Baby distraught during dressing /nappy changes!

[Nelly325]

My one year old gets incredibly upset during nappy / outfit changes. He's always been like this but now he's fully walking and very strong, he can really resist and constantly tries to turn over, crawl away, get up etc. Of course this compounds the tears and stress when I have to firmly dress him. It's so unpleasant and leaves both him and me or my husband feeling drained after - ridiculous as it sounds. Any tips for keeping a very active baby content to lie back and let himself be changed???

Keep special good toys for changing time? Then put them away after.

Do you do all the singing, tickling etc so it's fun?

Yes we have tried toys and always singing and playing as we go to keep him entertained - I have seen this type of distraction work with friends' babies of the same age, but ours seems relatively so energetic and restless and it's the fact of being made to lie down / stay still that's the frustrating thing when he wants to crawl away all the time!

ProjectorLamp,EMIUP... www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07H2GCW4M?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share&tag=mumsnetforu03-21

Could try a projector like this?

My baby is like this too, I find pull ups easier as I can change them when he’s standing up. He’s a bloody nightmare!

Hey duggee stick song on my phone. It's on for 1 minute 36 seconds and I'm now managing with 8 seconds to spare

Stand up changing!

We have the same problem! I was wrestling with him for about 20 minutes the other day trying to get a nappy on. I ended up putting a pull up on him but that took a good 5 minutes because as soon as one leg went in it came out again as I tried to put the other one in.

He's sometimes compliant though, and tends to be better with my husband than me. When we're both around though one of us is at the head end distracting with a book. Or if there's any random objects lying around that he wants to hold I let him even if it's something I don't want him having.

Yes to pullups. My DD has been a nightmare for this since she could stand, she’s been in pulls since she was 7mos bc of it. I just get her to lie down for proper cleaning and I put her head on my feet which tends to keep her there mostly, with a toy. It’s very tiring when they’re so wriggly.

I give her my phone so she can look at the picture of herself on the home screen and drop it on her face

Mine were both like this. They just didn’t want to take the time out of playing to spend getting changed!

Standing up changing worked well once they were at that age but it was still tricky sometimes.

Is he able to "help" at all? I can't remember what age ds started doing that at. Picking one of two options you hold up, holding things for you etc. Basically start giving him since semblance of control rather than adding to the overwhelmingness of it with more simulation.

Mine goes through phases like this. I second pull-ups, and getting him dressed standing/ on your lap. I also try to involve him in getting changed as much as possible (talking through the steps and asking him to do things) and rather than a toy, offer him something of mine he can't usually have.

Peppa pig! Every time except for night time changes, it's the only way I can get him to stay still

My 13-month-old is a lot better at this now. I find the key is to take it in stages and adapt according to her mood. So if she’s energetic I’ll get her nappy off, allow a naked run around, then stand her up against me to put her pull-up on with a singsong. If she’s tired and grumpy and lying down a rice cake helps! With dressing her she loves being asked where her hands and feet are when I pull them through and lots of being told she’s a good girl (gives herself a lot of applause for that). She loves being asked to hand me things too.

Thanks for all these suggestions!! We have tried changing him standing up but he runs away even more! Pull ups are good, I should get some more of those, however it's the whole change not just the nappy part that is causing the meltdowns. Also with changing his milk as he's turned 1, there's been some really really dirty ones that necessitate full changes and certainly wouldn't work standing up unfortunately.. I just hope it's a phase!!

@Nelly325 pick your room carefully, then. A small room so he can't escape as far. Maybe even in the bath, if he's got bare feet (slippy).

My 1 year is exactly the same. My husband once walked in on me crying my eyes out because the baby was crying and just wouldnt keep still. At that point I decided things had to change. We now try to keep really calm and relaxed, as I was getting just as worked up as him! It definitely takes longer as we let him play around a bit but he doesnt scream as much. Of course we do still sometimes get the times when we both have to pin him down. Im really hoping it is just a phase.
Sorry, that doesnt help you at all!

Have you tried changing him on your lap sitting on a sofa? I find babies and toddlers much less wriggly this way

Is it cold, when you strip him off to change him? My babe would cry and fuss, and I know it is because the room was often just 15degrees.