Need Tips for Baby Boy's Diaper Changes

Cut up a cloth diaper and use that for a while, or some cheap wash cloths. As a mother of three boys, I can tell you that this reflex will not last long. Hang in there and in a couple of months, it shouldn't be a problem.

Great advice from everyone EXCEPT don't think that it will necessarily stop completely until they are potty trained. My grandson just recently did a mid-diaper change fountain and he's almost 2!! I guess he wanted to remind me never to let my guard down!! LOL!

It's the cool air hitting him that causes the peeing. It's just one of the more comical things to cope with when you have a boy!!

Enjoy every minute!

Ah yes, the joys of our baby boys... my son did the same thing, and it was my dad (not my husband LOL) that gave me the scoop. It's the sensation of the cold air on his privates that's causing the sudden burst of urine, so here's what I was taught... when you get ready to change him, open the diaper just enough to let the air come in, and just hold it open for a second. This way if he does pee, it will be caught in the diaper, then you can go on with changing him. It worked with my son who was a miniature fountain when he was born.

Hope this helps!

Hi S.,

As the mom of two boys, I am laughing as I write this. Unfortunately, this is just something that you will have to deal with for a little while. For some reason, boys like to pee when they are exposed to air - especially during a diaper change. I used to have a new diaper ready and waiting to cover the area as I removed the old diaper. If the new diaper gets soaked, just toss it and get a third one - chances are he won't pee back to back. If you are concerned about the waste, you can always use a cloth diaper for the transition and do a little extra laundry. The good news is that he should outgrow this in a couple of weeks.

Good luck!

What I used to do when I was changing my son was to undo the velcro and lift the front ever so slightly, so that he felt the outside air... then cover it back up. The colder air seemed to trigger something that made him want to pee. I could then slowly open it to see if he was going or not and proceed. I also always had the next diaper right there ready to go on so that it was fast. As he gets older this will stop happening as often too. Our son has gone and actually hit himself in the face with the potty! Don't worry, it will get easier to change him once he has a little bit more control and gets used to things more.

The newborn boy peeing while changing the diaper will probably cease pretty quickly. My first two children are boys and they really only did this for the first week or two. I promise it won't keep happening for very long!

I think you might just have to wait this one out and keep towels nearby in the meantime. He's just a week old. He'll probably grow out of it in the next few months. My son peed a lot at first too, but he's 10 months now and rarely pees during diaper changes anymore. Of course, the baby has no control over his bladder emptying at this point. It might be the change in temperature between the warm diaper and cold air that triggers it, but that's just a guess. Good luck and hang in there!

I'm sorry to say but kids just do that at that age. The only suggestion I have (other than the ones everyone else has suggested) is to maybe not change him until right before its time for him to eat. Therefore there's less in his system to pee out onto you! I do this with my 1 year old son, but at 1 week, babies have no idea what's going on since their world has just changed dramatically!

Good luck

The best advice I can give is to dodge, or use a towel as you have already mentioned. My son did the same thing, and what I have heard from other mothers with sons, this is just something boys do. It is like the cold air hits them, and an automatic reaction occurs. My son used to laugh when he peed after taking his diaper off. lol

M. *~

It happened to me too--A LOT!--and seemed to go on for months with my son. But I did develop a simple solution that was perfect for us. First of all, I had an absorbent waterproof pad for the changing table. Also, I nursed and had a supply of disposable nursing pads (I think by Johnson and Johnson). I kept a little stack of those on the changing table, and as soon as the diaper came off, I put one of the little round nursing pads right on the spot.

If he peed during the change, the nursing pad would catch and absorb some of it and redirect the rest down to the absorbent pad. Then I could just remove those and finish with the change. If he didn't pee, then I got to save them for next time. It worked so well for me that I kept a few of the nursing pads in my diaper bag for changes on the go.
Best wishes and congratulations on your new baby!

My husband and I would put the new diaper down and lay our boy on top of it before unfastening the current one. Then we would unfasten it, lift the front a little and then leave it down a little longer. Then when we thought he might be done we lifted his bottom up, took the old one off and wrapped the front of the new one over as fast as we could so that if he started again it would be in the new diaper. It's hard but eventually you get it all figured out.

There is a simple answer. There is no way to stop him from peeing. He is a week old. The best way to try is to make sure the room he is in when you change him is warm and not cold, no direct air from the A/C or fans. They begin to out grow this and it will be a short lived, inconvenience. Congratulations on your little Bunchkin!

It's that rush of cold air when you take the warm diaper off that causes them to pee. Give your little guy a break, though. One week is not very much time to adjust to the outside world from your warm, dark uterus. Try reading "The Happiest Baby on the Block" by Harvey Karp. It talks about the 'Fourth Trimester'. It is not a big book, and it is easy to read.

I have two boys, my youngest is 15 months old and in that time he's peed only twice when changing his diaper. I have everything ready, wipes out, clean diaper open and ready to go. I slowly open the soiled diaper (to make sure he's not in mid-pee) and then I go quickly, never letting go of his legs (that's the key). I think once you let go, they relax and pee. I don't close the soiled diaper until the clean one is one (I always make sure I have a place to put it away from his reach). Good luck.

Other than being really fast and keeping it covered there really isn't sanything you can do. With my first a boy now 28 I was going to use cloth diapers but he would pee again before I could even get the pins in so I gave that up.

I'm sure you have a million responses but it was so funny I had to respond too! I always would open the new diaper first and move it into position before pulling the old diaper off - then you quickly sweep it under the bottom and you're good. You have to be quick with the diaper wipes but it gets easier! Congratulations on your new baby - you are in for some terrific times.

Dear S.,
Congratulations on your baby boy!
Oh....the joys of having a little son. Their winkies tend to take on lives of their own.
I will never forget the first time I begged to change my new nephew. I was happy and conversing and reaching for the baby powder when I felt something wet on my head.
Let's just call it a blonde moment....But I looked up at the ceiling and said, "Hey, Mom...I think your roof is leaking."
I thought she was going to have a stroke laughing so hard.
It was pee.
So, when I had my own son, I was a little more prepared for such things.
I honestly don't think there is a single thing you can do to prevent your baby from peeing during a diaper change. All you can do is be "armed" with a way to keep it from going all over the room. I think that when a warm wet diaper comes off and the air hits, it triggers a pee response.
You can try undoing the diaper and then quickly folding the top back down and holding it to catch the stream. Or, do what you are doing and use a towel. I know it makes for extra laundry for now, when you least want it, but it does get better.
Take care and just enjoy your new baby.

As a mother of a now 18 month old son, the best advice I can give is to be patient : ) I promise the peeing during diaper changes does nearly come to a halt. I clearly remember those days when nearly every diaper change I was keeping a close eye for the pee shower : ) I can't even remember the last time the pee shower happened during a diaper change. I believe it slowed after the first 2-3 months. Granted, it still happens when we are standing at the tub waiting for the bath water to fill, yet oh well. When the warm air hits, the pee shower sometimes begins : ) It's all part of the territory in having a son. Our best story: When my husband was changing him during the first 2 weeks, he was so close that the pee shower landed in his mouth, yep, mouth! All I can say is my husband went running and the pee shower continued all over on the bed next to me...it's a story we never forget : ) and well, it's only laundry. Just be patient and the pee showers will decrease. Enjoy your son.

Hi S.,

Congratulations on your new baby boy! Unfortunately there isn't a way to stop a 1 wk old from peeing while you are diapering. But you may just have to stick a wipe on top of him or washcloth and then fasten the diaper quick~ Its a good thing though- he's getting enough to eat!

Molly

I have two twin boys both 3 months old now. When we first brought them home they would also pee every time we removed their diapers. My husband and I did the following - 1) After undoing the fastners for the diaper and exposing the front of our boys we then put the diaper back over them, with out fastening it, and let it sit for a few moments. The cold air and release of the pressure from the diaper was what was causing them to pee, so we'd just let the diaper soak it back up. 2) We warmed up their room so the air wasn't so cold. They both stopped peeing so much once the diaper was off and now it rarely happens. Good luck.

i think this happens to all boys! lol. what we did was put the clean diaper under him before taking off the dirty diaper (that way his pee pee does get on the changing table) and as son as we open the diaper, we put a wipe over his little ding ding. that way if he does pee, we can just throw away the wipe and the clean diaper catches the pee. hope this helps!

i have a totally different idea for you... check out the books on Diaper-Free Baby. they talk about Elimination Communication [EC] and helping your baby to use the toilet rather than a diaper. The theory in Ingrid Bauer's book is that babies don't want to eliminate on themselves, which is why they will pee when you take the diaper off. we actually train them to go to the bathroom in their diapers, which is why conventional potty training can be so difficult. basically, our society diaper trains our babies and then we have to UNteach what we've taught them.

it sounds outrageous when you first hear about it, but we're doing with with our son and it works. we started EC when he was 5 weeks old and he's not 11 months and doing great with EC. once, we went more than 6 weeks without a poopy diaper!!!