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I have a young boy 12 months old and ever since he has been able to move (wiggle, crawl, walk) he has never liked having his nappy changed. He fights and pulls away, arches his back, cries and screams. Once we have finished nappy changing and dressing him is is a box of birds and happy as can be.

Currently it's taking two of us, with one of us trying to distract him by giving toys, singing and doing anything to keep him on his back. But even then sometimes that doesn't work.

We have always changed him on the floor as that's been the easiest for us to manage and we don't have any appropriate change table or even anywhere up high to do it on.

Is this something I should be worried about? Is there anything I could do to make the process easier or even to help him enjoy this a bit more. I've seen other babies just lie there and accept being changed almost without a sound out of em.

He's a great wee boy but change time can be really taxing and quite stressful at times.

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+1: We're suffering from this with a 3 week old, and every midwife/family elder just sort of nods, so it appears to be a common issue. – deworde May 28 '12 at 7:39
Our little boy is 2½ and he's hated it from birth. At least now you can reason with/bribe him – Urbycoz May 28 '12 at 8:38
Is there a particular part of it he doesn't like? I'm wondering if he'd like some no-nappy time in between? – noelicus May 29 '12 at 20:06
@noelicus It seems to mainly any time he has to lie on his back, whether it be the changing, wiping or putting his clothes on. When he's active and moving he is happy. – dreza May 29 '12 at 20:08

2 Answers

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Try nappy pants. Its not as taxing and my kids seem to less resistant to it. Also you can involve them with saying "first leg in... second leg in.." and let them do it themselves with your help.

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thanks for that. We would still have to lie them down for wiping which he fights and fights. However might be better than nothing... – dreza May 28 '12 at 8:07
Our friends have been using these since their little boy was a baby, and have found them great. I always thought they were for potty-training, and had my doubts about how to take them off when full of poo. But turns out they work well as normal nappies, and can be ripped off easily. – Urbycoz May 29 '12 at 7:38
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Not many people realise this, but 1 year is old enough to introduce a potty. He may welcome the distraction if he likes books or something similar where he doesn't have to move. It can actually be a really nice bonding time where he knows he gets your attention sitting there (doesn't matter if he doesn't do anything). The time to put him on would be after cleanup and when you/he have had enough put the new nappy on. This would make the process quite different, but only try it if you think he'll really enjoy it (the activity you do whilst he's on there) - we don't want to make sitting on the potty traumatic for him in any way!!

Edit: if it's the lying down he doesn't like then try and make it a fun and amusing active time. Play peek-a-boo and put the (clean) nappy on your head whilst you "look for it" etc. Lift his legs up and arms up looking for the nappy. This is also something you could do whilst he's on a potty if you're up for that!

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