Baby Care - Changing A Diaper

Ideally, a baby's diaper should be changed both before and after nursing. But until the age of about six weeks, most babies protest loudly and tearfully against anyone that delays nursing time. So, provided that the baby has not had a bowel movement, it is great not to insist on a pre-feeding diaper convert in the interest of a peaceful nursing session. After the baby has nursed, he or she is ordinarily more cooperative.

Some parents, especially mothers, like to convert a newborn baby on their laps; others prefer to use a waterproof changing mat on a bed or a dresser top. The mat should be covered with a soft towel so that the baby is not settled on a cold plastic surface.

No matter how clean the baby is kept, the skin in the diaper area may still become sore and red. When the first signs of diaper rash appear, add extra absorbency by folding a cloth diaper in half and wrapping it round the baby's waist over the clean lowly diaper. Regain the extra diaper with a diaper pin, like a skirt. While a bout with diaper rash, plastic pants are no longer suitable.

To prevent a cloth diaper from becoming stained, rinse the stools off the diaper as soon as possible. Hold the diaper under running water in the toilet bowl. It should then be put to soak in a sterilizing solution, in the receptacle provided by the diaper service, or in a household bucket.

The parent's hands should be washed wholly after a diaper change. It is not accepted to leave the child unattended for this because some infants will begin to roll over as early as two months. Here again, particular planning is the key in baby care.

The Older Baby. A baby who sleeps straight through the night may, While that time, soak straight through an ordinarily folded diaper. Soaking can be prevented to a inescapable extent by folding the skirt-shaped diaper colse to the baby's waist. But if the baby moves colse to the crib While the night (as happens when a baby is about nine months old), the skirt diaper rides up out of position.

To furnish a diaper that stays in position and also has abundance of absorbency, fold one diaper lengthwise until there are three folds; turn up one end of the diaper to generate six thicknesses, and lay the folded diaper inside the kite-folded diaper. This puts eight layers of diaper where it is most needed. Because the diaper is bulky, this method should only be used While the night, not when the baby is awake and active.