20 month old refuses to let us change his nappy

[Wishicouldsleep]

My 20 month old DS absolutely hates us changing his dirty nappy.

If it's wet, he just about lets me. If it's dirty he kicks and screams, turns over tries to run away. It causes an absolute mess and I dread having to change him whilst out and about. (His bowel movements tend to be very loose, he rarely has a solid poop- so it's always a messy affair...)

I thought he was just going through 'a stage'... But this has been going on 3 months

I change him on the changing table, give him his dummy and a toy to try and occupy him. 9/10 times he will fight me. (I've also tried on the sofa whilst watching TV. Which was successful once... But not anymore)

Does anyone have any tips? I considered maybe he was ready to be potty trained (he hides when he does a number 2 and gets quite embarrassed). But he isn't verbal yet and can't tell me when he's done one (I can sometimes tell when he squats down and hides).

Any tips to make nappy changing a smoother experience?

I don’t think you can loose anything by giving potty training a go and if it doesn’t work he’s really little and try again down the line. Does he have any words yet? We have just gone through potty training with our son at 21months and although our he can’t say ‘mummy I need a wee’ he gets his message across by shouting ‘poo poo’ and patting himself in the groin! Works for us at the moment! 🤣

They don't need to be verbal to potty train. He's already communicating with you about it.

My DD refused a nappy from about 19mo and we trained her at 22mo. I'd recommend reading 'Oh Crap' which recommends training between 20 and 30 months.

Sorry I didn't realise I had some replies!
Bee that's great! Well done on potty training so young (for a boy in particular!)

Teaandbiscuits ive heard about this book. I will give it a try. DS gets so embarrassed so maybe we could try it

Definitely worth a read and see what you think. My DS is now 19mo and I'd love to do it in a couple of months but with work etc it's looking like it might have to Christmas - not great timing!

Changing mat on the floor in front of the sofa. Lie on mat when sitting on sofa and put one foot on each shoulder while holding ankles. Whip off nappy, clean, put fresh nappy in place, fasten and release.

gamerchick
I'm not sure I'm that flexible! Ha! But sounds like it could be effective!
I don't want to pin him down too much as I worry it will make it an even bigger deal. But maybe I'll have to.

Sometimes you have to pin. Nappies, toothbrushing etc. It doesnt scar them for life.

it may well be a phase. They can last months. My son went through some awful phases... for a few months he used to take solid poos out of his nappy and hide them... was going out of my mind but one day he just stopped doing that!
The thing now is that after using the potty for a while hes gone back to insisting on nappies and on top of that refusing to admit when they need changing... grrr its so frustrating.
Hope we all get there in the end!!

What about pull ups rather than a nappy?

toothtruth gosh you poor thing! How horrible! I'm glad he's stopped that now

Orchid I have pull ups in the cupboard. I will try one right now!

Change him on the floor, head between your legs and leg over his chest. Get super quick at doing it.

I had this with dts and it was the only way.

DGS2 is an avoider, and can create quite a stir at change time. I've found giving him something he is not usually allowed to touch - a porcelain baby doll that lives on a high shelf is the current bribe of choice - can distract him totally, and he knows he has to be still and gentle when holding the 'baby' so win/win. Worth a shot!

We gave our daughter peppa pig on our phones at that age. She was so mesmerised she stayed still. It only went wrong when she dropped the phone on her face....

Can you do it with him stood up at the sofa?
Takes a bit of practice, and sometimes needs a quick lie down to get on the creases, but if you can get most of it off stood up it's a lot easier. Or it can be

Oh, and definitely the pull up pants type ones

I have a very wriggly 10mo that I also have to snare in order to change his nappy. I use pull ups where I can but also have got quite adept at changing him with him standing up. Though I appreciate this isn't so good if it's a stinky one. I also second handing over the phone with animation of choice playing on YouTube, or a usually out of bounds toy or equally something totally random - my lad is fond of a toothbrush.
Can't advise on potty training sadly but worth a shot if you think he'll take to it.

We do the standing up change and pull up pants - DS 15 months is a wriggler!