Do you have a favorite toy to have on hand for diaper changes? My aunt tells me she handed her 8 grandchildren her phone while changing their diapers. she always had it in hand and it was a great distraction for the kiddies.
I like the idea, but don't want to put my phone in ds's hands. Open to suggestions
This just wasn't something I ever did.
Changes were quick as I could manage and there was no time for toys.
Just get good at being a quick change artist.
I was my baby's distraction. I would sing and make silly faces while changing.
I always had a few of those plastic bath tub books on hand on the changing table along with a couple of plastic chew toys. They were easy to clean if they got in the way and kept them busy. I also had a couple of those silicone banana toothbrushes. They are toothbrushes shaped like a banana. They were good for teething and helped keep their teeth clean.
I would never hand over my phone.
Ya probably not my phone either!
I had one of those changing baskets on each floor with a pad. So I often had the other kids or the tv playing on somewhere in the vicinity, so the baby would watch the chaos going on around them. If it was on their change table then I had a mobile thingy attached to the wall high up they watched.
ETA - now that I think back, I had this wooden bead on an elastic cube type toy. It was also good for teething. I can't remember the name brand, but it went through all my kids. It's one of those award winning toys, very simple, and would keep their attention. If I can think of the name, Il'l post it. They used to throw it though so it didn't help for long :)
Found it - http://www.manhattantoy.com/p/skwish-classic.
I liked that because you could easily clean it (unlike cloth toys) if used to distract while changing.
No toys. That's just asking for a poopy toy in the mouth.
I teach the kids, using my words, hands, and persistence, to lay still and not roll around on the changing table. I talk to them about what I'm doing, what they see, what we're going to do after the diaper change, what I want them to do with their bodies to help. I repeated prevent them from rolling, either with a hand on their chest before opening their diaper or by turning their legs the opposite way when I'm holding their ankles mid-change.
I'm not just talking about my 4 kids, but I've handled 13 years worth of daycare kids in this manner. They lay calmly for me and we have a pleasant time (as pleasant as a poopy diaper can be). These same kids, whose parents use toys and electronics at changes, who still battle, wrestle, and throw fits for them-because distraction is just that, it's a temporary diversion not a permanent solution that teaches an alternate behavior. Eventually, distractions stop distracting and then you've accomplished nothing.
Teach your baby at an early age to lay still, talk to them, talk your way through the steps of "bend your legs", "oops, we need one more wipe", "let's get some cream on you", etc. You'll teach a new behavior instead of just distracting.
i always give them a baby whipe. tell them to clean hands, belly, face...it has worked for every baby
have ever changed. just dont let them put it in their mouth.
My first baby had a mobile over his changing table. Baby #2 was changed wherever, whenever, often on the floor with a pad or a bed with a pad. We changed quickly with him - he was happy to just hold another clean diaper!
Do not give baby phone - it is really unsanitary!
i had 2-3 different small toys that all made noise or had flashing lights. when i was done chainging baby i would baby wipe the toy and put it back in the basket (designed just for diaper time toys)
There are many ideas about this. In child care it's obvious we aren't going to hand baby after baby our phone. Spreading germs for one.
We put mirrors on the wall where they could look at themselves while laying down. We put things hanging from the ceiling or attached to the wall on an arm like thing. Sort of like a mobile. One of our changing tables had a mirror (These are always fake mirrors by the way, no danger) that was encased in a.....thing...device...you could push the mirror back up and attach it to the wall and it was fabric. I would pull the mirror part down and it had a strap that kept it from falling further. The whole thing was bright blue fleece or something. The part that had the mirror in it might have had cardboard or something backing it to make it stiff. The part that was attached to the wall was also stiff. It could be adjusted a bit to get the baby exactly seeing in it right too.
It was far enough above the baby where they couldln't reach it but they could see themselves in it.
Take the opportunity to play, talk, kiss those feet, tickle their belly. Much better than toys.
I don't think I would give him my phone...it's bound to end up in the babies mouth and Lord knows where it's been. But that's just me.
I'd say just about anything they can chew and that's washable, in case there is some inadvertent contact with the business side of a diaper change... It's been a long time since I changed a diaper... I'd say enjoy it but well....its changing a diaper after all. :-) S.
