help! my NB screams thru every diaper change

[preciousstone]

so far I've been warming up the wipes but that doesn't seem to soothe him any. he calms if dh puts his pinky finger in his mouth but since he's ebf and only 1wk old I haven't intro a paci yet. what can i do in the mean time?

[slimkins]

Our son did this for the first week or two. My husband would literally do a countdown of 3-2-1, as he was fastening his diaper, knowing he would stop right when the change was over. Then I didn't even notice it, but it stopped. I also don't think the cold wipes made a huge difference because I warmed them in my hands a couple of times, but still the same reaction.
Now, he loves loves loves diaper changes, and he has for months

[texaspeach]

ds out grew it around 8 weeks

[bajamergrrl]

Mine has hated diaper changes from the start (he's 5 mos old). He acts like someone is torturing him the moment he's laid down on his back. What helps us is to make sure he's well-fed and content beforehand. If that's the case he will be calm and relaxed. I sing and talk to him or make funny faces at him the whole time to keep his mind off the diaper change.

I don't know if there's a magic solution, sometimes all you can do is get them changed as quickly as you can (it helps if you prepare the diaper ahead of time) and soothe them immediately afterward.

[bodhitree]

My DD did that as a newborn. We were given a musical giraffe stuffed toy as a gift, and we kept that on the changing table. When I put her down for a diaper change, I turned on the music. She loved it, and once I started doing that, she usually didn't cry. Once she hit 2 or 3 months old, I started playing little games with her too (making funny faces, zooming my face close to hers while making silly noises, whatever). Now that she's old enough to play with toys, I often will give her a toy to hold while I change her. In short, I've found that distraction and trying to give her something fun to do while changing her makes a big difference.

[Llyra]

I think they often really hate the feeling of being naked at that age. They've been squished up in a warm, enclosing environment for so long, and I think being bare in the open air is frightening to them. I found it helped to remove as little clothing as possible, keep baby's upper half swaddled in a blanket whenever possible, and if there's another person available, have that person place a firm hand on baby's belly and make eye contact. None of that will prevent some screaming, but I think it does help baby feel more secure. It passes-- most kids by a few months old LOVE LOVE LOVE being naked and will kick their feet and giggle the whole time. There are exceptions, of course...

[BrittneyMarie]

my dd did this at first too. now she thinks diaper changes are hysterical

[cristeen]

My little guy did it the first few weeks also, but now at 3 mos only does it if he's pissed off.

[Italiamom]

My DS did that too for the first 5 or 6 weeks. He screamed like I was trying to kill him. The coin will flip eventually. DS always grins so big as soon as I pull his diaper off now. Like "OH SWEET FREEDOM"

[MeredithK]

Like all the PPs, mine was like that too. I didn't realize that he had a diaper rash which didn't help. Once we cleared that up, it heped a bit and he stopped crying within a couple of weeks. Now he loves it.

[Katsmamajama]

Originally Posted by Llyra

I think they often really hate the feeling of being naked at that age. They've been squished up in a warm, enclosing environment for so long, and I think being bare in the open air is frightening to them. I found it helped to remove as little clothing as possible, keep baby's upper half swaddled in a blanket whenever possible, and if there's another person available, have that person place a firm hand on baby's belly and make eye contact. None of that will prevent some screaming, but I think it does help baby feel more secure. It passes-- most kids by a few months old LOVE LOVE LOVE being naked and will kick their feet and giggle the whole time. There are exceptions, of course...

DD2 has outgrown it, thankfully-- you'd swear I was boiling her alive the way she'd carry on! She's gotten used to it, I think, but like Llyra said, having someone's hand on her and keeping the top part covered helped out. She still occasionally disagrees with the changing and tells me all about it, but it's usually related to either a.) she's gassy and needs to burp, or b.) she's not ready yet. I may be a little rusty at some of the mothering aspects, but I'm learning!

DD1 didn't care at that age, she was all about the nakedness-- we'd decided that she's going to grow up and run a nudist colony, most likely! :P

[springbride]

Originally Posted by BrittneyMarie

my dd did this at first too. now she thinks diaper changes are hysterical

DH used to go to the other end of the house because he didn't want to listen to her cry. Now diaper changes are daddy-daughter play time with raspberries and giggles.

Hang in there!

[4myfinn]

My son used to do the same thing. My husband put a mobile on his changing table which we wind up as soon as we set him down. He loves it. I'm CDing and use cloth wipes too, and it helps to have the wipes in a warmer and diaper ready to go (I use pockets) beforehand. My son has reflux, and sometimes it really hurts him to be lying down so I just have to make it quick.

Most of the time he doesn't mind it now- until I try to put the diaper back on and then he screams. He has a new fondness for being naked.

[gossamerwindweb]

Henry screamed through every single diaper change until around 4 months old. Then magically he stopped. I was SO happy when that was over. LOL! Good luck!

[Spiralshell]

Same thing here! Nate is 9 weeks old now, and he only screams during changes occassionally, when before he'd screech like we were sawing his legs off nearly every time.
Not sure what you're dressing your little one in, but let me recommend the newborn gowns (like THESE). It's MUCH easier to change them when you just have to hike up the gown, swap diapers, then pull the gown down again. The fussing with snaps really seemed to annoy my little guy, and I avoid it entirely with the gowns. (If it's chilly, I put him in a onesie under the gown, but still that's only 3 snaps to get, instead of up one leg and down the other with a sleeper outfit.)

[Mamabeakley]

DS1 hated changes, and one thing that REALLY helped was blowing him dry with a blowdrier :. Maybe it was the noise, maybe the warm air, but it really helped! Also, no diaper rash.

[Pippi L.]

We turned the hair dryer on as soon as we set her down. The noise calmed her and then we'd dry on her bum. Our friends gave us that tip and it saved us for about a month. It made me shudder to think of wasting power like that, but it made life sooooo much easier!