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ACTIVITY => Activity Time & Toddler Activity => Topic started by: annacharlot'smom on December 13, 2005, 02:11:38 am
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Hi!
This is probably just about the silliest post anyone could think of, but I thought it was worth a shot to see if any of you had any suggestions!
My (spirited!) daughter will be a year on Thursday and has been a NIGHTMARE to change (diaper or clothing) since about nine months. (It is SO much fun when there is more than pee in there!!!) We've tried giving her fun things to play with while changing her, singing songs, my husband holding her while I quickly try to get the job done, etc. We try to stay calm, but it is getting so frustrating. I know this all sounds silly, but she always ends up crying and we end up annoyed because it always takes a "fight" and an extra long time to change her.
Is this just a phase, or should I figure out a way to change her poopy butt while she's standing?!!!! (YIKES!!!)
Any suggestions for my ridiculous post are greatly appreciated!
Thanks!
Jill
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Urgh... Sorry I can't help you Jill but I'm right there with you!!! I hope some of the other more experienced mummies have some good tips...
Sharon
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Oh and it's SO NOT a ridiculous post!!! :D
Sharon
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My dd does this too. Sometimes I can handle it and other times I can't. Yesterday I was at the end of my rope and ended up having to put dd's nappy on back to front because she wouldn't sit still. I had to put the change table away as it was getting too dangerous and now my knees are stuffed from kneeling down all the time to change her on the floor. She's one tomorrow and has been doing this since about 7 months. She has also started to put her hand down there so I have to be quick to wipe up any poop within her hand's reach. If someone else changes her she's fine! As soon as she's walking I'm going to start toilet training her!!!
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same for us, we posted about this sometime ago, nothing has improved, only got worse - sorry, all she wants to do is wipe herself, it is a nightmare, i also need to train her, any encouragment would be appreciated, help us please
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Yes, it's definitely a phase and it changes over time. I stopped using the change table for one. Also, I'd just go as fast as I could. Distraction really was the only thing that worked - it needed to be something completely "no-no" or not a usual toy. When they get a bit older, you could show her a book while she's lying down and ask her to find a dog or whatever (I do remember onc incident when he was 12-18mths old and it seriously took me 10mins of wrestling and kicking to get it on, just go fast and get the job done). Then when he got to about 18mths I would ask him to pick a toy to bring with him offered by form of a choice - do you want to bring the dog or the horse (chunky plastic toy animals)? That tactic worked for quite a while - he got distracted by picking the toy and complied.
HTH and Good luck. :)
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Ladies,
My DD is like yours.... or even worse.... she will always try to turn, crawl, reach things or plainly not colaborate when it comes to changing her..
I stopped using a changer about 2 months ago when it literally collapsed in front of me (with DD on top!) It caused her a small skull fracture, and although DH wanted to buy a new one, I was so scared that I decided to unfold a sofa-bed that we have on her room and change her there.
In this way, I can sit at her level and I can use more parts of my body to 'control' her (my legs) and of course, I have a section there with her stuff (a nappy for her to hold, an empty and clean tube of cream, an empty bag of wet wipes) and LOADS of toys. Sometimes, when things get a bit complicated, I give her the basket of socks, which will give me about 10 seconds of not turning :wink:
Good Luck
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Tyler has gone through phases of this too since about 9 mo. That's when we stopped using the changing table and started changing him on the floor. We really pulled out all the stops with distraction...no no toys, silly songs (I'm talking ridiculously silly), etc. When that didn't work, we just held him down and moved fast. I think it's important to follow through. If you say you're going to change her, finish the job right then no matter how much she protests. She's old enough to figure out that if she throws a fit and you back off, that's how she can get her way and it will only get worse. Make sure that you don't "ambush" her, too. Tell her "after we do x, we're changing your diaper" and try not to interrupt her if she's in the middle of doing something. I don't recommend changing her standing up...it won't take her long to figure out that she can run away!
When Tyler fights me, I sit to one side and GENTLY lay one leg over his chest to keep him from rolling. When he learned to kick too, I'd gently lay the other leg over his ankles so my legs are in a V. When I need to lift his bum, I grab his ankles and move my leg. I cheerfully sing a silly song the whole time, and that really helps keep me from getting frustrated and sometimes distracts him too. And when he does cooperate, I praise praise praise! Hang in there!
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WOW!!!!
Thanks so much for your replies! I had no idea so many of you were in the same boat! Thanks for the suggetions. I wil try some of them when she wakes up from her nap...although...she always seems fine then. It seems, when she is tired, she flips and squirms worse!
Thanks again!
Jill
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Hi Jill just about started typing this same post. I agree on the tired part makingit worse. I was nearly in tears yesterday as it took 15 mins to change nappy :evil: She flips kicks pull herself all over the mat and I honestly am not half as strong as her. At bedtime when she is extra miserable we used to have Dh sing and distract her now nothing works short of pinning her down which i feel terrible to do. They are such fiercly independant little monsters arent they, You are not alone in this quest! :wink:
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So right there with you. I've given up on the changing table as DS will wriggle so much he bonks his head. So now I have him crawling away from me on the bed. Last night it took 15 minutes to get his diaper and jammies on. I seriously thought I was going to scream. For some reason I didn't think I'd have to start wrestling with him until he was closer to a year old. HAH! wishful thinking.
So apparently, I need to get used to chasing him around and start reconsidering early potty training. :) :) Isn't it grand?
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i was literally about to type this post when i saw this thread. ds (8.5mos) is just wild on the changing table, and i don't want to struggle with him.
what we have been doing is just letting him turn over if he wants, waiting for a few minutes, and then trying again, but he just protests more. then we give him special toys to hold in his hand, but only when he stays on his back - if he turns over, we take it away and only give it back when we flip him over again. holding the diaper while i changed him also worked for a while.
but all of this isn't working anymore. i'm afraid to stop using the change table because we usually just let him run wild on the floor and don't want to send him the 'time to play' message.
watching this thread!
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as nothing was working for us i went on a hunt to find something to give dd to hold and play with whilst changing and i hit bingo :D , not sure it i am happy with her having this toy - but anyway we use it and i try not to think about it, friend gave it to her, it is a vidoenow jr. by playskool, we have been using it successfully for just over a week, i take it out as well, we use it strickly for nappy change time, and we take it away when we are finished, not sure how long it will last for it is without a doubt the most valued peice of equipment i have in the house at the moment :D :D :D
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This is a great post!!! I was feeling the same way and thinking, should it be this hard now to change/dress my ds when it used to be easy? I have started potty training him with great success! He is comfortable sitting on his own toilet and doing his business....both of them!!!! I think I was more excited than he was! There is a book called Diaper Free that I've started to read and found it helpful as a guide.
We do change on the floor but still use the change table, which I do a few "peek-a-boos" before we get started and that seems to calm him down. I give him his toothbrush and things that he normally doesn't play with and that works great!!!
Good luck to you all! :)
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I too was about to post a question about this! Elise has started crying when I put her on the changing table. She's always loved it in the past!! I don't know what heppened! :shock:
I guess I'll just try distracting her more with a special toy & see if that helps!
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We're going through the same thing with Beatrice. I find that I can just about wipe her but keeping her still to put her nappy on is impossible.
So, I open the nappy up on my lap, then sit her on it. I hold her against me with one arm going over her shoulder and against her chest so she can't struggle so mucy (though boy oh boy does she try). Using the arm that's over the front I hold the front of the nappy against her tummy then use the free hand to open the tab and stick it down. Then change arms/hands.
I hope that makes some sense. It's a bit cumbersome but it does work!
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Sheri,
i am with you on the toilet training front! my ds sits over the toilet with support and knows that that is where we poo (not that he waits to be on the toilet to poo, we largely rely on catching him at the right time, 1st thing in morning, after meals)
it doesn't save changing but does mean a lot less poo to wipe when we catch one happening!
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Just to update you, AK' new tirck at the changing table is to unrip her nappies.... so now DH and I are like circus clowns when changing time comes: she unrips one side of the nappy, we stick it back, in the meantime she unrips the other side, we stick it back as so on, and so on, and so on :roll:
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Just a suggestion for those who haven't tried it yet: I give Aaron a board book to read while I'm changing him, and it helps a lot. There's still some wrestling and squirming, and he tries to pull his diapers off (thank goodness for cloth diapers--no velcro!) but giving him a book has made it much easier to get a new diaper on. He loves looking at the pictures, and I usually give him one with animals in it and then I make animals noises as I'm changing him. I'm sure I look and sound ridiculous, but it keeps him entertained.
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What great suggestions. After getting concerned about using the change table that DS might fall off we started changing him on the floor. Well, that's when the fun began and he started crawling away. I've actually gone back to using the table and usijng the straps to help keep him safe. He seems to behave better on the table and knows he's there to be changed, surprisingly he lies still for the first few moments! I think I'll try the book idea tomorrow.
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Thanks heavens for this post. I thought I was going mad.
Nappy changing is a NIGHTMARE and has been for a couple of months. Nothing seems to have worked for more than a day or so, so I'm going to have a red hot go at the leg on her chest thing.
Good luck to you all, and wish me luck too!
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Well don't know if it will help anyone but I've moved to pull-ups for the sake of expediency! :lol: I'm finding she's much better if she can stand up while I do it. :D
Sharon
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I also thought it was just Timna that was over-active at changing time.
It just happened all of a sudden at about 10.5 months old. She felt that lying down while having her nappy changed was a big waste of time and since that time I have been playing games with her to try and get her to lie down so that at least I can wipe off her bottom.
I identify so much with what people have written in this forum. I try and play games, sing songs she loves, give her toys to play with, books to look through...anything. But, sometimes I have no choice but to keep her down until I wipe her off and put the nappy/diaper on. She cries and I feel bad but I know that it only lasts 1/2 a minute - 1 minute and she will be all smiles once its done.
C'est la vie,
Rochelle
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DH uses distraction too (Bohemian Rhapsody without the head banging :lol: ). Personally, I take advantage of the changing table being by a window. I stand DS up and he looks out of the window or plays with the small items left on the window sill. You can't exactly see what you're doing, but if the wipe comes back clean, that's good enough for me !
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we gave up changing DS lying down altogether ....
we use pull-up nappy. we now change him in the bathroom !! yes, bathroom ..... i let him stand next to the bath tub, which he loves, then change him standing up. in case his bottom is very dirty, i just pop him in the bath and wash his bottom !! :wink: