Diaper Changing Struggle with 11 Month Old!

My little guy squirms all over too. I learned that if I let him have his rubber ducky he is pretty pacified through the QUICK change.
Good luck

My 11 month old does the SAME thing...AHHHH! I find a spot where he can stand up and change him that way. I think it makes him feel more "in control". I put a book or a toy in front of him so he's distracted. Hope this helps a little...Happy Changing.

My son loves digital camera/phone but he always put them to mough. So I tied a ribbon/rubber band to digital camera or cell phone (kids love these). I bite tightly on the ribbon while the phone or camera hanging around infront of my son face (good enough for them to grab without roll over and put them in his mouth...). It works for me.

Hi J.-

I don't know what other responses you have gotten. However, I had this same problem with my daughter at about that age. Someone told me to use stickers. I went and bought some smiley face stickers that were about the size of the back of her hand. I would put one on her hand when I laid her down. She would play with it just long enough for me to change her diaper.

It became kind of a game after a few days because she learned she only got a sticker when we were changing a diaper.

Hope that helps!

T.

There are some great ideas here....One thing that worked very well which we started from birth was to have a musical toy playing. Every single time the baby from one day old was changed the song was played. This focused and got the child conditioned to be diaper changed, this even worked with a VERY active boy.

I regularly purchase at target as gifts the Winnie the Pooh soft toys which have a song they play when you pull a string. This is easy to pack into a diaper bag as well.

This may be something you want to start to try even now and see if it works. Routine is something babies love and once you get a routine with whatever you decide to do the better for them and you.

good luck!

I would just change my kids on the floor and put my leg over their chest, pinning their arms down and keeping them still. I would also put the baby's head on the carpet, but keep the butt part on the kitchen floor in case of a mess.

I have this problem with my 12 month old and has been a struggle for a few months now- he also grabs his junk and sometimes it is straight to the bath for him- Some times I lay him on the floor and hold his arms down with my feet, not too hard but enough so he can't get away- he does fuss about the situation but diaper changing goes quicker with less mess
might be worth a try

Boy do I remember those days. I also used the bed to change diapers. I remember usually having to keep one hand on an ankle. My son often finished his diaper change upside down. One day he was wiggling more than usual and I was probably in a hurry to get somewhere and I spanked his bare bottom and flipped him back over on his back telling him to stay. That worked for about a week.

Just like everyone else, I too have the same problem with my 11 month old daughter. It's getting a little bit better...or maybe I'm getting better at being QUICK. :-)
Anyways, she loves when I put her socks on her hands...I put them on mine too (when I'm not changing her) to make hand puppets. You could put her socks on her hands to amuse her while you change her diaper. She may like it...or hate it.
Good luck!

This is familiar terrain for us! In addition to the already mentioned special changing table toys and also a ring of laminated photos that I made, we use bubbles.
We blow them high up into the air and it we buy some time while they are floating down and he works on popping them.
Fun for all!

Mine is the same way. I just avoid the struggle all together by taking her straight to the bath. I either take her diaper off on the changing table and carry her to the bath or just slip it off in the tub. We have a hand held sprayer and I just spray her off and use a soapy wash cloth. No worry of poopy hands or whatever other kind of poopy disaster and no struggling with her. Then I let her play in the bath which she loves.

We were also using the pull-ups diapers for a while to make the struggle of putting the diapers on a little easier.

Good luck : )

Wow! 4 teenage boys and a baby! :-) Even though a changing table is not an ultimate necessity, it does help in establishing a regular place for changing diapers. You could hang an interesting musical mobile above the changing area to distract her.

That aside, try engaging her by singing directly to her, making funny noises, talking to her, etc. Look directly in her eyes and have a conversation with her about anything. Over exaggerate your voice and your facial expressions. When she tries to grab at the diaper area, gently give her something to hold and ask her to hold it for you.

Good luck!

Try stickers on her hands. :)

There is hope! It used to be a battle trying to get my daughter to lay still long enough in order to change her diaper. I would give her pants or socks to her to distract her and that would work a lot of times. She is now 18 months old and when I tell her to lay down to get her diaper changed, she does it 99% of the time.

Starting then, we changed our son while he was standing up. We put toys on the coffee table and do it while he is playing.

Personally I can't help, but when you find a solution let me know. I have the exact same issue with my daughter.

I'm not so fond of it, but sitting to their side and putting a leg over their chest, pinning the arms down works, or even letting them hold their "special diaper changing toy" so their arms are over your leg, but they are still pinned across the chest, has worked for me.

After a few times he knew I was serious.

K.

I changed the diapers on the floor and pinned their shoulders with my feet. Sounds bad, but it's really not and it keeps them in one spot. :)

I have certain toys that I only let my son play with during changing time. If I let him play with them any other time, they wouldn't be special and he wouldn't be distracted. For instance, I have a TV remote (battery removed).

Hi J. - I have the same problems with my 19 month old girl. One of my girlfriends showed me this trick. You sit on the floor with your baby, your baby is laying down. You take your legs and put them over your babies shoulders, so she is kind of in a restaint like in her car seat. This lets you have access to change her diapers, without her trying to squirm around and or try and help! It works out great.

We also sing songs and for some reason she stops what she is doing to listen to me singing.

I hope these tricks help - good luck!

Hi J.!

I always used that time to sing the ABC's, sing Twinkle Twinkle, or count to 35......

I found that at this age, 1 yr olds are sooooo fascinated with learning things, that the ABC's and counting really worked & captivated their attention.

I got good enough for my "tempo" to end just right at the completion of the diaper change, so I could hold their attention throughout the whole change of a diaper.

You might want to try it :o)

Good luck with your wiggle worm :o)

:o) N.

My son was the same way...it started at 3 months old when he could turn over and we struggled for a long time. The things that helped me the most were interactive things. I got a photo albulm (the baby kind, covered in plastic) and had him hold it and go through each picture asking him who they were...sticking with people he knew well,includung photos of himself. Also, we put a picture on the wall that has the alphabet with funny pictures for each letter. As I changed him, we went through the letters and I encouraged him to point to it as we talked. Good luck!

Try stickers on her hands. It well take her a few mintues to get them off. Just make sure they are big ones that you can grab from her quickly when she does get them off. The other thing that worked well for me was giving James the house phone or my keys since i never let him play with them. They would keep him busy for a few mintues.

My 7-month old daughter does this! The only thing I can do is try to distract her with a toy. It doesn't always work, and sometimes it's a struggle to get her diaper back on, but it's better than nothing. :)

Dear J.,
Oh....I remember those days!
My son wasn't so bad, but my daughter, whose name is Angel, ironically, was a complete little demon when it came time to change her diaper or dress her.
Even if I could get a good grip on her ankles with one hand to at least have a hold of her, she would go into an alligator "death roll" and about break my wrist. Fortunately, she was a tiny child, but I'm not very big either. She gave me quite a workout!
I started having to change her on the living room floor.
I would get the wipes or wash rag and the diaper all folded out and ready. I had to change her sideways. That way, I could pin her down at the shoulder with one knee and one of legs with the other. That left one half of her body that could still flop around and flail, but at least she couldn't get away or roll. I used the same technique to get her dressed. At least the bottom half of her. I'd have to sit and hold her really tight with one arm while I got the top of her dressed with the other. It kind of reminds me of the scene in the movie "The Miracle Worker" where Anne is trying to get Helen Keller to sit still in a chair and eat.

I think they kind of make a game of it or think it's funny. But it does get better. Just try to talk or sing or hum your way through it.
And think of all the calories you're burning!

Best of luck!

If she's fussing, not just trying to get away, the wipes might be burning. Even the ones that say no alcohol burn. I know this personally. I've tried every single brand and type out there. The only ones that do not burn are the Pampers with Aloe Natural. They come in the greenish blueish box.

If she's not fussing, she's just being a kid. All the suggestions below are great ones. My daughter loved the self-portraits.

Stephanie

Well all kids reach down and grab themselves while they are being changed, and wiped, they are like, what the heck? What is down there to clean? They are just trying to figure it all out. As for keeping her still, I used to grab pictures of my kids, you know like extras you have printed and let them look at them. They love pictures of themselves!!!

I have the EXACT same issue with my 11 month old son. It drives us crazy! Very frustrating. Sometimes giving them something to hold (a diaper, toy, etc...) will keep their hands occupied and minds busy. I'd love to hear other suggestions!

I would get a changing pad with a strap....you could put this on the bed if you want...and then I strap her across the chest tight (but not too tight)...just so enough so she can't flip. Then move very quickly...

Hi J.,

Have you tried singing to her when she gets wiggly? I had a lot of luck with that with both my kids.

E.

My son is totally the same way. I too have tried using toys or even sang to him to kind of distract him. I've just learned to try to do it fast. It's so hard and I understand your frustration. My husband is the one that finds it the most difficult. It makes me laugh because when I go in to check on them and there's my son, naked butt with a smile on his face and my husband with a smile but frustrated. You can't help but laugh. So sorry if I'm not really helping but I just wanted to say that I'm in the same boat as you. Good luck.

My 9 month old daughter does the same thing no matter where we change her, changing table, floor etc. I usually keep her occupied by giving her a clean diaper to play with, an empty tube of aquafor, a washed out plastic water bottle with the cap on, or one of the detachable mirrors from the floor activity gym's.

I am guessing you have already done most of this but I hear ya - I am in the same boat.