I remember diligently reading a number of pregnancy books and taking detailed notes during my pre-natal classes. But I don’t think any of it could have prepared me for this crazy roller coaster ride – Motherhood. While lack of sleep is spoken about the most, diaper change is no less of a challenge for every new parent. And what adds to the chaos is the constant stream of often conflicting advice, making the already nervous new mom, second guess her every move. Through this article I hope to share some of the tricks and tips that helped me and Mr. S successfully trek through Baby S’ diaper journey
One of the most obvious and probably common confusion for every new parent is the choice between the cloth nappy and the diaper. I was always told by my aunts and other family elders to use cloth nappies as much as possible. But somehow the sky high pile of dirty nappies that needed to be laundered daily along with the mess, made me seriously question this advice. The most common reason for nappies seemed to be the fear of rashes and the discomfort for the baby. But I soon realized that while these fears were very real for our moms and aunts, the quality of diapers has improved immensely over the years. Especially trusted brands like Pampers use softer fabric and have a drop of baby lotion in every diaper to ensure that the baby is dry and comfortable at all times.
This led me to the next big confusion- the diaper rash cream. It was almost impossible to figure out what’s the best cream to go with! While there is no right or wrong answer here, I decided to go with my gut and chose a petroleum jelly based cream. And while some parents prefer using it only when they notice some redness or slight rash, I preferred using it during every diaper change. I felt it helped keep away even the minimal discomfort or itchiness that the baby could experience.
Investing in a diaper genie was the best decision I could have made. We were amazed at the quantity of smelly poop our tiny 2 month old could manage! So instead of breathing through our mouth we decided to get a diaper genie and it worked better than any air-freshener.
While a diaper bag is great to carry all the baby paraphernalia, I personally felt the diaper wallet was extremely useful! Especially for a quick trip to the mall or when running an errand. And as Baby S grew older it only became more useful. I just need to put that tiny diaper wallet in my bag and I’m ready to go.
And finally, our most trusted partner in this crazy diaper journey– Pampers Premium Care Pants – a true game changer! Mr. S still struggles with regular diapers and after some nasty leaks with the cloth nappies, he decided to do some research to find a simple solution to this diapering challenge. And that is how we finally discovered Pampers pant styled diapers. It’s super easy to make the baby wear the diaper, and there is absolutely no struggle of tying the diaper or tightening it. And more often than not, one of our biggest challenges was finding a diaper station while travelling and with these Pamper Premium Care Pants, we can easily change him anywhere even without any diaper mat or station!
And the best part is that with the wetness indicator, we are not constantly trying to guess if it’s time to change the diaper or not, making it an ideal solution while travelling or even for a longer playdate. For the first few months, every time we travelled with Baby S, we always ended up having an accidental leak, and so we got into this routine of changing his diaper some 3 times for a 2 hour flight, just to be careful. And it actually made me feel terrible wasting perfectly dry diapers at times but somehow there was just no other way to get around this diaper leak during every flight! But the wetness indicator works like magic! So now all we do is check if the diaper is full and change him accordingly instead of wasting perfectly dry diapers or walking out of airports with pee or poop!
Diaper changes can be tedious and daunting, especially for dads. Most dads want to be involved in every aspect of the childcare, even the diaper changes, but it’s often the complicated routines and glaring looks from the moms that keeps them from being the super dads that they already are. Simple innovations such as the diaper wallets or Pamper Premium Care Pants, go a long way in making dads and even moms feel a lot more confident and take away the unnecessary stress involved with diaper changes. There is no one right way to raise a baby, but yes there are products available to make this journey of parenthood a little less stressful and a little more fun!
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