The Diaper Change Hold

[ArmsOfLove]

The pics I promised in the Diaper Change discussion. Again, thanks to Michelle3802's girls for being such good sports. I have a baby and toddler picture :) And we got her toddler to try and wiggle away and she couldn't :)

http://flickr.com/gp/46694941@N05/90712J

[abh5e8]

huh...so you really hold them with your feet like that for every change? i might hav eto try that...

[Marsha]

Yep....remember that one well!! And always on the floor, if they DO get away, they don't fall.

[abh5e8]

can you please post the name of the diaper change thread...i would love to read it but can't find it :scratch

[happyhousewife]

:tu

[Mokek Kwe]

THANK YOU SO MUCH for posting this!!! DD (10months) is at the age where I've seriously gotten frustrated a couple times because of her wiggling, and I know it's because she's learning how to be mobile and she'd rather explore, but hopefully this will help- and I'll get to stretch out a little :)

[Firebird Rising]

we use this one too and I LOVE it.

Jen D.

[Rabbit]

I think it was on my FB page. I was talking about Seth and his crocodile death rolls.

He'd love that hold. I'm gonna try it, though I'm afraid I might get poop on me.

[ArmsOfLove]

I do remember that on facebook. I think there was a thread on here too. will go look :)

and part of the challenge is just to be fast--I have wipes IN HAND when I undo the dipe and I lift them and swipe immediately--getting the main area clean. Then drop that in the dirty dipe and move it aside. A few more wipes to clean better and slide the clean dipe in. Fast and efficient.

what's great about this is that my toes are right in the underarm/upper abdomen area so I can tickle with my toes and keep them entertained if they start getting fussy :heart

[NovelMama]

LOL--I do that too!

[Codi]

Yes, there was a thread on here too. :yes I remember Crystal saying she would take pics.

[mountainash]

I think it was on my FB page. I was talking about Seth and his crocodile death rolls.

He'd love that hold. I'm gonna try it, though I'm afraid I might get poop on me.

:giggle I'm still chuckling at your crocodile death roll status. I never thought of it that way, but that's exactly what they do!

[ArmsOfLove]

Yes, there was a thread on here too. :yes I remember Crystal saying she would take pics.

I knew I wasn't crazy--but I can't find it :shifty

[Mum2Es]

I knew I wasn't crazy--but I can't find it :shifty
It was in the parenting self-talk thread. :)

[MomtoJGJ]

:shifty how do you reach to wipe and change like that? I tried it and I come up a full 6" short

[Rabbit]

The baby isn't at the full extension of your legs. Your knees are bent. Baby's as close as you want him.

[Blueberrybabies]

An alternative that has also worked well for me with my bigger guy is to sit beside the child and use my leg over torso and arms.

[Blue-EyedLady]

It was in the parenting self-talk thread. :)

:yes And this is exactly what I pictured you doing as you described it. I have yet to actually try it, though. I'm afraid of getting poo on my pants. :sick

My question - how many times have you had to change your clothes after doing the diaper change from this angle? It puts you right in the line of fire, and I KNOW you have boys! :shifty

[LadybugSam]

hey does this help with them touching their dirty parts? I always had that problem with The Boy, as soon as i unsnapped his diaper his hands would go straight down and he would get them all poopy :yuck

[2sunshines]

hey does this help with them touching their dirty parts? I always had that problem with The Boy, as soon as i unsnapped his diaper his hands would go straight down and he would get them all poopy :yuck

Yuck. My boy is doing that now EVERY poopy diaper change.

I haven't tried this hold, but I plan to. :think It seems that with the right angle of your feet, you could make their hands incapable of reaching their privates. :think

As of yet, I've always recruited an older siblings to hold ds' hands during poopy diaper changes.

[abh5e8]

hey does this help with them touching their dirty parts? I always had that problem with The Boy, as soon as i unsnapped his diaper his hands would go straight down and he would get them all poopy :yuck

:yes:yes i am wondering this too.

ok...i'm not on facebook, but i am interested in this. i admit...holding them down like that does not seem very...well...gentle. :shrug3 is the idea that this is more gentle than sp**king the child for wiggling? i usually give ds a toy to distract him and hold his feet together in one hand and wipe with the other. very quickly.

off to read the parenting self talk thread. :)

[Rabbit]

It's not an attempt to teach a child not to wiggle. If they'll lay there holding a toy, fabulous!

Seth has reached a point where he is flipping over onto his tummy and trying to crawl away. I need six hands to get a dirty diaper off, and a clean diaper on. Holding him like this with my feet will reduce my frustration, protect him from getting hurt, and make his diaper change go faster. That's all.

---------- Post added at 04:03 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:02 PM ----------

It's certainly not a substitute for spanking. That idea just icks me out all over.

[ArmsOfLove]

boys is why I'm so fast at changing them. As soon as I get the poo wiped off of them I have a diaper over them on the front and them slide it under them. It's all about geometry and physics ;) Guard yourself :P~

and I don't get poo on myself. They are close enough to reach and far enough away to not have it get on me.

i admit...holding them down like that does not seem very...well...gentle.I don't even know how to respond to that :scratch It's not like I'm roughly pinning the child down. And there is no violence or hurting them involved. I don't have any idea what doesn't seem gentle about it to you :scratch :shifty

[Mom2fourofthem]

LOL I have done that with all my kids :yes When they get older, you can tickle them with your feet if they get upset and it makes them laugh :heart

[ArmsOfLove]

LOL I have done that with all my kids :yes When they get older, you can tickle them with your feet if they get upset and it makes them laugh :heart

Yep :yes I love making it fun while also having it be efficient :yes

[Blue-EyedLady]

Ok, I tried this tonight with DS. DH took one look at me as I got kicked in the crotch and said "No way!" :shrug Maybe I wasn't doing it right, because DS squirmed out of it in about a second.

Also, maybe my child is unique in this, but I have a hard time getting DS to spread his legs so that I can clean the poo in the folds of his legs, on his boy parts, etc. This hold only seems to make it more difficult... :scratch

[Marsha]

The spreading of th e legs is difficult. At a certain age, they LOVE to hold themselves rigid and unbending, don't they? I'd try to distract or tickle, anything to get them to relax for a second!!

[CompassionateLady]

I just had an "a-ha!!" moment. I used that same hold with my oldest daughter when she was little. Boy was she a wiggler.

Our youngest used to lie there for me, but since her last diaper rash, she's started wiggling. BAD. Like trying to flip over on her belly and walk off.

Maybe I ought to give that hold a try. She's awfully ticklish, so I'm sure we could have some fun and not get so frustrated (both of us)!!

Thanks for posting this! I, obviously, needed that refresher :D

[Blue-EyedLady]

The spreading of th e legs is difficult. At a certain age, they LOVE to hold themselves rigid and unbending, don't they? I'd try to distract or tickle, anything to get them to relax for a second!!

He's been this way for the last two years. :shrug Tickling him makes him tense up even worse. :sigh Potty learning can't come soon enough for me!

[ArmsOfLove]

I hold their feet in one hand and lift them. I don't spread their bottom as much as I wipe inside of it. Not sure if that makes sense written out :scratch

The key is that no body limb is unattended and able to flail about :shifty And I do hold them firmly--but not roughly and it's not tight. Just secure :)

[Pragmatist]

An alternative that has also worked well for me with my bigger guy is to sit beside the child and use my leg over torso and arms.

This is what I did also. I don't think my feet would have held my dd.

[Blue-EyedLady]

I hold their feet in one hand and lift them. I don't spread their bottom as much as I wipe inside of it. Not sure if that makes sense written out :scratch

The key is that no body limb is unattended and able to flail about :shifty And I do hold them firmly--but not roughly and it's not tight. Just secure :)

I think I understand what you're describing above... :think I guess my boy just has a chubby bottom, but I've got to spread his bottom apart to get all the poo cleaned up - even when it's a "normal" poo (not diarrhea).

Maybe this is just the wrong hold for the job I have to do... Would you use this hold for a poop-splosion where the poo has covered every bit of skin normally covered by a diaper? You know - the kind where sticky, goopy mess is in every crack, fold, and crevice possible, and you need 45 wipes to clean it up? :sick:sick Or is this hold just for the quick-y changes where the diaper is only wet or the poo is solid and a quick wipe will do it? I can see the hold working for that sort of change.

BTW - I think you must be a stronger lady than I am to keep a toddler from wiggling with just your feet and one hand! Maybe I ought to go work out more... :barbell :lol

[CompassionateLady]

I don't spread Princess Piglet's legs either.

While I have her feet held with one hand, I bring her legs back towards her a bit, so her knees are close to her belly, and lift her a bit. Helps spread the rear area to her chubby rear better lol. That's just me, though.

{gosh, not only could I NOT visualize that right ... but I had to sort of act it out with my hands so I could tell if I had it right. Must be bedtime :lol}

[ArmsOfLove]

:haha

This thread is making me laugh

for a poop-splosion I turn on the bath water and use the spray-faucet to hose them off in the tub :shifty

[Blue-EyedLady]

Oh. I don't have one of those. :( Whenever I've tried putting DS in the tub to clean a dirty diaper I end up with a bigger mess than when I started. :doh Poo goes EVERYWHERE, and DS tries to drink the bathwater. :sick :sick :sick

[ArmsOfLove]

when we didn't have one I would run the water without using the stopper and then put the baby in the tub standing up. I'd use a cup to pour the water down them and a washcloth to wipe them down. If it was really bad then when that was done I'd rinse out the tub and fill some water in it for a little bubble bath :yes

[Blue-EyedLady]

It's really bad - and sometimes several times a day. We can't afford the water bill for DS to take that many baths! ;)

:ot (like I haven't already hijacked this thread enough...) I did too good a job of teaching DS to sit in the tub - he won't stand up in the tub for me now, even when I tell him it's ok. :lol So he sits in the water, gets the water all poopy, then splashes it around the tub (even without the stopper in, the tub drains kind of slow). Does that make sense? I'm amazed at what a mess this boy can make, without even half-trying!

I think I'll stick with my current diaper change posture, at least until the diarrhea clears up... I need the leverage of being able to pretty much lay on DS to spread those rigid legs while I clean him up.

[boobymummy]

lol! Bit hard on the back though!

[MomtoJGJ]

I think I'm just too short and fat for that :) if I don't have my legs straight the baby's butt is on me, and if I have them straight I can't bend over and reach their butt or reach to hold their legs up.

I either do it really fast and have their feet bent in front of their chest before they know it (and I have leverage to hold them there without letting them do the stiff as a board thing) Or I hopefully can get some one to come running quickly with cries of HELP POO!!!!! :shifty I do also do the sit beside them with a leg over their chest if they are older toddlers who are cranky and overtired and not wanting to lay still a second.

[Buela]

While that hold looks awesome, I really think I need to see you professional mom's change a diaper, you make it sound so easy!

But alas, I can't hold even a tiny babes feet with one hand. And I can't reach the diaper well at all from that angle, I get kicked in the face or chest regularly while changing diapes -- but I'm a hobbit

[BlessedBlue]

BlueEyed Lady, it looks to me that you've established a negative cycle re: diaper changes. Your DS expects a negative experience, tenses, has a negative experience and on it goes. :hug

Would it help to do "dry" runs? :lol (I crack myself up. :shifty) Practice the hold playfully when you are NOT in need of changing the diaper. Tickle him, use his foot as a telephone (my dc love that!), sing a song about the different parts of his body a la "Aluetta" or Head and Shoulders. Help him move in to a happier space so that when you do need to change his diaper, he can expect a happier experience, and relax instead of tensing for the inevitable fight.

[Waterlogged]

I tried it this morning - not for poop, but to contain the wiggles - and it worked like a charm! The picture really helped. :yes

[Blue-EyedLady]

Ha - I did it! We had a not-too-bad poopy diaper, so I gave the position a try. DS actually cooperated! :jawdrop

[hey mommy]

I also put the clean diaper under the dirty one before I take the dirty diaper off.. Clean real fast, pull out the dirty diaper & quickly fold the clean one over before you get peed on(not that that has ever happened to me.. :shifty ).

[sothisislove]

I think I understand what you're describing above... :think I guess my boy just has a chubby bottom, but I've got to spread his bottom apart to get all the poo cleaned up - even when it's a "normal" poo (not diarrhea).

Maybe this is just the wrong hold for the job I have to do... Would you use this hold for a poop-splosion where the poo has covered every bit of skin normally covered by a diaper? You know - the kind where sticky, goopy mess is in every crack, fold, and crevice possible, and you need 45 wipes to clean it up? :sick:sick Or is this hold just for the quick-y changes where the diaper is only wet or the poo is solid and a quick wipe will do it? I can see the hold working for that sort of change.

BTW - I think you must be a stronger lady than I am to keep a toddler from wiggling with just your feet and one hand! Maybe I ought to go work out more... :barbell :lol

HAHAHAHAHAHA You said 'poop-splosion'!!! LOL

[Rabbit]

So I tried it on Seth. He's so short, and my feet are so long, that my heels are by his butt. It made him so mad that he couldn't flip, but he liked holding my big toe, too. It's an amazingly gentle way to hold him. I didn't have to press on him at all.

[Bonnie]

I would have loved to be able to do something like this! But I am almost completely unable to change a diaper without the baby's head to my left and its tush to my right. I find is so awkward to wipe and do the diaper switch unless my right arm and hand are coming from the side that way, as opposed to in front of me. :lol

[abh5e8]

i did it tonight...it was awsome!! well, ds was ticked (as usual) but i was quick, gentle and efficient. and it seemed quite easy. we will be using this again...thanks so much!!

[MomtoJGJ]

I would have loved to be able to do something like this! But I am almost completely unable to change a diaper without the baby's head to my left and its tush to my right. I find is so awkward to wipe and do the diaper switch unless my right arm and hand are coming from the side that way, as opposed to in front of me. :lol

I think this is also part of my problem.... way too many years in childcare where we had to use the changing tables!

[Rabbit]

Seth says that it is entirely inappropriate to use this hold when your feet are like ice. ;)

[Blue-EyedLady]

Seth says that it is entirely inappropriate to use this hold when your feet are like ice. ;)

:giggle

[CompassionateLady]

I would have loved to be able to do something like this! But I am almost completely unable to change a diaper without the baby's head to my left and its tush to my right. I find is so awkward to wipe and do the diaper switch unless my right arm and hand are coming from the side that way, as opposed to in front of me. :lol

:lol

it's almost opposite for me. Whenever I had to use a changing table at our old church, it took me FOREVA to change my oldest girls diaper.

[EMama]

I'm going to have to try that with our ninja quick 9 month old!

[Krisun]

Loving this hold. Makes diaper changes so much quicker, and I ge much less frustrated.

[Mokek Kwe]

I vote this for a sticky because I just tried to find it and had to go to like page 3 or 4 ;)

[ArmsOfLove]

done :grin

[E n J's Mom]

Thanks so much for this useful suggestion! I have been using it on J, and although he hates it, diaper changes go much more quickly when I have two hands instead of using one to hold him while I change him with the other.

[NCmom]

I just saw this post and it makes me feel so much better. I've had to change my youngest like this since he could move. We still do it and he's almost 2.

[SalH]

I'd never heard of this hold till I found the thread on GCM a few months ago! Its great, don't need it most of the time with mine but occasionally I do and am grateful! Will spread the word where appropriate!

[Chaos Coordinator]

i'm so tryign this!! i'm sick of the wrestling i have to do at diaper change time! thankfully ds thinks its funny to be flipped and body slammed onto his bed - thats typically what i HAVE to do to get him to lay there. but i'm gonna try this next time seein as he's almost stronger than me!

i'm betting 10 newman Os that he'll bite my big toe. he loves to bite toes. idk what's up with that...


he is getting to where he prefers pull ups though....oy that reminds me....i need to go ask about pocket pull ups on the cd board....lol

[tryin-to-FROG]

This is GREAT!!!!!

[hey mommy]

It works! I use it often on S. Sometimes I honestly think diapering an actual octopus would be easier. :lol This works.

[lmd0137]

interesting thats one I haven't seen before.

[Enola]

Thanks so much for this - it has made nappy changes a little more bearable over here! :)

[RedPetals]

I use this one too! Mine rolls to tummy about 18 times per change otherwise! It;s quite gentle as I don't actually have to apply pressure with my feet, just their presence there keeps her in place.. and the toe tickles in the armpits are so fun!

A game of peek-a-boo with a cloth diaper, burp cloth or shirt works too!

[SalH]

Just wanted to say this was one of the first threads I read on GCM before I was a member. I used this change hold with DD (baby #4) and it has changed my life:). Not so wriggly now but I found it so fantastic I am eternally grateful!!!!!!

[Emerald Orchid]

Such a good idea! :tu

[gardentender]

This is brilliant! Thank you!!

[Hopetobe]

I just wanted to say that this is a great idea! My 10mo ds is pretty wiggly and flippy at times now, so I'll have to try this tomorrow. I am wondering though if it will work on a curved changing pad, or if I'll have to bring out my travel pad. We'll see I guess :) Thanks!

[Dovenoir]

My 8 month old is still flipping his hips even if I've got the top of his torso braced and his feet in the air in my hands. Apparently, I also need to take one arm and brace down his pelvis. I can't imagine what I'm in for when we go back to cloth.

[Elibellamiah]

I don't think I'm flexible enough to do that (I've have some serious inflexibility issues my whole life) It's always worked well for me to give the baby or kid a toy or any other safe object that's within reach if they start to get squirmy. It usually distracts them long enough for me to easily finish changing them. I'm going to have to try this just to see if I can do it though.