How to Change a Newborn Baby’s Diaper

Before I had my baby boy I never changed a single diaper. Friends of ours would ask if I wanted some ‘practice’, but I declined. I would change my first diaper when it was my own child, thank you very much.

And so – when my boy was in the world, I was pretty hesitant. I thought I’d end up covered in poop and pee, or I’d do something wrong. Well after a lot of practice, it became really easy. So I filmed a video of myself changing my newborn that I hope helps other new dads.

Watch the video:

1. How to know when it’s time for a diaper change:
   1. Is the absorbent pad in front of the diaper heavy? Is the wetness indicator active? (Usually a blue line) … then that means it’s time to change your newborn.
   2. Did your baby make a poop? You can either do a smell test, or a peak, or both. To peak, simply pull back the diaper a bit so you can see if there is any ‘treasure’ in there.
2. Steps before you place the baby down on the changing pad:
   1. Place a water proof pad that will go underneath the baby. (Newborns can sometimes make a big mess, especially boys)
   2. Have the following ready:
      1. a paper towel or dry wipe to cover a boy’s penis (often a baby boy will start peeing as soon as his diaper is removed.),
      2. wet wipes,
      3. dry wipes,
      4. and diaper cream.
3. Taking the dirty diaper off
   1. Remove the diaper and ball it up. You can close the dirty diaper with the straps, and put it out of the way so that your baby doesn’t accidentally kick his foot into it.
4. Cleaning the baby
   1. If there’s lots of poop, deal with that with a dry or wet wipe.
   2. Then clean with the wet wipe. Make sure to get around the crotch area with clean wet wipes, as sometimes the dirty stuff can move around in the diaper.
   3. After the wet wipe cleaning, dry off with a dry wipe or paper towel.
5. Applying the diaper cream
   1. Now that you’ve cleaned and dried the baby, put a quarter-sized dollop of diaper cream on your finger and put the cream in and around the baby’s bottom.
6. Finishing the job
   1. Slide the new diaper underneath the baby and attach the straps (not too tight.)
   2. (You can also slide a new diaper underneath a baby before you remove the dirty diaper.)

Congratulations! You changed a nappy! 

Enjoy changing your newborn who doesn’t move around too much on the changing table… because once he gets older, it becomes much harder!