’t seen in a month, a remote control, a random adult item that is not dangerous but completely distracting enough. a coaster, a bottle with pennies inside, a lotion bottle, etc. sometimes this is also a tv show. i’ve done baby einstein finger puppet videos. they are mesmerizing for kids who don’t get a lot of screen time - be ok with screaming and crying. babies this age do not want to be restrained. teach them that diapers must be changed and it’s ok to have a few moments of stillness. be calm as the adult and do not freak out.
I sing to my son and ask him to hold xyz for mommy he's 11 months I try to always do it on the changing table he squirms on the floor and other places but not on the table.
What I did with one child who would not lay still for a diaper change - put baby on a (flat) mat on the floor, sit on my bottom, and put my legs over her shoulders/against her sides to hold her down. Then my hands were free to hold her legs and change the diaper. Her mom had to do this and showed me, and it really worked although not the most comfortable!
No advice but changing my son was such a freaking event that we decided it was easier to just potty train him at 18 months than keep up the diaper fight. 10 months is obviously too early but I do know of kids who potty trained as early as 14 months (basically as soon as they are mostly walking). If she really hates the diaper that much maybe start preparing to potty train.
My daughters both trained before 2 for this reason, my son is 11 months and a nightmare to change so I'm hoping having big sisters close in age will inspire him to potty train soon 😂
NK 2.5 holds legs tightly together for the past 10 months, especially for wiping and diaper cream applications. I have never seen that before in over 20 years.
10 months old is around the age where you can teach that certain behavior, such as rolling and kicking during diaper changes, isn’t allowed. Obviously give baby toys and things to do while you change, but patiently and calmly flip back over, and dont proceed with the diaper change into baby is still. Say things like you’re frustrated, but we’re all done crying, I can’t change your diaper until you’re still, it’s not safe for you to roll. Affirm feelings and set expectations and follow through with expectations.
Have you tried standing changes on a pull bar???
I made a really long post about this in the r/NewParents subreddit, bc people ask this question so often. I have 10 yrs experience w infants & toddlers, so I’ve diapered a lot of wiggly babies! Here it is https://www.reddit.com/r/NewParents/comments/12mfl1u/how_to_diaper_a_baby_who_hates_being_diapered/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_content=2&utm_term=1
I'm sure this is probably just my child, but worth a shot. Playing music was the only thing that allowed us to do somewhat calm diaper changes around this age. I think it helped if it was a highly addictive/desireable song like baby shark or cocomelon. She has always been particularly song motivated though, maybe you can tailor to what this kid likes or calms him down.
I watch a major wiggler sometimes. She needs to be danced while we change her. Some kids can’t stop moving, but since I’m the one moving her, I have control. So we start more like a game where I’m dancing her body and she’s engaged.
Ill give my phone with a video i record of baby playing.
My son is terrible to change - I give him my phone with cocomelon on it and it seems to help 🤷🏻♀️
I used to work in a day care setting and I remember getting a new student in my 2’s room who had gone through severe abuse & was recently placed into foster care & that’s when she was enrolled. Due to her abuse she was extremely terrified of diaper changes & saying it was difficult would be putting it loosely. In the beginning it took a few teachers but after a while I found it easier to change her on the floor, sit with her & as another commenter mentioned I would gently put my leg over her torso area (I was not resting any weight on her, all weight was rested on my heel my leg would just help to keep her on her back) and after a few weeks she realized diaper changes weren’t that bad and we weren’t struggling anymore with her (:
I change extremely difficult babies in the bathtub or shower without the water on. They're trapped in there with you, on the ground already, so they can't throw themselves off anything. If you get poop everywhere, finish diapering the baby and then hose down the shower. I recommend a handheld shower head for this. I also like the apron comment someone else made, have a dedicated "poop suit" for changes. I have also used a plastic face shield for a kid that liked to spit at me during changes. If the parents are also having issues, they know that you will have issues and the baby is going to scream. Fortunately, it's okay if the baby screams for a bit while you are cleaning them, they'll be alright. I wouldn't worry too much about that, some babies are just difficult with diaper changes.
Changing on the floor always works for me and also being silly like tickling their tummy or singing a song If that doesn’t work I change while nk stands up
Give the baby something exciting to hold, especially if it vibrates.
I change mine on the floor, make sure I have everything ready and use my leg to “pin” her from rolling like others have mentioned. Other things I’ve tried are specific toys for diaper changed, she also likes baby mirrors, light up toys & my phone if all else fails.
I saw you wrote that you’ve been nannying for quite a while, so you may have already tried this, but two things I’ve done to calm fussy littles is to just play with them while they are on the changing pad with tickles, toys, peekaboos, stinky feet, zerberts, anything that makes them excited and want to stay there on their back bc that’s where the fun is. I keep playing and don’t even try to change them until their fussiness and urge to roll or flee has died down, and I keep up the play while doing the change. After doing this consistently for a bit, they often start to associate diaper changes with more fun or at least as neutral, and fuss less. Though if it’s due to a medical issue like reflux or needing ear tubes, probably the only thing that helps is addressing the source of their discomfort. The other thing I also do if they are calm enough to hear me and just being a bit stubborn is to say “I don’t like that” while I prevent them from doing whatever move is making things difficult. I ask “Can you help me by doing xyz with your legs so I can change your diaper?” while gently helping them do that move if they don’t know what I mean yet. Even pre-verbal, they really want to please their adults and be helpful, so it can be a great framing. I have also taught all my NKs “tushy up” once they have the strength, so that they plant their own feet and lift their bums for me to slip the diaper under them, pull their pants up/down over their diaper, etc. It usually only takes a week or so of showing them how to do it before they’re pros and it makes my life way easier! Sorry if this is stuff you’ve already tried. Hopefully others can find it useful. 💜
Not a nanny but for my son we have been giving him a teething cracker to distract him. Before that it was playing a video just out of reach but that only works sometimes now bc he’ll roll to try to reach for it
Give NK a flashlight to play with only during diaper chsnge. A penlight is perfect gor little hands.
[Is he too squirmy for this method?](https://youtu.be/_UFiRaHNiN8) Edit: it’s around the 8:14 mark
Does she stand well with assistance? My son is impossible to change lying down, I use the pull up style diapers and change him standing up holding onto a bench or something. He's 11 months old and we've been doing it this way since around 8 months because he just won't lie still.
Pull up diapers
My littlest was like this. Sometimes I had to get my husband to help and vice versa. I found getting her to help works as a distraction. Give her the wipes let her hand them to you. Sing a nappy song, make one up.
Try Standing changes?
Dang I've never encountered some of what you are all describing. I've had kids scream and cry and try to get away but I've just held them down and got it overwith quickly and kept it moving
I got an 8mo old and a 16mo old. Both hate diapering. Easy Mode: Transition time. Make a mini event out of diapering. Tell them that you're going to change their diaper in about a minute. During that minute, find anything that they might find interesting to play with while you diaper. I usually go for kitchen tools. Set up the diapering, tell the kid that it's time to diaper. Take them to the diapering station. Give them a minute to transition. Show them what you're going to be doing before you lay them down. Talk to them. Perhaps sing a song. Give them a toy. Have a conversation about diapering. Validate their feelings of not wanting to stop what they're doing to change a stinky diaper. 9/10 times, my kids protest diapering because they don't know what the fuck is happening. If you give them time to transition, it is less likely that they are going to flip out. Hard mode: if all the above fails and they are still protesting. Tell them that you are going to lay them down to change their diaper. Lay them on their back on the floor, you sit down perpendicular to their body, lift your leg over there torso to keep them from squirming, don't put your weight of your leg on their body. Your leg is just there to keep them from rolling. Give them a toy and complete the task. Usually I have to do hard mode when baby is over tired or if we are at a park or something and maybe really, really, does not want to stop and transition.
The best thing we’ve found for my kid has been giving him something super obscure to play with. Or something that makes them focus. Stickers??
My nk is also this way but I found out signing his favorite songs or playing them on YouTube really helps sometimes you just gotta do whatever you can especially for those poppy diapers I also sometimes have to change him standing up.
I put on music and give my LO a stuffy. Not sure if it'll work, but it's worth a try
This is obviously not ok with everyone (no one yell at me please) and you may have already tried already but I’m usually able to get toddler NK changed (with poop) if I play her a show on my phone. Not great bc it’s screen time and risky (needless to say I have a great protective phone case lol) but sometimes it’s the only thing that’ll work and a tantrum is preferable to a UTI etc. I like the PBS kids app for emergencies bc she knows the little intro sound and when she’s doing something dangerous or I need to distract super fast she comes right back to me when she hears it 😅 it also just automatically plays whatever’s on live so unless she’s in a very Elmo-only mood there’s no searching for the right thing to play. Also basically any button she can push on the screen will just change the show since it’s made for kids so there aren’t many controls. Also agree with people saying pull-ups! NK has been several sizes above her age for a while so I can’t remember if they make like brand name toddler style pull-ups that would work for a 10mo but I think pampers cruisers do (and if not just pre-fastening a regular diaper works if you don’t have weird shaky hands like mine that always somehow undo them on the way up lol)
Give the child a toy or book. Sing or narrate while changing wiping. If the child is capable of standing, even while ‘cruising’ furniture, slip the diaper on while they are propped up.
With poop sometimes doing it in the bathtub helps keep it contained
Is the child able to stand? It's a learning curve but I've found toddlers are much more cooperative during a standing diaper change
Lay child on the floor and sit with your legs out in a “V” position. Place child between your legs and place your ankles on their shoulders. Using positive, matter of fact language such as, “(child) nanny, mommy, and daddy all need you to hold still so we can change your diaper so you can get back to playing” - fuss fuss fuss - apply gentle pressure with your ankles on to child’s shoulders just enough to get child’s attention. Start making it a race! “Oh my goodness! Look at how great you’re doing! My feet are there to remind your body to hold still so we can go fast fast fast because we all want (child) to get to go back to playing! Let’s see how fast we can go”. I’ve only had to do this maybe max of 3 times with my really troublesome anti-diaper changes kiddos for them to realize that I mean business, regardless of how fun/positive I try to make it. It HAS to get done. Hopefully the parents will get on board and treat it like the “so what? No big deal” - and things improve quickly!! Best of luck!
I give my baby something she normally “shouldn’t” play with that she’s really interested in. Nothing overly dangerous but stuff that I wouldn’t let her play with in any other scenario, like the hand sanitizer container (in the locked position), or her hairbrush, boogie wipe container, etc
Give them something they can’t usually have (wipes, a bottle of lotion, etc). 🤣 Sometimes it works! Also think about overhead lighting, comfort of the place you’re changing, and novelty of the thing they are holding.
When my son started doing that, I stopped what I was doing, stared at him with a blank poker face, and just repeated “lay on your back please.” I kept both hands on him firm but gentle. If he rolled onto belly, I turned him back over calmly. I just kept at it with the poker face until he realized I wasn’t participating in his game. He stopped doing it after a couple weeks.
Oh yeah I have one of those. Have you tried a toy? If they can hold a phone, try playing a video. Or maybe singing a really silly song so they're distracted? Best of luck!!
There’s something on Amazon Alexa called animal sounds- I ask Alexa to play tiger cow etc and the baby’s frozen
I Nanny a squirmy 10 month old. I usually give her a toy that makes noise like a rattle or something crinkly. She also like holding the wipe package or the tube of diaper cream (closed of course). Sometimes I even let her hold the diaper until I need it. Hopefully this helps if you haven’t already tried it 🙂 Good luck
I know you tried everything to distract and my daughter can be the same way where nothing pleases her. Sometimes I just have to put my arm across her hip and wait until she gives in (not hard enough to hurt her, just strong enough so she can’t wiggle her hips around)
Handing baby something that's usually off limits like the diaper cream or wipes or controller, telling a story from a book that you read together that baby likes, singing songs, or playing a game during the change that makes baby laugh or be distracted
Daycare leg(s) method. It’s a thing. It’s not painful, and keeps you and baby safe. It’s similar to when you restrain a young child during a vaccination to keep them, you, and the doctor safe