First 12 Months

Changing Your Newborn

The more you change your baby’s nappies, the more confident you will be – which is one consolation when you’re on your fifth nappy change of the day and it’s only lunchtime!

To make life easier, have everything you need beside you before you start changing:

Changing mat and clean towel
Clean nappy
Nappy sack
Bowl of warm water
Cotton wool

Step by step:

Place the towel over the changing mat before placing your baby on the towel.
Undo the dirty nappy, gently bring her legs together and up and then remove the nappy, taking most of the poo with it.
Clean your baby’s bottom thoroughly with cotton wool dipped in warm water, wiping from front to back for your baby girl (and from back to front for baby boys). Don’t forget to dry your baby’s bottom.
Slip the new nappy under your baby’s bottom, bring the nappy up to her waist and fasten the tags.

“How easy is it to use washable, cloth nappies?”

Practice makes perfect! There are various kinds of cloth nappies available (in various sizes) but most of them either have a waterproof backing or separate waterproof cover and fasten with either poppers or Velcro® and can be used with biodegradable, flushable nappy liners.

The actual nappy changing process is the same as with disposable nappies but it’s a good idea to have a pile of ready-folded nappies ready so you don’t have to think about where the folds should be while your baby is wriggling about!

Nappies should be washed in the washing machine at 60^oC. However, there are nappy laundering services in many areas, which replace soiled nappies with freshly-laundered nappies every week.