Changing diaper and clothes

aeh72

So, apparently having his diaper and/or clothes changed is some sort of medieval torture to DS. Practically every diaper change and every morning when we change him out of his pjs and into clothes and every night when we do the reverse, DS cries and cries like he's been tortured.  Not just squirms to get away (which he does and thinks is a great game) but by the time we get hold of him to change him, its full on waterworks. Giving him something to play with (even my cell phone which is almost always a winner!) doesn't settle him down.  Is this typical of this age (13 months)? Any suggestions for a frustrated mom? TIA!

Jmcmahon21

Oh yea, we deal with this every day. I always make my husband change him when he's home since it's like going into battle. Not sure when or if they grow out of this but it's not fun! Giving them something as a distraction definitely helps though.

TiffanyBerry

DD went through a milder stage of this - we let her choose where she's going to get changed, what clothes she wants to wear, and (she was older when she did this) if she wanted to "play chase" before we did the changing.  Giving her lots of choices helped us.

ras26

DD was really bad about this for a while, and now we're at about 50%.  I never know what triggers the decision to freak out, but sometimes she does, and sometimes she doesn't.  I just try to give lots of praise on the occasions that she is good, and as she's gotten older, she seems to be more into helping, which avoids some of the tantrums.  I also found that laying down her down was part of the issue.  It seemed like it wasn't that she didn't want her clothes on, but laying down was the worst possible torture imaginable.  I certainly haven't mastered changing a poop with her standing, or sitting, but after a bath, I can get her diaper and PJ's on while she is sitting and listening to a story (DH reads). 

Tink112011

DS has a paci and lovey that he only gets in his crib..... and at diaper changes.  I tell him that its time to change his diaper and I put him in his crib to grab those prized possessions.  It keeps diaper changes relatively calm, and then as soon as its over we go back to his crib and he chucks them back in.

Every now and then I want to feel guilty about this habit, and then instead I tell myself that I'm brilliant.  Whatever works, right? 

lindslalala

Diaper changes are a nightmare around here. I just grab his ankles with one hand and hold on tight and go fast!

tonychelle

I think so! We're a little better now. We try to make it fun/like a game, and that seems to help sometimes.

chardonnay24

My son went through this stage. I can't for the life of me remember how long it lasted, but he's more or less over it now.

emnoahmom

This is us too! Ds screams as soon as a lay him on his back. He also has the amazing flip over maneuver that he does as soon as I reach for something and tries to crawl away.

aeh72

Thanks, everyone, for your responses! On the one hand, I'm sorry you all are going through this too but there is some comfort in knowing we're not alone in this daily battle! Realizing it could go on for many more months - not so comforting! :-)

To the poster who mentioned that being laid on their backs seems to be the biggest issues - yes! Aside from the "come and get me" game he likes to play, the challenge is when we lay him down. That's when the meltdown starts.  I'm going to attempt a standing up diaper change (I think we'll start with a pee diaper!) and now that he's wearing fewer onesies and more t-shirts and shorts/pants, changing his clothes standing up will hopefully be easier too.  I also like another poster's suggestion of trying to get him to help picking out clothes.  He may be a little young for that, but I do think he'll love it if I let him pick something out from one of his drawers. Maybe, again, we'll start small and let him pick out socks! And, when desperate, I'll keep pulling from my magic bag of goodies - cell phone, diaper rash cream, comb/brush, water bottle, etc. - and hope one of those is enough of a distraction to power through!