I hate to brag, but I’m a diaper-changing machine. This is because I have had lots of practice. The last five years I have been a stay/work-at-home mom to four diaper babies.
In fact, for a while after our 2-year-old, George, was born we had three kids in diapers at once.
A while back, I saw a clip of Mark Zuckerberg bragging about his record changing time: 20 seconds. First I thought, prove it. Then I realized that, even if he is telling the truth (which he probably isn’t) I could still kill his record.
So, I did. I didn’t just kill his time, I slaughtered it. And although you can hear his wife admit that Mark’s time is based on a diaper “with no accidents” (I’m guessing she means poop), I chose to do the whole shebang — poo, wipes, and Desitin.
Because, Mark, we all know that changing a diaper quickly doesn’t always mean you are doing a good job.
His time: 20 seconds. My time: 11.4 seconds (just a wet diaper) and 18.7 seconds (a dirty, dirty diaper).
After mastering the art of a diaper change, I am here to share my seven secrets of success.
1. Have a designated spot set up for speed. I use a corner in my home office (the things we do for our children), where I have several designated changing blankets that I use in place of a changing table. I prefer this because I’m slightly vertically-challenged and changing a diaper at chest-height is really difficult. *Check out my winning set-up below.
2. Keep supplies in order of use. This might seem like common sense to a type-A person like me, but after talking with many parents, I’ve found I might be a little weird for doing this. But does it really pay to argue with something that works?
3. Most diaper changes take two wipes, have them ready. Before I even open the baby’s diaper I am prepared. I have found that the vast majority of diaper changes, poo or pee, take an average of two wipes.
4. Have the other diaper open and prepared before you even take your baby’s pants down. I am surprised at how many people I see not doing this. If you leave your baby’s bottom half naked while you dally around unfolding a diaper, you’re just asking for trouble.
5. The diaper is already dirty, so use it. The top part of the diaper that covers your baby’s front works great for wiping most of your baby’s poo off their butt. As you are folding the diaper down to roll up for disposal, gently wipe the poo from front to back. This saves wipes AND time.
6. Keep little wash cloths handy for patting baby’s rear dry when you need to use Desitin. Desitin is best used on a dry bum. I like these little newborn-sized washcloths. They are cheap, so you don’t mind ruining them if that happens and they are the perfect size for patting the baby’s butt dry. I also use it to wipe excess Desitin off my fingers before washing my hands.
*This pack of six washcloths is available at Target for $4.99.
7. If you have a squirmy baby, put a small toy under his shirt. It will keep him busy (and still) just long enough for you to get in and out with a new diaper.
After several years and hundreds of diapers, this is my best advice. However, take it from me, mother-of-four-self-proclaimed-expert-Mark-Zuckerberg-butt-kicker, it is more important to do a good job while changing a baby’s diaper than doing it quickly.
What is your best piece of diaper-changing advice? Do you think you could be Mark Zuckerberg’s record?
This post is sponsored by Desitin™.
Photo credit: Whitney Barthel, Guillaume Paumier/Flickr.
