nappy changing wrestling matches

[poshsinglemum]

DD has just started crawling and realising that she is seperate from me. She loves to turn onto her front when I am trying to change her nappy and throws a wobbly if I try to turn her back over onto her back. Likewise when it comes to dressing her. It's a wrestling match and I can imagine it will only get worse. She loves the struggle and finds it funny, often crawling away as I try to deal with her. I have tried tickling her which sometimes works but how else can I make this easier?

have also tried stern nos.

Yes!! I've got one of these, it's called a Rabbitts Changing mat and is ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT

Rabbitt changing mat with straps for nappies. Also across your knees can be more successful.

Just do the dressing as quickly as possible. When she is bigger you can sit on one end while you dress the other

DD just gave up trying to roll over in the end. She actually quite likes playing on it and trying to strap her legs down! She's now 19 months

That looks good. I'll see if they are on ebay. Many thanks!

I used to sit with my left leg across DS's tummy to pin him down. Had to do for both boys or they would have lept away from me with poo all over.I thought all babies were like this until I saw a friend change her little girl who just laid there willingly!

I ambush my 13-month-old once he has crawled into a corner. I also find that singing a song sometimes distracts him from crawling away.

Those changing mats look great, Ive been sitting with DD2 between my legs and holding her head between my feet so she cant roll

I honestly can't recommend them highly enough, a worthy investment. I should imagine they'd hold their resale value pretty well too.

Arrgh, no don't buy 2nd hand, they have gaps where the foam gets exposed quite quickly and all sorts goes down there. HAd to thrown ours out when runny poo trickled down.

I have the exact same problem, my DS- aged 9 & a half months- just WON'T sit still for changing! He cries with frustration, he wriggles, he turns on his tummy, he wants to put his hands into the poo (ugh!) I cannot imagine how things will be when he's one and a half or so, I'm petrified to be honest! When's the earliest that we can do toilet training ?

mine were terrible wrigglers too - like mumwhendinnerready, I thought all kids like this till i saw someone's lying beautifully!

I put them in those pull up type nappies as early as I could and basically just changed them when they were on the move and gave up with the lying down

Have a collection of 'things' that they can play with while you're changing them - things they only gte to play with during a nappy change. Always remove item just as you finish to make sure it doesn't get swept in to general play as then it loses it's appeal!

e.g. daddy's sunglasses
house keys,
small tube of ear buds
2 teaspoons
shoe lace
etc etc

I change my dd on a high thing and it's still a battle. It's a bloody nightmare atm - funny thing is, for my mother or neighbour she just lies there like a little pudding, as good as gold! Little monkey!

I change DS (8.5 mo) on a high thing and he has absolutely no sense of danger! The number of times I have been left hanging onto him by one leg whilst he dangles over the edge. I have just started using the floor and a combination of interesting objects and me doing a bad impression of Justin off CBeebies! I assumed it would get better until a friend with a 2.5 yo laughed at me and said that the only difference is that now she has to run and catch him first!

I did the same as biscuit. A bunch of keys was a particular favourite.

get the child to hold a small interesting toy. why on earth are you bothering to ask peoples advise on this is beyond me. Go and do some ironing dear!

Another vote for left leg over child's tummy.
Note: you are sitting on your bottom with your right leg tucked out of the way, and left leg in front of you, bent at the knee with child under knee. I explained this poorly to a friend once and she thought I was going to kneel on my baby!

luvoneson - a bit unneccesary, don't you think? Not every question on MN has to be of epic importance, you know. Sometimes it's just useful to see if anyone has any tips for something - which in this case, several people did.

I agree artifarti. It's a perfectly reasonable question.

And Posh it does get better. A bit. DS, who once fought so much I was afraid I would hurt him as I clutched his furious, flailing legs, will sometimes even get out his mat and lie down on it now.

Other times he still fights...

Thanks for the link, we are also getting desperate, toys just don't do it for him, neither do keys, watches, mobile phones, remote controls....

Hey everyone, just keeping this thread going because... well just because at least here the nappy changing wrestling matches are going strong! And as my DS gets stronger by the day (he's almost 10 months now) so do the wrestling matches become harder & harder. (I'm almost tempted to start a nappy-changing-wrestling-matches-support-thread but it's completely daft so I won't, will just post here ). So please oh you wise fellow mumsnetters, any advice? Do they stop wrestling & submit to their fate as they grow older? Or is there no hope for us?