[blparent] changing dirty diapers

Tue Jan 5 06:10:58 UTC 2016

Hi Niko,
Though I don't have a baby girl, my experiences with our little boy may prove useful.

First, your baby can help you. Russell learned to lay with his legs lifted so that I would have both hands to use very quickly. In the beginning, I would hold both of his ankles in one hand and raise his legs, saying "feet up" in an ascending, cheerful tone. After a very short time, he would raise his own legs for me, when I said this, and hold them there. I would, and still do, prop them with a convenient wrist as changing conditions allow, to give the poor guy a break, thogh he can hold his legs up a whole lot longer than I can (smile).

Okay, so, now my attempt at describing how I handle the dreaded "poopy diaper."

We use a changing table which is at a height that allows for comfortable changing while standing. I place Russell on his back with his head on my left (I'm right handed). I have a fresh diaper, and wipes located within easy reach of my right hand. BTW, my wife found disposable changing table covers which come 20 to a package. They are waterproof, plasticized on one side and soft on the other, slightly spongy or padded feeling. I use these when the diaper is soiled, to keep from getting feces on the changing table cover, should the mess be less than solid and well packed (yes, you will have the occasional "pebble" or two, or three try to get away from you as you clean things up). Lay the pad down before you place the baby on the changing table and, when you're done, you can throw the soiled pad away along with the soiled diaper, if any unfortunate poop pebbles stray off of the diaper being changed.

Okay, with your baby now on the pad and bottom clothing or onesie (your screen reader probably did not pronounce that well, I mean "one zee")removed to make the diaper accessible:

  1.. With your baby’s legs down and spread sufficiently so that the diaper is not difficult to manage due to being held by your baby’s thighs, unfasten the diaper tabs. 
  2.. Lift the front of the diaper away from your baby’s tummy and carefully fold the diaper open keeping your baby’s legs spread far enough apart that her feet don’t end up in the mess (saying  something like “okay, work with me here, I really need your help so we can change you” seems helpful (Russell didn’t have a clue what I was saying to him, at first, but it made me feel better). 
  3.. Raise her legs care-ful-ly, you can probably hold both of her ankles gently in the hand which is closest to her head and raise them, keeping your other hand free to work, (this is when you start using whatever request/command you plan to teach your baby so that she will learn to raise her legs for you), Russell truly did learn “feet up!” within the first week or so after I began using it and began raising his legs for me  at only a few months old). 
  4.. Holding your baby’s legs up as I have described makes her bottom very easy to wipe with the other hand, but, before starting this task, take your first wipe, lay it flat in your hand and carefully push/roll the poop away from your baby’s bottom into the wide, triangular front part of the diaper. This should already be spread out and waiting to hold the poop. This may take more than one wipe, but is very doable with a couple, or three on a bad day. This will let you move the poop out of your way, so that you, hopefully, won’t squish the back of your fingers or hand into it as you clean your baby up. Finish this task by covering the pile with the last wipe you use laid clean side (the side against your hand) facing up, so that you’ve covered the poop. 
  5.. When you have moved the poop away from your baby’s bottom, you might sometimes want to slide the diaper “down” slightly, so that you have moved the poop farther from her bottom, but are still leaving diaper under her, in effect, you have slid more of the diaper down her back side, placing a less soiled section under her bottom, where you are working. 
  6.. Get a fresh wipe and begin cleaning, wiping from her genitals back towards her anus, as you have already mentioned.
  cleaning her is a lot like cleaning yourself. Use your sense of touch, you can feel a lot through the baby wipe.
  Clean her in an systematic way, don’t be afraid to touch her with your bare fingers after a thorough wiping of an area, if you find she’s still soiled, clean your fingers first with a fresh baby wipe, discard that wipe and clean the still soiled area again with another wipe. You will learn to feel when her skin is clean and to do a thorough job. 
  7.. Work your way from “front to back” instead of wiping haphazardly, this will let you be much more certain that you’ve cleaned everywhere. 
  8.. Use your nose, you may feel silly, but since you’ve pushed the pile of poop onto the other part of the diaper, you will be able to tell if the area you’re cleaning is still soiled. As you get it clean, you will only smell baby wipe scent coming from that direction (no, you don’t have to get your nose right down into your work, you really can learn a lot by leaning in a little and paying close attention). 
  9.. When you are pretty certain you’ve gotten the job well done, feel. This is not the time to be shy or squeamish, your baby will not thank you for missing something because you don’t want to touch poop with your fingers. As she learns to hold her legs up, you’ll have two hands to work with, so you can do a final check with the one whose wrist still might be supporting her legs behind her knees while the other, freer hand has the final baby wipe ready to pick up any final bits and/or do a last pass just to be sure. 
  10.. Holding her ankles in your hand (don’t squeeze so hard you crush her ankles painfully, just wrap your thumb and fingers around them firmly, but gently) and lift her bottom off of the soiled diaper. Carefully slide the soiled diaper out from under her bottom. 
  11.. You can lower her back onto the changing table and let her legs go for a moment, a break for both of you, if you need it. 
  12.. You can make a “package” of the poopy diaper by folding the diaper so that the poop is totally held inside the diaper and the tabs are used to hold it closed in a kind of triangular shape, like a turnover, or empanada (my apologies, but this is the best description I can think of at the moment). 
  13.. Lift her bottom and slide a fresh diaper under her, be sure to open the diaper so that it is not bunched or folded under her but do not pull the sticky tabs open yet. 
  14.. Slide the diaper up behind her until the tabs are about even with a line drawn across her belly button, making sure that the diaper is centered , so that she will have an even amount on both sides (it will be uncomfortable if the diaper is too far to either side, and will be much more difficult for you to secure). Also, it is more likely to leak if it is not centered and covering her properly. 
  15.. Fold the front part of the diaper up so that the large triangular section is now in front of her, the portion that is somewhat thinner passes between her legs (but is not so bunched that it won’t spread across her bottom, so keep her legs a little apart as you bring the front up)and, of course, the large triangular section which includes the fastener tabs is spread out behind her lower back and butt. 
  16.. Be sure the diaper is properly spread out in front. 
  17.. Fold the very top edge of the front section inwards to help stop urine from finding its way out if she gets very wet (don’t fold too much in, just a fingers width, or less). 
  18.. Be sure the fastening tapes (I don’t know the official term) on both sides at the top of the front part of the diaper are laying fully extended against her sides, so that the diaper is as evenly opened as possible. 
  19.. Open the first of the two sticky tabs and bring it around to the front, stretching it towards the center of her body, as if you are trying to stick it to her belly button. Be sure that the edge of the back part of the diaper, which you are bringing around to the front is laying parallel to the corresponding edge of the front of the diaper, with the fastening tape still fully extended and laying, uncrumpled against her side. 
  20.. Press the tab down onto the front of her diaper and it will adhere. 
  21.. Repeat this process with the other fastening tape, front part of the diaper and sticky tab/back part of the diaper.
  You will be putting some tension on the diaper as you fasten the tabs, otherwise the diaper would just fall off, but don’t stretch things so tight your baby is uncomfortable.
  The sticky tabs should end up being placed atop, or close to your baby’s belly button, depending on the brand of diaper you purchase and your baby’s size and how the diaper fits her. As she grows through the various diaper sizes, you will find that the tabs will be stuck one atop the other, over her navel when she first moves to a new diaper size and has lots of room to spare, and then, just before she moves up in diaper size, the tabs may be not quite atop each other, and be fastened on either side of her navel; you’ll understand what I mean as you diaper her and see how the diaper closes and fastens. 
  22.. Finally, do a last check before dressing your baby. Be sure that everything is covered, in front and behind. You may have to spread her diaper out so that there are no unfortunate leaks later (yes, they can, um, ride up on her too).

Okay, you’ve done it. You’ll get good at it and your baby will be clean, comfortable and rash free. You won’t go through a whole box of wipes to do this, but, like me, you will probably use more than a sighted parent, just being thorough, then being sure you’ve been thorough. My wife can do this job using three or four wipes because she can visually spot anything which needs to be cleaned up. I use four to six wipes, or so, because I’ve over cleaned, sometimes have to clean a soiled finger which had been used for a final check and then cleaned the area which needed more attention with a fresh wipe, etc.

I know this has been a, perhaps painfully, long post and, as a newcomer to the list, I hope it has not exceeded the acceptable content or size. I have been doing this for some three years now (with potty training and an end to diapering coming into sight). The process gets quicker as you  and your baby get the hang of it though the messes become bigger and less pleasant as new foods and larger portions are introduced. Russell and I have gotten pretty good at this and I’ve kept him clean, rash free and successfully diapered using the steps above, with variations depending on his output.

I hope this helps you devise a good system for you and your daughter.

Sincerely,

Ron Miller
N6MSA
Tarpon Springs, FL
-----Original Message----- 
From: Niko Carpenter via BlParent 
Sent: Wednesday, December 23, 2015 2:02 AM 
To: blparent at nfbnet.org 
Cc: nik62591 at gmail.com 
Subject: [blparent] changing dirty diapers 

Hi everyone,

Do any of you have any suggestions on how to change soiled diapers and make sure that your baby is sufficiently clean? Changing wet diapers is not an issue and something I do regularly, but I am nervous to do the same thing when my baby soiled her diaper, because I am not sure how to be certain that she is clean especially without using a whole box of wipes. I have a girl so of course I am aware that you should wipe from front to back in order to prevent infection, but babies don't always leave their mess in one tidy place ready for you to just wipe it away.

Any tips or resources would be greatly appreciated.

Niko Carpenter
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