Diaper changing is one of the key skills in preparing for fatherhood.
Diapers are seriously not even close to the hardest thing about having a baby. Diaper changing is the easiest thing in the world.
The key here is to have an optimized diaper changing battle station.
Diaper changes take approximately 1.5 minutes, as long as your diaper changing system is optimized. Over 15 diaper changes a day, this only adds up to 22.5 minutes per day. Compared to feeding and calming, this is a piece of cake.
Have a battle station well-stocked with everything that you need to change diapers. Once you have your diaper changing station optimized, yes, diapers can take as little as 1.5 minutes to change.
What you need at your diaper station:
- Two dozen diapers ready to go and at arm’s length
- Another two dozen diapers in a storage location close by
- A changing pad with linen on top
- A half dozen baby towels close at hand
- Baby wet naps
- A pile of clean baby rags
- Barrier cream (we use cream with zinc oxide in it, it soothes diaper rash)
- Baby-safe moisturizer
- Diaper pail with a foot pedal that operates the lid (we use the Diaper Genie because it is awesome)
- Generic garbage bin
- Laundry hamper within shooting distance
This is our diaper-changing battle station:
The kind of diaper that you buy is key to your success. We picked these diapers with an indicator strip. This 5 mm thick strip runs front to back of the diaper. When dry, it is yellow. When wet, it is blue. So when baby’s bawling her head off, it is a very quick check to see if the diaper is the problem.
We never considered linen diapers because they sounded like too much maintenance. I understand that there are environmental reasons for using these, so of course go with your conscience. I figure that disposable diapers are not so bad to use because my city composts all diapers. My baby’s output is probably feeding a tree right now.
Once you set up your battle station, you can get good at diaper changing very quickly. Once you got this, you’ve mastered a key component in making your life easier after your baby arrives.
The best thing about changing your kid’s diapers is that they often calm right down once you do. They usually have a “dirty diaper cry” and a “dirty diaper face” that will clue you in as to the state of her undies. You will definitely get familiar with these cues in the first couple of weeks!
Diaper changing is one of the most important skills in your new dad survival kit. You’ll become a pro in no time!
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