The mystery of cloth diapering fell into place for me when I saw a drawing of a changing table area in a magazine. I had drawers well stocked with diapers and diaper covers. I had even sewn a few diapers myself. I was waiting for baby and completely clueless how to change a diaper.
With the drawing, I gained confidence. Everything I had gathered fit together and made sense. I was still clueless about the exact way to change a diaper, but I managed.
Just in case it might help someone else to see how I had my area set up, I have drawn my changing area.
Essential in, on, or near the changing table were:
- Clean diapers & diaper covers – I preferred to have them stacked in a drawer so I could choose easily the right diaper for the next few hours.
- Changing pad – I used a large, flat diaper to keep my warm baby from becoming alarmed by the cold changing table.
- Diaper pail – I had a diaper pail with a foot pedal, and I loved now easy it was to use.
- Cloth wipes – I kept mine slightly wet in a container, sometimes with a drop of essential oil.
- Diaper cream or lotion – I didn’t use cream or lotion unless my baby’s skin was a little red. I didn’t use barrier cream. Keep in mind that you need to be careful using some diaper creams with pocket diapers.
- Hanging thing to entertain baby – A mobile or other interesting distraction comes in very handy when you really need the baby focused away from you. Helpful for messy changes.
- Spray bottle of plain water – Essential for extra messy changes.
- Change of clothes – For the messiest changes of all, you may need to change your baby’s clothes.
- Place to hang covers – Between changes, I hung our diaper covers on hooks near an often open door to air out.
- Music – Music is potentially another distraction when needed, but we went had several favorite songs that we played and sang only during diaper changes. This encouraged my children to look forward to diaper changing time.
The changing table helped me understand how to pull together the whole process of cloth diapering. I guess for a visual person there is no substitute for a basic how-to chart.
Throughout March we will offer guides to getting started with some of the basic practices of attachment parenting. This is Cloth Diaper Week with tips, products, resources, and personal experiences.
