Diaper Change Fights

YES!!! The thing that usually works for me- crazy as it sounds - is to pretend his foot is a phone and call one of his friends, or his daddy or papa. It works almost every time. I call it the 'foot phone' and he thinks it is hilarious. Also, if possible try placing him so that his legs dangle over the end of the changing table so he does not have as much leverage with his feet/legs

My son is 16 months old and he has been fighting since he was almost a year!! Its so frustrating. I have been trying to explain to him what I am doing and slowly it is working! He is fighting less and less each time. The crazy part is that he doesn't fight them at daycare, he just lets them change him!!

Yep...been there...do it everyday. My little one is 12 months, and he fights every diaper change, every dressing. With the diaper changes, I give him something that has been on his wall since birth...he feels like it is something special. As for the dressing him.....it is all out HELL....everytime. I don't know what to do about it.............it's like dressing a fire hose. It takes me 20-30- minutes to dress him. He likes being naked, which was fine in the summer, but not now. For the diaper change, find something the child wants...and for the dressing...good luck! If you find something that works, let me know....LOL
Mel

My son faught b/c he didn't like to get undressed (and still is very odd about taking clothes off unless he's in the bathroom or no one else is home. Just likes to wear clothes!). My son's Father has a younger child who fights diaper changes b/c he doesn't like them back on. I'm amazed sometimes how early you can see their own personalities coming out. Either way, finding what makes the child uncomfortable and using that to make them more comfortable during nap time may help. It didn't with me though. Other things I tried were giving my son a toy to play with, or a wipe to hold on to, or asking someone else to distract him. Normally there wasn't someone else around, and the other two things wouldn't last the whole diaper change. I found that if I slapped the side of my sons leg when he faught a daiper change it made him realize that no meant don't flip. I would say Lay down. If he did not I counted to three "1....2...3...Slap" After 3 times I rarely had a problem again. And when I did have a problem I normally didn't make it past one, and he was laying down still for the rest of the change. I know many people are against this completely but it worked. I never had to slap too hard, never leave a red mark, or hit directly on the bottom.

I try giving my daughter something to distract her, like a book or a toy. Sometimes singing a silly song to engage her will also work. Good luck!

Oh yes - I know what you mean. Try distraction. Sing a song while changing. Let him look at a book. Hang something over the changing area. Diversion is the best solution.

Good Luck! My daughter had the same problem, but distractions did not work at all. I started to change her standing up. I use the easy ups diapers, but you would need to check to make sure they make them in his size.

It's nice to know that others are having this same issue! I've tried distractions, changing standing, and more...even still, sometimes I'd rather wrestle an alligator than change a diaper these days. Here's what's been working for us. When she starts to turn over on the changing table, I give her three chances...in the form of "NO. Stay still please." If that doesn't work, I ask her if she wants "The Leg." :) The Leg is just me swinging my leg up over her body and placing my foot on the wall about an inch above her chest. It doesn't hurt her since I don't place my weight on her, but it makes impossible for her to turn over. She HATES it. And she knows what "the leg" is, so when I mention it, she usally calms down, stays still and waits for me to finish. Maybe a training technique like that may work for you? Good luck...

This happened with my daughter starting at around 8/9 months old. And again w/ my son around 12 mos old.

Turns out what they wanted was to be OUT of diapers (I can understand that - they're not exactly fun to wear!!!). We were willing to try some different things, including early and very gradual potty learning, and that worked out best for all of us, suprisingly. :)

Here's kind of what we did:
http://www.viviente.com/2005/10/how_to_do_parttime_pottyt...

Did I mention our approach was VERY gradual, responsive/team approach, and NOT rushing our kids in any way? They really preferred to NOT wear diapers and let us know in no uncertain terms (by screaming their heads of as if we were torturing them when we did try to diaper them). The truth is that we're going to need to teach them how to use the potty eventually, and ours were SO insistent/hating diapers, that it really was quite a pleasant experience... especially because all of the protesting and screaming over the diapers stopped. :)

Some resources that describe this better than I can:

* Early Start Potty Training (by Linda Sonna)
http://www.drsonna.org/ptresources.htm

* Diaper Free Before 3 (by pediatrician & mom, Jill M. Lekovic, M.D.) http://www.diaperfreebefore3.com/

My 9 month old does the same thing, we try to give him something to distract him (lotion bottle, socks, etc). This helps sometimes, but not every time. He is just soooo active he hates to lay down if it's not his choice! Frustrating yes...

Yeah I know exactly what you mean. DD is 14 mos and the worst was last wk she had this terrible diaper rash so on top of trying to get on a diaper I also had to put on rash cream LOL! No good advice but you're not alone in the 'battle'!!!

i have a four year old and an 18 mon they always have fought this. i lay them down and put one leg over ther top body ( arm and chest) to change there diapers. they both scream through it . i have trouble with them grabbing everything and then the first place the hand goes afterward is to there mouth....oooohhh.but this works.

M. s

L.,

Both my kids did that - try giving them a toy or something to hold their attention while you're changing their diaper and if you were watching TV/Video with them make sure that you lay them down so that they can still see the TV. Pretty much the fit is about not wanting to stop what they are doing to have you change them.

Good Luck,
Mel

My son is nearly 9 months and does the same thing. You would think I was beating him with all the crying and carrying on he does, but nope, he just hates to have his diaper changed.

Several people suggested that I change his diaper while he is standing. While that is a fine idea, my son barely 'stands' on his own right now. At 13 months though, maybe it could be easier? Anything's worth a shot!

My 15 month old does the same thing. He's not as bad as he used to be but sometimes omg. I tried distracting him with a toy or light but what I find works the best when it's just me and him is to sing him a lullaby and smile real big. For some reason he also likes it when I tickle his face with my hair when it's wet.(Maybe that's just him.) The singing thing really worked though. He doesn't go to sleep he just watchs my expressions and listens. They just don't want to lay still too long, they're afraid they might miss something. Good luck.

My daughter did that for a few months too. If my husband was home he would hold her down while I changed her. She eventually grew out of it, she's 20 months now. So there's still hope! lol!

S.

My son and daughters do and did that. I let them take the diaper to the trash with out one on and then made a game out of them getting back to me to put the new one on. They thought it was fun and I got there diapers on without much of a fight.

My daughter (also 13 months) does the same thing. As soon as I pull the tabs and start to remove the diaper, game on. As I'm getting the wipes, she's arching her back, trying to twist herself over onto her belly, and yelling about it to boot. Good times. I suppose I wouldn't want to be pinned down like that six times a day either. We have a wipe warmer so it isn't an issue of cold wipes. Just a normal, willful toddler. Pee diapers aren't as bad since they don't involve as much time, but for the others.. I guess I'm asking too much "still" time of her :)

I feel your pain. My 12 month old is the same way, only he doesn't want his diaper changed at all. It's so frustrating. We've got to where we sit straight legged on the floor and put his arms under our legs(very lightly)-just enough to hold him down. That seems to work...keeps our hands free for wiping and keeps him from flipping over and getting poo every where. Good luck.

My son went through a phase like that. Its a real struggle to get a diaper on them. Sometimes I would give in and just let him run around with out one on for a bit or just no pants (getting the diaper on was hard enough, let alone getting his pants back on). Sometime it helped if you talked to him and played a game with him while I was changing his diaper like giving him a blanket and playing "where's the baby?". Also, giving him a favorite toy or something helped on occasion. The one "move" my sister's friend taught me was to change them on the floor, place your one leg across their belly, that way you have both hands free to change the diaper as quick as possible. Good Luck, eventually your son will get to a point if you ask if he needs changed he will get you the diaper and lay down on the floor for you with out you telling him.