I’m going to be a volunteer with my church’s youth. Infants and children.
I don’t know how to change a baby.
I’m hoping this is easy to learn.
I’m the oldest of 5, and I babysat as a kid - I got a lot of on-the-job-training. But there’s not a lot to it. If you’re changing a boy, keep a cloth ready to drop over his penis, or you’ll be squirted.
With the kid lying on his/her back, unhook/unpin the dirty diaper. Fold the front down, use it if necessary to de-poo the butt. Use a washcloth or baby wipes to clean the entire diaper area. Remove the dirty diaper and wipes. Plant the baby’s butt on a clean diaper. Apply cream or powder as required. Fasten the diaper in place. Put the baby someplace safe. Dispose of the diaper. Wash hands. Repeat…
It will be a lot easier than when I learned it. We didn’t have disposables, just cloth diapers with huge, nasty safety-pins. You keep your hand between the diaper and the baby so you can stab yourself instead.
I learned when I was eight - my mom taught me to help take care of the babies we fostered.
ETA - what FairyChatMom said. Additional step is if cloth diaper is filled with baby-do, dunk in toilet to get the turds off before it goes in the diaper bucket.
When I was 13, my mom had my baby sister. She’s a dedicated cloth-diaper person, so I learned on those. I also did a lot of babysitting.
Don’t worry, it’s easy-peasy. Cover up a boy, clean carefully and stick the tape in the right place!
It’s guaranteed that you’ll be anointed by a little boy sooner or later. Can’t be avoided.
Change it into what?
Can you change a baby?
No, all I have is a twenty.
I learned on my little brother, and then did a fair amount of babysitting. If a 10 year old kid can do it, so can you.
There’s a bit of technique involved with diapers, but modern disposables are pretty easy. I remember the older disposables; once the tape was on, you couldn’t reposition it without tearing the diaper and having to start over. Now, you can reposition the tape easily.
Watch someone do it the first time, have that person watch you do the second one, and you’ll be fine. Key is to make sure that the diaper is on securely enough that when the kid stands up, the diaper doesn’t fall off.
When I was almost 31, I had a baby. Never changed one before in my life. After 6 years and 3 babies, I’ve learned that:
Younger babies are easier, as they don’t roll and squirm away as much.
Boys will pee in your face, no matter what you do.
Applying diaper rash cream with a wipe is easier, smoother, and more sanitary than using your bare hand. (Doc told me this, and he was right.)
It’s a good idea to make sure the baby is finished pooping before you begin changing. (Learned that one the hard way.)
Have everything within arm’s reach, and never ever ever let go of the baby.
Hilarious scenes in baby based movies to the contrary, changing a baby isn’t that hard. You can pretty much reverse engineer the process while you’re taking the old diaper off.
I’m sure I picked it up while babysitting.
If you’re really nervous about figuring out cloth diapers, I recommend getting some practice at it with… erm… a stuffed animal or a doll first 
No, seriously, I’m not kidding. It’s how I taught one of my friends who was about to become a dad and was really, REALLY traumatized by the notion of changing his kid’s diapers. Disposables are way easier, but hey, a little practice can’t hurt. (And seriously, this ain’t brain surgery. I learned by helping to take care of my cousins when I was about 7 years old.)
Learn by watching someone else do it.
And yeah, boys are little bastards. Cover the hose lest ye be blessed.
Oooooh. Oh yes. Everyone’s done that at least once.
Of course, that’s often when the male toddler looks at you and decides to cheerfully pee.
Seriously, I have never changed a diaper in my life, and I never will.
My wife and I took a class offered by the hospital a couple of months before our first daughter was due. They taught everything from infant CPR to changing a diaper and it helped a lot. All of this was with disposables mind you. The diapers themselves aren’t that hard but getting the baby to lay the right way , cleaning it, and putting on a new diaper is a touch tricky but it doesn’t take long. The main things are how to open the diaper the right way, grab both feet with one hand, and slide the diaper in the correct orientation straight under the baby.
Find a disposable diaper and learn how to unfold it with just your fingers and, more importantly, learn which is the front and which is the back. You can move it around once the baby’s bottom is sitting on it again. It isn’t that hard. I am a male and I can change a wet diaper in less than 45 seconds including cleaning.
When changing girls, always wipe from front to back!
Never, ever, ever the other way.
[whisper]A maternity nurse taught me when my daughter was born [/w]
I learned how to change a baby, and to watch kids and babies without anyone dying, when I was a teen in “How to watch kids and babies without anyone dying” class (ok perhaps that wasn’t the name. Maybe “Babysitting”?) given by the Red Cross.
Anyway, my point is that you might do everyone a favor by taking some sort of short babysitting class that covers not only diaper changing but infant & child safety and CPR. Even if you’re going to just be manning the cry room for one hour a month, a little knowledge can go a long way!
Mom taught me. (I’m six years older than my brother). I’ve changed many diapers since then, but mostly kids older than a year.
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Usually the tabs are on the back side of the diaper, so put their butt down on that half.
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Newer diapers might be stretchier, but I was taught that you should make sure the diaper isn’t too tight by being able to fit your finger between the waistband and the baby’s side. Much like you do with a pet’s collar.
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Do Not set up a changing table near a light switch. Kids older than ~18 months understand what they do, and changing a diaper to a strobe effect is not fun.
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Bigger kids (older than 2 1/2) who aren’t toilet trained might be able to change themselves with a little help - especially with pull ups that they might only need your help stepping into - or no help except for hand washing. When in doubt ask if they need help. You’ll both be less confused that way.
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Babies are easier to change than young toddlers who don’t want to be changed, but young toddlers are easier to change than elderly people who don’t want you to change them. At least there’s little chance that the kid will outweigh you, so you can hold them down.
Here’s a pretty good instructional video.
My husband, God bless 'im, handled diaper duty for about the first week after our twins were born (I had a c-section and was laid up for a good while), so that the first time I actually had to change one, I was like, “Errr, how do I do this?” while he laughed at me. It only takes a couple times to get the hang of, though, really.
Never. Not. Ever. Haven’t even been in the room when it’s been done. I seriously never want to experience it.
You are my soul sister!
Somehow, I doubt that.
(If yer in the diaper, yer probably in the room.)