Changing "Table" Hacks
It won’t be long until my littlest is out of diapers, so I wanted to share these simple tips and tricks before those days are behind us. I can’t take credit for several of these hacks. Some of these are brought to you by my sweet mama friends that have mommed before me. (Amanda, I’m mostly looking at you.) These hacks are so simple, but ones that have stuck and made a difference in our diaper changing approach.
Dresser vs. Table:
I honestly wasn’t going to include this as a “hack”, but it’s worth mentioning. I always like to look for furniture and styles that are transitional for my kiddos (or anywhere in my house really). Putting a changing pad on top of a dresser allows that piece to transition when the diapers are gone. Plus it maximizes storage for all the creams, diapers and wipes. I honestly didn’t realize they still sold changing tables. Save your money, diapers are expensive enough people.
Backup coverage:
Get you a mama friend that has kids just slightly older than yours. They give the best tips because everything is still fresh on their minds, but they have a bit more wisdom because their newly opened mama eyes have seen some shit…quite literally. My mama friend of 3 precious babies made the brilliant suggestion to simply keep some inexpensive cloths or travel pads underneath the main changing pad. When you know the diaper situation is not going to be pretty, you can bust it out and use it as a barrier. It keeps you from washing your changing pad 4 days a week. I used this tip with both babies and it was a glorious time saver.
Stash the flash cards:
This is by far my favorite tip. (And another Amanda special. Gah, what would I do without you?) When my son was still super tiny my sweet friend sent me a link to these amazing flash cards and said that she found the best time to use them was when her kiddos were contained on the changing pad. Nearly 5 years later and we still keep the same flashcards in the top drawer of our changing dresser and bust them out as a way to keep them occupied. I’m convinced it helped both of my kiddos with their early chatter.
Hair salon:
I think it’s pretty popular to keep the hair brushes, bows and bands in the bathroom. I even know a few mamas that keep these items in their kitchen or car for efficiency (which I also love). I keep all of my daughter’s hair accessories in the changing dresser and I do her hair immediately after I get her dressed — right on the changing pad so she can look in the mirror. I was not a child that liked having my hair done and I was fearful Liv would be the same way. I didn’t want to give her a chance to ever feel it was optional. By making it a part of getting dressed for the day I have found she doesn’t fight me. I started doing this as soon as she had enough hair for a Pebbles pony. I hand her the bands and the bows and the brush and I ask her to hand me each one when I need it — we make it a little hair salon and she loves the process.
Oh my goodness, her little grump face. She absolutely crashed and slept for a good 3 hours after we took this pic. Sweet baby girl.
Mirror Mirror on the wall:
This one relates to the one above, but it’s as simple as putting a low hanging mirror above the changing dresser so the littles can occupy themselves….with themselves. I did this for both babies and when they are itty bitty it keeps them glued and still so you can get the job done. As they get older, it becomes more playful and functional (see hair salon above).
Because I know I will get asked we use Hello Bello diapers and wipes for our daughter. She has incredibly sensitive skin and after testing every brand from Honest to Pampers Sensitive, these worked best for her. They are incredibly inexpensive and I can easily add them to my Walmart grocery pickup for convenience. I can’t say enough good things about these diapers and wipes. They are our absolute favorite and I hate they were not around when our son was still in diapers. We wasted a ton of money buying monthly Honest bundles.
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