diaper changing in cold house

[SeaBean]

thx for all the keeping warm at night threads!! what about diaper changing in a cold house. i feel so bad for LO when i have to get her partially undressed for new diapey! i do keep warm water in a travel mug for wetting the cloth wipes. is there anything else i can do?
TIA!

[crazyeight]

no real ideas but i think its kinda funny! if you have a heater that actually gets WARM you could put the wet wipes in a pan or something and just leave them warm all the time. same if you put a towel up there and put it under her when you need to change her...shes get a little warmth and prolley not chill at all. another PITA option is maybe a quick dryer run for a towel and wipe and then warm water on the wipe. don't know much other options!

[mommy2maya]

We don't set the heat very high, probably around 58-60. I've never had an issue with baby getting too cold during a quick diaper change.

[lucyem]

When my first was born we were in an uninsulated cottage. There was a heater on one side of the room but it did little. We bought a wipe warmer. That really made him much happier during a quick change. The problem we had was trying to give him a bath. My DS probably had about 2 baths in Jan & Feb that year. We felt guilty but felt worse when he was wet and cold.

[alicia622]

Our hause is chilly upstairs so when DS was little we kept a tiny space heater in our room and shut the door at night to keep it toasty in there. We never had any problems with chilly late night changes. And when it was bath time again we kept the space heater on to take the chill off the room. Not exactly a frugal choice though .

[SeekingJoy]

Babylegs

nak

[hellyaellen]

: you could probably even diy a pair on the cheap..........

[mamamelia]

my dd's have been changed in freeeezing weather and i didn't feel too bad. it's a part of life, not everything is going to be 100% comfortable.

why can't you put a change mat down on the bed and change her on the bed (assuming you co-sleep) - she will still be warm, you'll be done in a minute and then she be covered again. it's not as bad as taking her to a change table in the chilly air and getting half of her body exposed. i don't know many kids who poop in thier sleep and a pee just needs a quick clean and fresh nappy (so it's a 30 second job). my kids were always changed in our bed and dh did the nappy change while i breastfed or dd had her bottle so no tears and they stayed warm.

i also second the babylegs.

[tinuviel_k]

If you are really worried about the cold you could get a small space heater (I found a nice little one at a garage for $5 this summer). Just plug it into the wall when you need to change the baby, and change the diaper a few feet in front of it. After you are done just unplug it and stash it somewhere safe.

[EmsMom]

You could make a flat rice bag, pop it in the microwave for a bit and then lay it down under a towel or receiving blanket while you change her on top of it. I also used a wipes warmer to keep a bit of water warm and cloth wipes for cleaning my son up so he wouldn't be hit with cold water.

[lilyka]

I used a wipes warmer for the wipes. and baby lived in a gown until she was too big. I could change a cloth diaper in under 60 seconds and about 20 seconds for a disposable. doesn't suck any moe than having to sit on a cold toilet seat I suppose you could leave the dipes on the heater vent (if you have floor vents, i forget not eveyone is so lucky ) othewise jut get really fast.

[laohaire]

I've not worried about it. We never warmed her wipes, either. If DD is cold, she asks to nurse - snuggling up to my warm body sets her to rights pretty quick!

[llamalluv]

Originally Posted by SeekingJoy

Babylegs

nak

That's exactly what I was thinking. Though I would be more concerned about baby drool soaking his shirt and him getting wet and cold that way than during a diaper change. Or cold little bare feet and hands.

Is it possible to use a space heater to keep just the main room of the house warm, so baby doesn't suffer too much for economy?

[elisent]

If you don't want to spend the money for babylegs you can put a pair of preschool sized socks on baby under his pants. They should go all the way up and will keep his toes warm, too.

[bigteamug]

yeah, babylegs could work- we used the smallest size of kneesocks from the kids dept. Though these might not work as well if baby has super chunky legs. The elastic always seemed to cut into DD when she was really plump.

we also had a friend who used an old-fashioned light bulb in one of those desk lamps with the bendable arm. worked great for them - it gave heat and light. I've often wished for a similar set-up just to have more light to change DD by. You'd need a fairly high wattage to work, but, it wouldn't be on for very long, so I think the energy usage is a good compromise when compared to a room heater. And I would think that any form of heat that blows air is going to feel really cold for a damp baby. : I bet you could find one of these lamps at a thrift store.

[SeaBean]

WOW WOW WOW! So many great thoughts, thank you! Yes I do the Babylegs (well, as far as 2 pairs gets us; sometimes they both have poop on them) most of the time. i love the idea of using kids kneesocks too..i'm sure i can find those thrifting much cheaper than the babylegs. I guess you all are right about just having to be a little cold sometimes for a minute or two. I think the warm wipes will keep her from getting a big cold shock.
If it realy gets freezing, I guess I could keep my heating pad under the changing pad cover and just flip that on for minute or two.. although if it were only a couple mintues to change her, it'd take that long just to warm up. You all are giving me a lot of perspective!! (the things we new moms can come up with to worry about when home alone w/ baby & the internet all day...)
:-) here's to staying toasty this winter!

[thehappydeer]

I try to lay my little one down on top of a wool blanket instead of a cotton sheet, as the wool always feels warmer to the touch even in a cold room.

I've even put on knit gloves so my cold mama fingers dont startle her during nightime changes

[EineMama]

Thanks for all he great ideas! DS will be a lot happier now. :

[courtenay_e]

Um, a midwifery trick is to wrap receiving blankets in a heating pad to warm them up for a birth. It would make sense to me to just plug a pad in with a couple of blankets over it for a few minutes, which would warm the bottom blanket. If you wanted to turn it off at that point, you could flip the bottom blanket to the top, turn off the pad (which would retain heat for as long as it would take to do the change), and change the baby, who would at least have a warm bottom side! Just a minute or two per change that you'd have the pad plugged in and seems that it would make baby warm and toasty.

[*Erin*]

Originally Posted by laohaire

I've not worried about it. We never warmed her wipes, either. If DD is cold, she asks to nurse - snuggling up to my warm body sets her to rights pretty quick!

yep, that!
we lived in a little drafty old bungalow when dd was first born, and our first winter was COLD, so i got really super speedy with the dipey changing, and snuggled her up to nurse right after

bathtime is what i always hated-i would warm up the kitchen with the space heater, and bath her in her little tub super fast, keeping her covered with a washcloth that i continuously wet with the warm water.

also hats and socks! keeping feet and head warm really keeps the baby nice and warm. big people too .