Bedtime has become a bit of a nightmare around here in the last couple of weeks. Brown Bear in particular hates to lie down and have her clothes and diaper removed. She squirms about so much that it is really tough to get her ready for her bath. And then post-tub…
Holy crapola. She has a bit of a diaper rash now and so we have to make sure she has some kind of barrier cream put on her junkyard. We use Penaten cream because that is what their mother tells me to use.
Anyway, you smear this cream all around the junkyard as she is screaming and squirming about and trying to push her hands down into her…well where the cream is. She then gets the cream on her hands, and then on her face, in her mouth…and then the screams really start.
This evening I got so frustrated I had to step away and let Wifey take over the re-dressing post-tub. Has anybody else seen this behaviour from their little ones? She is just about eleven months old. Her twin sister Blonde Bear does the same sort of thing but not nearly to the extent that Story does.
What words of advice can you offer me, us? Please comment! I’m losing it over this squirmy, wormy kidlet. Ack.
Comments
7 responses to “Bedtime Squirming and Screaming Troubles”
Oh, you’ll love this…
I knew a dad who used big yellow ear protection. He’d put on the ear muffs and a big goofy grin and then he would be uber-efficient. He’d hum and grin and hold the two hands up & back – firm and no nonsense – in his one big hand. He was so fast with the cream smearing & sliding the diaper in place I don’t think his daughter even knew he’d let go of her hands until he’d quickly maneuvered the diaper front over everything and was sealing the deal (do they still do tape to close the diapers?)
I think he was a diaper jedi and I’m not sure mere mortals can hope to emulate his quick efficiency, but the ear protectors certainly allow for a certain detachment from the yelling that allowed him to retain his jedi calm. His wife thought he was nuts…..
The screams are not so bad, it is the squirming and writhing that makes it so difficult to get a diaper on her. And yes, the disposables still use a tape-like seal the deal.
We only used Penaten once and our daughter, who normally didn’t mind cream, HATED it. So it was back to Zincofax, or Extra Stength Zincofax for skin that’s too red and sensitive for any wipes or washcloth action. One of the very few baby care products I was absolutely fanatical about. Hope it helps.
Oh, and while I’m sure you’ve tried this, I’ll just mention the idea of having a special toy that they only get to hold/watch during changes. That worked well for us sometimes – and hey, sometimes sometimes is all you can ask for!
I think our daughters are in ‘cahoots’ (sp?). Kahlen is NUTS! I cant even change her on her change table anymore… nearly killed herself trying to roll, squirm, crawl, claw her way off the other day. She gets so worked up flipping and squirming that I nearly cry out of sheer frustration sometimes. I agree with Tanya about having the one ‘change table toy’ that only gets used there. That works for us once in a while. I also agree with the zincofax extra strength. We only use that (its what they used in the NICU) and it works GREAT! K seems to like it too.
You are not alone!!!!!!
Hey Kelsey, perhaps our babies signed a pact when they were in neighbouring bed-thingys in the NICU. Honestly, it reminds me of a fishing trip on the Thompson River. I caught a 45 lb spring salmon and I was trying to get a hold on it to get it out of the water. The twisting, writhing power in Story is equivalent. You “cried out” in frustration? I lost it and hurled the F-bomb into the room. Not my proudest moment.
Hmmmm,…sounds the same as her mother was like at 11 months.
Like mother, like daughter??
gramps
P.S. No Advice.
Stacey,
The f-bomb has reared its ugly head today. Not my finest moment.. but “damnit child! Lay down and let me change you ass! UHhhhhhhhh!!!!!”
K