1 year old deplores nappy change and I don't know how to make it better!

[crazycanuck]

Has anyone's lo ever hated nappy changing so much that anyone within earshot would think you were torturing the wee soul? my 1 yr old ds is such a nightmare to change 90% of the time, we have to change him standing up and moving around and he often screams and cries in such a heartrending manner that I am near the verge of tears myself! distraction rarely works anymore, and it's such a mission that it takes longer than it usually would and he's more upset by that as well. all I can hope for I guess is that maybe he'll toilet train sooner than later...

When ds went like this at about 15mths I started to buy pull ups. He would stand still long enough for them and his trousers to be pulled up..lol

A friend of mine took to changing her ds in the kitchen, standing up on the narrowest work surface she had - he didn't have the room to move around that he would have had on the floor, so kept still. She also changed to the easy-up style of nappies so that she didn't have to lie him down to get a standard nappy on.

I gave mine a piece of chocolate, if she didn't fancy a nappy change, if you want the slovenly mother way to do it (70% of course, I'm not that bad!)

My ds is 14mths and very much the same. Nappy changing turns into a wrestling match with both of us becoming tearful and exhausted! All i do is now is when we are at home, I tend to leave him without a nappy. He's happy. Admittedly I do have to mop up a few leaks but generally ok. When we go out I just have to try and boost his nappy up so that unless he does a #2 he won't need changing.

Like you I hope he toilet trains sooner rather than later!

crazycanuck, must admit I do the same as wobblyknicks and ask him if he wants a sweetie. When he says yes, I tell him to sit nicely. I then change his nappy with no probs, and by the time I've finished he's normally forgotten about the sweetie!!

Admittedly probably not the best parenting method, but it works for us!!

I work to the old mumsnet battle cry of "Choose your battles!!" and the nappy changing one, is a battle I'm not going to win!!

Like Rosycheek here I tend to let DD without a nappy on when at home (doing some early potty training too). She's nearly 13 months and hates, hates, hates nappy changing. If she has cloth nappies on she can take them off easily now, the disposable ones are more difficult to take off. No tips to offer, I'm afarid, apart from letting him be without nappies if you can.

Same here with my one year old. She moans and writhes around screeching as if your inflicting dreadful pain! I'm afraid I've resorted to pinning her down to do it, but she hates it. As soon as the nappy is on she is perfectly happy again. Think she doesn't like being on her back.

Oh this takes me back... ds started really playing up around nappy changes at that age. No idea what the problem was but he hated it. Didn't find a magic technique to sort it out, just used to manhandle him while trying every distraction trick I could think of.

Unfortunately he didn't potty train early - is still insisting on nappies aged 2y 8mo. Am leaving it a while before I try again!

we invent games to get her to lie still! the latest is asking her to put her knees on her nose or can she get her foot in her mouth! she is 2 though so can understand what im asking her but i used to have to distract her with watches, mobile phones, pots of sudocream - goes everywhere but gives you a few minutes and have also perfected standing up nappy changes

I thought i was the only one who had problems when it came to nappy time, when i have family round they all get stuck in to help with ds nappy. when its just me and him i try to distract him by giving him sumat to play with, if that fails then i put something in my mouth and he tries to grab it and voila nappy changed.works sometimes.

I am just mean and ignore the screams!!

I tend to hold him firmly (not roughly) down and say. "I have got all day sweetie (I havent of course), but if you keep still it'll be over quicker"

We do him on a change table still mind, and I think he is nervous of rolling off, cos he is DEF worse out and about, and like 123, I then pull friends and family in to assist!!

don't know if this is too early to try but my ds2 got like this and in the end i would say in a positive voice 'nappy change!' then ask him what he could do to help, he gradually would get the changing mat out, find a nappy, lie down and hold the wipes while i told him what a star he is and thank him for getting everything ready. the key was getting him involved and that has helped in other ways as he's got older.

Am I the only one who has learnt to change a nappy while ds is running around?

I rarely hold him down I just stand him up and give him the wipes to pass to me which he sometimesloves doing. I do have to be quite quick though and sometimes I'm chasing him around trying to make sure the nappy is straight and on properly .

He does cry sometimed even if we are doing it standing up but if I turn it into a bit of chasing game that sometimes helps a bit. He has also got better in the last few months (16 months old now) so maybe that will happen with yours too.

Now he will sometimes lie down for me but if I try and get him to lie down and he won't I just do the chasing thing. I just can't stand the fighting. We have to do that to get him in the car seat and to brush his teeth so I try and reduce the occasions where I use force on him.

someone already has, but i was gunna suggest pull ups if you can get size?

i do the same as nulnulcat with my 11 month old ds and give him things to play with that he's normally not 'allowed' to like a glasses case, sudocream etc. I also put cbeebies on as this can distract him long enough to quickly get a nappy on.

To be honest though, I'm nearly 37 weeks pg and am finding it harder and harder to change his nappy, especially when he kicks his legs so close to my bump! It'll be a doddle changing a newborn's nappy again :)