4 Helpful Tips When Changing Your Baby's Diapers
4 Helpful Tips When Changing Your Baby's Diapers
For Girls: Never wipe from the rectum forward, as it brings fecal bacteria into the urethra and vaginal area. Instead, wipe front-to-back (just as girls and women do after using the toilet to prevent bladder infections). Also, separate the labia and cleanse lightly to remove all matter. Do not scrub.
For Boys: Plan to get squirted (and that he will wet his own clothes and maybe even squirt himself in the face) occasionally. (What the heck, plan for it every time, then be pleased when the loaded pistol doesn't go off.) When you get proficient at diapering, you'll be able to hold a wad of toilet tissue or a clean diaper over his penis while washing/drying with the other hand.
It's only water, it's not very much, really, and it's sterile when it first comes out, so laugh about it! Some parents prefer to point the penis down as they put on a new diaper. Otherwise, boys pee up and it may go out the top of the diaper, which often gaps at his waist (or what would be his waist, if he wasn't so chubby and actually could bend in the middle and sit up). Also, pointing the penis down until the umbilical cord falls off is one more step to ensure that the cord remains dry.
Make sure to clean under the scrotum, where fecal matter may hide. If your baby boy has not been circumcised, the foreskin does not yet retract. Don't try to make it do so - just wash it with the cotton pad.
If the newborn has just been circumcised, you probably received instruction in circumcision care. Some procedures involve a plastic ring that gets no special care, or a dab of petroleum jelly or antibiotic ointment. Other procedures involve a gauze pad that will need to be removed at each diaper change. Dab at the circumcision with a clean, wet cotton ball. You may have been instructed to apply petroleum jelly to the wound or to a new gauze pad, then re-wrap the wound. (Look for discharge or odor and call the doctor if it appears to be infected.)
Diaper Changing Tips:
1. Traditional cloth diapers need pins (or diaper covers). Keep them stuck in a bar of soap and they'll slide through the cloth more easily.
2. Put two fingers of your left hand (if you're right-handed) between the diaper and the baby so if the pin sticks someone, it's you.
3. Beware of the possibility of pins unpinning and sticking your baby. Make sure you're not using a "kite" fold that has a pin in the middle over the genital area or stomach, which could be damaged by a loose pin. (This should not happen, however, if you are using diaper pins - not safety pins - that have a safety latch.)
4. If the cloth diapers you bought or were given are not pre-folded, but rather the large rectangles, you have several options for how to fold them of your choice.