# How did you learn to change a baby? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 6, 2008, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-you-learn-to-change-a-baby/432542 "2008-01-06T23:10:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2020, 9:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-you-learn-to-change-a-baby/432542/61 "2020-03-03T09:19:51Z")
It surprised me when the pins got dull. I magnified one, and the sharp point actually bent over like an elbow. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2020, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-you-learn-to-change-a-baby/432542/62 "2020-03-03T13:39:41Z")
Better do it before it changes into a zombie baby. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2020, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-you-learn-to-change-a-baby/432542/63 "2020-03-03T13:45:33Z")
I never changed a diaper until my daughter was born, and then it was intuitively obvious. ---
**Author:** ![Polyester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b2d939/32.png) [@Polyester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polyester)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2020, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-you-learn-to-change-a-baby/432542/64 "2020-03-03T13:45:35Z")
[quote=“chappachula, post:60, topic:432542”] yeah, but can you beat this mother ? 🙂 [/QUOTE] LOL! I can’t imagine! ---
**Author:** ![Polyester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b2d939/32.png) [@Polyester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polyester)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2020, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-you-learn-to-change-a-baby/432542/65 "2020-03-03T13:52:12Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > It surprised me when the pins got dull. I magnified one, and the sharp point actually bent over like an elbow. Yes, I remember having a few where the tip or point resembled that of a fishhook, exaggerated of course, but nevertheless, similar. ---
**Author:** ![Polyester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b2d939/32.png) [@Polyester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polyester)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2020, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-you-learn-to-change-a-baby/432542/66 "2020-03-03T13:53:43Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > I never changed a diaper until my daughter was born, and then it was intuitively obvious. Disposables definitely helped that along. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2020, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-you-learn-to-change-a-baby/432542/67 "2020-03-03T14:02:15Z")
When I was 8yo, my aunt showed me how to change my infant cousin’s diaper - cloth and pins, of course - on my parents’ bed. My cousin is now 66, and she cringed recently when I told her I once saw her naked. ---
**Author:** ![Polyester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b2d939/32.png) [@Polyester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polyester)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2020, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-you-learn-to-change-a-baby/432542/68 "2020-03-03T14:22:00Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > When I was 8yo, my aunt showed me how to change my infant cousin’s diaper - cloth and pins, of course - on my parents’ bed. My cousin is now 66, and she cringed recently when I told her I once saw her naked. Your experience reminds me of a story my mom told me many years go, related to a woman she knew who was babysitting for some people, and how the woman had parked the diaper pins in the bed mattress she was changing the baby on, only to find out later that the bed was of the water variety. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2020, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-you-learn-to-change-a-baby/432542/69 "2020-03-03T14:23:58Z")
The question made me feel awkward at first because, though female, I’ve never changed a single diaper in my life. After some thought, however, I realized there are good reasons. I was the youngest of two, so I had no baby brothers or sisters. I never babysat infants in high school or college. There was no extended family anywhere near me. I’ve never been married or had a kid of my own. Doesn’t seem so odd after thinking about all that. I even googled it, but could find nothing on the subject. ---
**Author:** ![Polyester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b2d939/32.png) [@Polyester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polyester)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2020, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-you-learn-to-change-a-baby/432542/70 "2020-03-03T14:35:07Z")
> [@Jasmine](#): > > The question made me feel awkward at first because, though female, I’ve never changed a single diaper in my life. After some thought, however, I realized there are good reasons. I was the youngest of two, so I had no baby brothers or sisters. I never babysat infants in high school or college. There was no extended family anywhere near me. I’ve never been married or had a kid of my own. Doesn’t seem so odd after thinking about all that. > > I even googled it, but could find nothing on the subject. I have a friend who was the same until I had her over to babysit one evening, but in my view no different than say someone like myself who has never before changed a tire on a vehicle. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2020, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-you-learn-to-change-a-baby/432542/71 "2020-03-03T16:24:43Z")
Babies aren’t exchangeable. You have to keep the one you’ve got. ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2020, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-you-learn-to-change-a-baby/432542/72 "2020-03-03T20:12:54Z")
We were older parents, and neither had changed a diaper. We changed our first one in the hospital (I don’t think it was the meconium one (and apparently we would have known)). It took both of us - the nurse was very amused, making some comment about a four-handed job. We figured out how to do it solo for the next one. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2020, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-you-learn-to-change-a-baby/432542/73 "2020-03-03T20:31:04Z")
This thread is so old, the OP’s baby is probably reading it to find out how to change diapers. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2020, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-you-learn-to-change-a-baby/432542/74 "2020-03-03T20:32:10Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > I never changed a diaper until my daughter was born, and then it was intuitively obvious. Same here. We even went the cloth diaper route after a few days, so YouTube to the rescue! With cloth, there’s all sorts of ways you can fold them, but I found a nice twist method that worked well and was quick, so that’s what we used for my two daughters. I do remember that first day being on daddy duty while my wife was asleep and I had to figure out the cloth diaper, and me standing at the table with YouTube open trying to figure out which method of folding looked best to me. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2020, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-you-learn-to-change-a-baby/432542/75 "2020-03-03T20:37:30Z")
I feel compelled to point out that when the OP was posted, I too, had never changed a diaper, but that was fated to end 6 months later. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2020, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-you-learn-to-change-a-baby/432542/76 "2020-03-03T20:47:46Z")
OJT. My ex changed most all of them for the first kid. When the second one came along, the smell made her vomit during the first trimester, so I did all the changing. Cloth diapers back then, as I couldn’t afford disposables. They had to soak in bleach water, which was a lovely combination of smells. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2020, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-you-learn-to-change-a-baby/432542/77 "2020-03-03T21:05:49Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > My wife and I took a class offered by the hospital a couple of months before our first daughter was due. That’s how I learned the basics too. Then from there, a LOT of practice with two boys. Really though, diapers are a piece of cake. Swaddling a newborn well is something of an art form though. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2020, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-you-learn-to-change-a-baby/432542/78 "2020-03-03T21:14:47Z")
My sister had her first kid when I was ~13, so I got to learn how to change a diaper when my turn to babysit came around. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2020, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-you-learn-to-change-a-baby/432542/79 "2020-03-03T21:22:03Z")
Learned it by practicing on my firstborn. Cloth diapers w/ a cover. Took about 2 minutes of examining the gear and pondering the effluence to be dealt with. It’s not difficult. Disposables are easier. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2020, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-you-learn-to-change-a-baby/432542/80 "2020-03-03T22:28:10Z")
[quote=“chappachula, post:60, topic:432542”] yeah, but can you beat this mother ? 🙂 [/QUOTE] Here’s the sequel, 9 months later. I’ll bet that lady’s doctor bitches at her for “not getting enough exercise” because she doesn’t go to the gym 3 times a week. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-you-learn-to-change-a-baby/432542.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-you-learn-to-change-a-baby/432542.md?page=5)