It’s best to decide before your baby is born which approach to diapering you prefer: cloth diapers that you wash yourself, a diaper rental and laundry service, or disposable diapers. Disposables are the most convenient but also the most expensive. For a somewhat smaller cost, a rental service will collect dirty diapers and deliver clean ones once or twice a week. Least costly is buying 3 or 4 dozen cloth diapers. You’ll need to launder them two or three times a week. Changing the baby Set up a waist-high changing table; cover it with waterproof padding.
Never leave the baby alone on the table even for a moment.
Make diapering a time of play and conversation instead of just a chore. When the baby is tiny, hang a mobile above the changing table. Later on, give the baby a toy to hold. Pick up the baby’s feet with one hand. Put the diaper under the baby’s bottom, then between the legs and pin it as shown.
Change a diaper whenever it becomes soiled with urine or stool. Wash the skin in the diaper area, rinse it, and pat it dry. Rinse solids from the diaper into the toilet.
Apply talcum powder or cornstarch sparingly, if at all, and carefully so that the baby doesn’t inhale the powder. Don’t use cream and powder together; they tend to cake in the skin folds.