How to Stop Baby Crying When Changing Nappy

The sorrowful sound of your baby crying during nappy changing time is a difficult experience that all new parents face. There are many reasons your baby may cry. They may be cold, hungry, confused, have a diaper rash or may just not be feeling well. 

Whatever the reason for your baby’s tears, crying during nappy changing time can be extremely stressful and can make the nappy-changing experience flat out enjoyable. 

 If you are looking for tips on how to stop baby from crying when changing nappy - you’ve come to the right place. We’ve compiled these tips from different moms and experts from across the web to help you build a tool set on how to respond to your crying baby. 

Make Nappy Changing Time Fun

Find some toys that are only to be played with and used while changing your baby’s nappy. Make sure they are fun enough that your baby may start looking forward to getting the nappy changed because they get to play with the new toys. 

For another way of trying to make changing time fun, try playing little games or singing silly songs about changing the nappy. If you’re not good at making up songs, Youtube has loads of songs you could try playing or singing. 

Make Sure Baby Is Warm

No baby likes feeling cold, especially when they were warm and snuggly moments earlier.  The sudden burst of cold from taking the nappy off or the cold feeling from the wipe may startle your baby and cause them to start crying. 

If you live in a cold house, you may want to consider a few of these tips: 

• Use a blanket or other snuggly item to cover your baby’s stomach and upper body during nappy changing time; 
• Before you touch your baby’s skin, rub your hands together to warm them up so you don’t have cold hands touching him; 
• Change your baby’s nappy in the warmest room in the house;  
• Use a wiper warmer to make sure the baby wipes are warm on your little one’s bottom. 

If you follow all these tips, you will greatly reduce the likelihood of your baby crying during nappy changing time. 

Tell Baby Everything You Do While You’re Doing It

This works especially well if your baby is a little older. Narrate what you are doing so that your baby isn’t blindsided by being suddenly picked up and stripped down. 

Use a calm, soft tone to describe to your baby every step that you are taking. While they won’t understand what you are saying, your calm, soft voice will help them to relax. 

No one likes feeling totally powerless and surprised, especially when it comes to being stripped down and laid on a cold surface. 

Change Nappy After Baby Eats 

Babies cry when they are hungry. If your baby is hungry, he/she may make nappy changing time a nightmare. If you normally change when the baby is getting ready to eat instead of on a full stomach, it may be worth trying to wait until after a full tummy. 

Another tip you can try is to break up your baby’s meals with a nappy change. Give your baby half his meal, change his/her nappy then give him the rest. That way, they won’t be starving while you are changing their nappy. 

Make Sure to Use a Nappy Rash Cream

Nappy rash is a painful, typically bright red rash that appears on the bottom after the nappy has been on for too long. It can irritate your baby’s bum and cause them to cry out in pain if the rash is particularly bad. 

To prevent nappy rash is to change baby’s nappy as soon as possible. Babies give cues that they are peeing or pooping, so if you learn your baby’s cues, you can change the nappy as soon as they use it. You can also use anti-chafing products like Sudocream or Aquafore will help protect your baby’s sensitive skin.  

The NHS has good tips on caring for a nappy rash and when to see the GP. 

Change Baby Standing Up Instead of Lying Down

As your baby gets older, they do not want to be confined to laying on their backs and being held down. Letting baby stand up while changing them may help with some of the fight. Along with standing, give them a fun mobile or another toy hanging above them to distract them. Something they can bat at or grab will work wonders. 

Try Reversing Your Nappy-Changing Angle   

If baby puts up too much of a fight, try sitting over them and putting their head between your legs (if you’re changing them on the floor). That will help you keep them from rolling too much and you can keep them steadier than if their feet are pointed at you. If their head is between your knees on the floor, you can keep them calmed and more still. 

Make Changing Time a Special Bonding Moment

It may not feel like the best time to bond but remember that the feeling of your skin against his skin can be a perfect moment to bond a little deeper with baby.

Take this time to look your baby in the eyes and try to calm him/her by getting him to focus on you.  

Remain Calm

Nothing feeds into an anxious baby more than an anxious mum or dad. If your baby is crying during their nappy change, take a few deep breaths and re-center. When ready to get started, focus on the baby and not their crying.

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with feeling frustrated or overwhelmed during a nappy change.  You may feel like you want to cry yourself - and sometimes that is okay. 

Use This Time to Learn About Your Baby’s Hints and Cues

Focus on the type of crying and learn what calms your baby down. Babies have different cries if they are tired, hungry, wet or something else and this is a perfect opportunity to learn even more about what your baby’s personal cues are. 

Is it a higher pitched cry? Does it sound more like a tired cry or hungry cry? If you can decipher the particular cry, it may even help you figure out why your baby is crying during this particular nappy change. 

Conclusion On How To Stopy Baby Crying When Changing Nappy

If these tips on how to stop baby from crying during nappy change don’t work, don’t get frustrated. All babies respond differently and while one trick may work for one baby, it won’t work for another. Always be patient and understand that sometimes there is nothing in the world you can do to stop your baby from crying. 

Nappy changes don’t have to be battles; they can be fun times of bonding if you know what to do. Not every trick will work for every baby, but there will be at least one trick that should work for yours.

About the Author

Stefanie is a freelance parenting writer and blogger, and has published works on other publications such as Motherly. She is an expert in baby and children's' products and frequently writes how-to’s and buying guides to help other parents. She also balances her work from home life with being a stay at home mom.