How the hell do I change my 8 month old's nappy?

[Kalypso]

DS doesn't want to let me (or anybody else) change his nappy. The moment I lay him on his back, he flips himself over and tries to crawl away. He always resists if I try to stop him, and cries when I turn him on his back again (before beginning trying to escape again). The whole thing has become stressful for both of us.

Often he wriggles away before I'm able to wipe his bum. He then plonks himself down somewhere, leaving a lovely brown arse-print for me to clean up.

I've tried giving him toys and crinkly paper to hold. I've tried singing to him, which works at first, but not for the whole nappy change. I've tried saying 'no' in various ways. I've tried putting a firm hand on his tummy. I've even tried changing him in the bath (in the hope he will realise there's no point trying to crawl away). It doesn't work.

Nappy changes when we're out and about are a nightmare.

Help?

With dd1 I follwed her around changing her bit by bit. Not really sustainable with ds2,3 and 4 I lie them down, place one of my legs over his middle to trap him, and get on with it swiftly.

You're the boss.

This is difficult. My dd crawls away so I just wipe up as fast as poss & put on a nappy as quick as I can - but with loads of poo it's a messy job. When she's bigger I'll use those pull up nappies as go one quicker (although not as leak proof). I used to change my ds in the bath. I'd take off his nappy & use the shower spray to clean up if needed. Then dry him, take him out & put on a pull up.

I have the same, I dread changing them on my ten month old. I sort of pin him down or give him something to hold which he doesn't normally have as a toy. This sometimes works. As soon as he is big enough we will use pull ups, which was my solution for his equally wriggly brother.

Lie him down on the floor, with his head at your daft hand end, and his bum at your clever hand end.

I'll assume you're right handed, but if not just swap left for right.

Drape your left leg over his chest, so that he's caught in the crook of your knee.

With both hands, strip him off and change his nappy.

Redress his bottom half and release.

All of the above, plus pull ups (if you're not already using them) may be easier? We've just switched with my 11 month old for exactly the same reason!

If all else fails, there is a changing mat available with an integral harness here

I propped my DD up on the sofa and changed her watching the TV. Have also given her my iphone to keep her quiet. She was an absolute nightmare for not having her nappy changed but now finally at the age of 2 she goes and gets the wipes, mat and bags and lies down on the floor.

I used to do what SkeletonFlowers said, only in addition I would place the changing mat so that baby's head was up near a wall etc so couldn't try to scoot backwards. Once you manage a few changes with them thoroughly cornered and gently pinned down so escape impossible, they learn that nappy changes actually don't take too long and this is a time to keep still.

I know exactly how you feel. Nappy changing left DS and I both in tears after endless wrestling matches. All the advice so far is great but I really had trouble restraining my ds with my legs etc on the ground even though the mat was by a wall where there was theoretically nowhere to go. I found myself unintentionally manhandling the little guy when all he was trying to do was go explore!

So here's what works for me -- I moved him back up onto the high changing table. Sounds risky, I know!

However there is less temptation up there because there is no where to crawl and when he tries to roll, I actually have more control up high than I did on the floor. Up high I can easily use my daft hand/forearm to restrain him at chest level while my so called clever hand wipes. Get it done super fast.

Here are my other tips:
-I still give a novel toy - something different every day (toys in rotation).

-I use the table exclusively for the nappy change and nothing else. All trousers etc are removed and pants unbuttoned before I put him on the table. All redressing takes place off the table on the floor.

Dressing is a total pain but I know that once the nappy is done he can run around half dressed and happy for a bit!

-I don't necessarily wipe if it's just a wet nappy. Sometimes just getting the fresh one on is all we can manage. Thankfully my DS has never had nappy rash.

Sorry this is so long but I really feel for you. It is so frustrating and the whole wrestling on the ground thing really broke my heart so I hope this helps.

Thank you all SO much.

I tried the pinning him down with my knees technique, and it worked, thank God! (in that I got the nappy change done in one go). He wasn't best pleased. He gave me me a filthy look when he realised what I was up to, tried to escape and then squealed like a stuck pig until I'd finished with the nappy. He was all smiles afterwards, however. Silly boy.

Colditz, I think I'll also try your method, as maybe I could tie a toy to my leg or something to momentarily distract him.

Piggybank - thanks for so many tips. I'm relieved it's not only me who's been in tears over this! I did wonder whether changing him on a table would help, but unfortunately we have nowhere suitable. We only have the kitchen table, which is big enough for him to still want to crawl away on it.

I am definitely going to try undressing him before lying him down as well.

I also used pull ups my DD walked at 9 months and so so used to flip over and leg it! Dont try the table as mine used to flip over and i'd be grabbing her legs.

I just mastered the art of doing it all from behind, which is how I now have to do it with by DD who is 23 months anyway, but we've had the same method since 9 months, stand up, rip pull off up pull it through front to back, wipe front to back and then pull up back on like pants. Its far easier than trying to get tabs to stick down on a nappy on the move

sorry that came out wrong i didnt mean dont try the table, more be wary of the table as it backfired on me!

My DD was the same. I got round it by the toy thing - and when that wore off I would talk to her: where is your head? where is your nose, ears tummy etc. She was so thrilled to get it right - it became a bit of a game and totally distracted her from flipping over, running away. this, combined with changing her really quickly, worked for me.

DS is another nightmare when it comes to changing. The way that works for me is to sit down on the sofa and have DS on his tummy over my knees. I can keep one hand on the small of his back to stop him from wriggling away whilst the other cleans his bum. Once his bum is clean I flip him over and do the front with a hand on his belly. I have a towel on my lap to protect my clothes but his dirty front is covered by the nappy which I dont remove completely until I flip him and his bum is clean by the time I flip him over, so its only really there in case of unexpected peeing!

A bonus is that when I undo the tabs on the nappy when he is on his belly it makes him giggle and I can rest a book/toy on the sofa in front of him and he can play with it whilst I clean his bum.

What Skeleton said.

Fastest, easiest and least pain/agro for all involved

My ds2 is 11 months and a nightmare for this. He hates being changed or dressed and screams like he is being murdered.

I do a mixture of the pinning down thing, with a smattering of animal noises. I say to him "what do cats do" etc, then do the noise. He's starting to talk so loves to copy the animal noises and will actually stay still for more than a second.

I save this for dressing/changes. He's a little git though, worst one of the three for climbing/trying to get things he shouldn't have.

I also get him changed on my lap, but this can backfire, he is so frigging wiggly he has slipped out of my grip once.

Do it in front of a mirror.

We survived this stage by changing him under the Christmas tree with the lights flashing. Possibly not ideal in October though. I also discovered that a toy in each hand seemed to make it harder for him to roll over.

I had a horrific two months between the time he learnt to crawl and the time he could stand holding on. DS is now 10.5 mo and if it's a pooey one, I change him in the bathroom (lino floor, easy to clean if he accidentally sits down) with him standing up holding onto something, it works a lot better for us :) I have thought about pull ups, but just wonder if they fit well as surely they're not adjustable? Want to avoid leaks!!

My DS was walking at 10 months and nappy changes were a nightmare. Our solution was to do it standing up. I corner him against the sofa or sofa stool or his bed, put something interesting in front of him and get on with it. He's 19 months now and we still do it like that.

We tried pull ups, but he didn't like them for some reason, so we're back to regular nappies.

I'm glad to hear that DS is not the only one who does this. Ds started doing this at about 7-8 mo. I did a combination of toys/ singing / mirror. Now I find standing up is great. Even better is standing up in front of the mirror on the wardrobe door.

My Ds1 went through this around the same age.

It only lasted a couple of months and I just used the pull up style nappies and changed him whilst crawling around after him....