Diapers help out young mothers, freeing them from a large amount of washing, which allows you to spend more time with your baby. You still need to care for the delicate skin of the crumbs, including remembering to change used diapers in a timely manner. If this is not done, diaper rash will appear on the child's skin, they can itch, disturb the baby, which affects his behavior and mood.
Newborn
Why is it important to change diapers on time
If the baby is in an overfilled diaper for a long time, irritation will appear on his butt and groin folds. It will cause discomfort to the crumbs, in the absence of proper hygiene, it can become inflamed. It will not be possible to restore the skin instantly; you cannot do without the help of creams and ointments. It is much more difficult to cure diaper rash than to prevent their appearance by timely dressing the baby in a clean diaper.
Note! If a baby is in a diaper, this does not mean that within 12 hours, as the manufacturers assure, it will remain clean and dry. Even if the diaper does not start to leak, there is no certainty that the child will be comfortable and pleasant to be in it. Therefore, it is imperative to monitor the condition of the skin: if it is wet, then the panties cannot cope, and it's time to replace them.
How often to change the diaper
To prevent irritation on the baby's skin and diaper rash, the diaper needs to be changed as often as possible. Pediatricians recommend doing this every 2-3 hours. If the baby poops, then remove the dirty panties from him immediately. After that, it must be washed, wiped dry, and after smearing it with cream, put on a new clean diaper.
Age dependence
The smaller the baby, the more often he pees. A newborn baby can go to the toilet up to 25 times a day. Parents should be concerned if the number of pees during the day does not reach 10. This means that the baby is not eating enough, and the feeding regime needs to be reviewed.
Pampers for a newborn should be changed immediately when he poops. In the early days, parents will see meconium in the diaper. This is the original feces, it is viscous and sticky, it is difficult to wash off the skin, practically does not smell, so you can find it only by looking inside the diaper.
As they grow older, the baby begins to go to the toilet less and less, he gradually learns to endure and control the processes occurring in the body, including controlling urination:
- at 3-4 months, the diaper is filled in 4-5 hours;
- in 5-6 months - in 6 hours.
You should not wait for a certain time, focusing only on the age of the baby. He may need to change the diaper earlier. It is better to constantly monitor how full it is.
Mom checks the baby's diaper
Before or after feeding
There is no point in putting a new diaper on your baby before eating. Babies usually pee immediately after eating. Therefore, for example, to speed up the collection of urine from the crumbs, it is recommended to give him water or milk. Considering that a newborn baby eats very often, then you just have to check the fullness of the diaper and put on a new one every 2-3 hours on average.
Diaper change during the day
During the day, you need to change the baby's diaper as it fills. This can happen both within 2 hours and after 6. It depends on how much the baby drinks milk, formula. Naturally, if it is hot at home or outdoors, your baby will need more fluid. Up to six months, if a baby is breastfed, there is no need to give him anything other than milk to quench his thirst, because it is 80 percent water. An infant eating formula is required to be supplemented at any age.
Note! Komarovsky emphasizes that it is necessary to change the diaper before the mother is going to go out with the child for a walk or in any other case, when such an opportunity will not be presented in the near future. At the same time, they do not pay attention to how full it is.
Changing the diaper while sleeping
It is also necessary to change the child's clothes at night. The baby cannot sleep all night without waking up, especially if he is on the guard. Therefore, parents will have to wake up several times.
Night awakenings
After feeding the baby, the mother can check how full the baby's diaper is. To change it, it is not necessary to lift the child out of bed and carry him into the bath. It is enough to perform the following actions:
- Remove the diaper carefully.
- Wipe the bottom and all folds with damp wipes. They should always be at hand with a young mother. They are convenient to use on the street, at a visit, at the clinic, when traveling by car or plane, when you need to change the baby's diaper, but there is no way to wash it.
- Raise the child by the legs, slipping a new diaper under the back and bottom and fasten it.
If the child poops at night, you will have to wake him up to wash him thoroughly. In this case, you should not ignore the shower. Wet wipes are unlikely to completely remove dirt, which means that there is a risk of irritation on the skin.
How to change the diaper correctly
When a mother changes her baby's diaper for the first time, it is natural that she is worried, worried that she may scratch the baby or injure him with an awkward movement. Gradually, women get used to it and carry out the procedure with their eyes closed. After all, until the baby learns to go to the potty, not a month will pass, perhaps a year. All this time diapers will help her out.
How to change a diaper for a newborn:
- Spread a clean diaper on the changing table. Any other hard surface can be used;
- Prepare wet wipes, diaper cream, oil or powder and a clean diaper;
- Put the baby on his back and take off his pants;
- Unbutton the diaper and, lifting the baby by the legs, pull it out from under the baby's butt;
- Roll up diaper and discard. If there is nowhere to put it, then just put it aside. Usually diapers have Velcro straps that allow them to be rolled up;
- Wipe the baby's bottom and folds. If you plan to take a shower, wash your baby. This is definitely necessary if he crumpled. Even if there is little bowel movement, it is better to take a bath;
- Dry the baby by blotting the skin with a soft towel or diaper. Do not forget to look into all the folds. You do not need to rub, you need to lightly touch the skin. Before you start caring for your baby, it is recommended to get rid of long nails;
- Use a diaper cream. Some mums choose to buy oil or powder. You should not buy a lot of products at once and take large tubes or packages. They may not be suitable for a kid, even if they have great reviews. Therefore, it is better to take a cream or oil for a sample, observing the baby's reaction. If there is no redness, blisters, or a rash on the skin, then you can continue to use.
How to dress up a baby
Before the baby is put on a diaper, it is recommended to leave him naked on the changing table or bed for at least 10-15 minutes. Such air baths will help to avoid diaper rash, in addition, they temper the baby. If his legs turn blue, it means that he is cold, and you need to dress him as soon as possible. For children, a temperature of about 20 degrees is considered comfortable. The main thing is that there is no draft. When the room is ventilated, the baby needs to be taken to another.
Note. The maternity hospital usually maintains a temperature around 24 degrees. A newborn baby still does not retain heat well, so it can freeze in a cool room.
When is it time to change your diaper
How often to change a diaper for a newborn, mom will understand within a few days. A small child can often empty his bowels, which is why he has to constantly change clothes. It is assumed that the child in the first month of life will poop after each feeding. This means that he needs to put on a new diaper after eating.
Many diapers have an indicator strip that changes color as it fills. This is a kind of reference point for parents. It's still easier to unbutton the diaper and check if the baby's bottom is dry. Even when using the most modern and popular diaper, there is a chance that the liquid will not be completely absorbed. Then the baby's skin will suffer.
Note! If the baby's bottom is wet, sticky, especially red, then you need to immediately wash it off and change clothes, not forgetting about air baths.
Air bath
Using a diaper in winter and summer
In winter, a newborn's diaper does not need to be changed as often as in summer. If it is warm or even hot outside and at home, the likelihood of diaper rash increases. When the temperature in the room rises above 24 degrees, you should often leave the baby without a diaper. Even if it is recognized as breathing, the baby sweats, which often leads to irritation.
Features of replacing boys
When putting on a diaper, the boy does not need to touch his genitals, giving them a definite position, supposedly eliminating squeezing and preventing problems in the future. It will be convenient for the child if:
- panties are matched to the size and do not rub anywhere, do not squeeze anything;
- they are fastened in the correct way when the movements of the baby are not constrained.
Features of replacing girls
When changing a diaper, a girl does not need to adhere to special rules. There is a small nuance regarding hygiene procedures, namely, you only need to wash the baby from front to back so that feces do not get into the genital area, which can lead to an inflammatory process. Boys can be washed in any direction. When using the cream, it is applied only to the inguinal folds; nothing needs to be lubricated inside.
Note! If the baby has discharge in the first weeks of life, it is also not worth removing them. This could be a sign of an infant crisis affecting almost all children. As soon as the baby adapts to the new world, everything will return to normal and the discharge will disappear.
Choosing baby diapers
When buying diapers, you need to pay attention to their size. It matches the weight of the child. For newborns, choose the smallest diapers. They have one feature - a low waist, which allows you not to injure the healing navel.
Do not take a large package right away, because the baby grows very quickly, and the diapers become small for him. In this case, they will squeeze and rub the skin, causing discomfort to the child. If parents use large panties, then most likely they will leak due to the fact that they do not fit tightly to the body.
There are reusable diapers that do not need to be thrown away after use. They may differ slightly:
- have removable liners that are removed after the baby goes to the toilet;
- They are sewn of dense fabric, which delays the crumbs excrement, that is, everything around him remains dry, and the baby feels discomfort.
Reusable nappies
Reusable panties are convenient to use during the day, so that the baby's skin can breathe, you can put on ordinary disposable diapers at night.
Diapers for newborns are the same. For matured kids, there are separate lines for girls and boys. In the first case, more absorbent material is in the center and back, for little guys - in the front of the diaper.
What to do if irritation appears
If the child's bottom turns red, you need to think about whether the hygiene procedures being carried out are enough. It is necessary to leave the child without a diaper as often as possible. Perhaps, his irritation appeared due to constant contact with the surface of the panties, or the child is very overheating.
It is necessary to wash the baby with water and a small amount of the product intended for babies. You cannot use ordinary soap, it dries the skin very much. After washing the baby, wipe dry and lubricate the area under the diaper with cream. If the irritation that appears becomes wet, then it is recommended to use products containing zinc oxide. It happens that a certain brand of diapers is not suitable for the baby, then they have to be replaced.
Note! If, with all the recommendations, the redness does not disappear, cracks appear, which, moreover, begin to bleed, you need to contact a pediatrician or dermatologist. After the examination, the doctor will prescribe treatment.
Whatever diapers parents choose, reusable or ordinary, which need to be thrown away after use, they must monitor the condition of the baby's skin. It should not be wet, sticky, let alone red and cracked. If dryness and rash appear, you need to pay more attention to hygiene. When the damage persists, the baby should be shown to a doctor.
