Diaper Change Guide

First I’ll show you how to put on a diaper, then later, I’ll describe the extra steps involved if you’re changing a dirty diaper and replacing it with a fresh one. This guide works both for diapering yourself or others.

Here’s a video (without commentary, only crinkly diaper sounds) showing the diaper changing process. A textual description will follow after that, including screenshots, so you don’t need to watch it necessarily.

1. Unfold the diaper and then lay on the back wing that has the tapes. Pull the front wing up.

2. Align the back wing and front wing so that they are roughly at the same height.

3. Pull on the front wing’s sides to tighten up the diaper around your legs.

4. Wrap one side of the front wing around your waist and tuck it under your back if possible.

5. Open the first tape (or only tape) on the same side and fasten it with slight tension.

6. Repeat the same steps for the other side.

7. Then fasten the last two tapes one at a time with slight tension.

8. Enjoy being diapered!

These steps are the same for when diapering yourself or someone else. However, exchanging a dirty diaper for a new one involves a few additional steps. I’ll describe the steps for diapering someone else and you can take whatever shortcuts you want in case you’re diapering yourself.

Changing a dirty diaper and putting on a new one!

1. Lay or have your baby lay on the changing table (or bed, or changing pad on the floor, etc.) with all clothes on and the dirty diaper.
2. Then work on undressing the diaper area. Onesies with buttons are especially convenient here! The dirty diaper should be fully exposed.
3. Then take a fresh diaper and unfold it, placing it below your baby’s diaper. Then either take both feet of your baby in one hand, or use your lower arm to push against both backs of the knee until the diapered butt lifts off the ground.
4. Take the fresh unfolded diaper and position it under baby’s butt so that the back wing aligns with the dirty diaper’s one.
5. Slowly put your baby’s butt down again and then in no particular order, undo the tapes. Some diapers have double tapes which makes it easier to remove (and reuse).
6. Fold the front wing down and use baby wipes, tissues or soft towels to do some basic cleanup.
7. Then follow the same steps as described above to lift your baby’s butt off the ground and clean up the rest of the diaper area.
8. Finally, put your baby wipes on the dirty diaper and pull it out. Then slowly let your baby’s butt sink into the fresh and soft diaper underneath.
9. Fold the front wing of the dirty diaper inside and then either roll it up from there, or fold it twice a third of the diaper length, until you reach the back wing. Now use the tapes to secure the dirt diaper package in place. You can then throw it into your diaper pail.
10. Now you can follow the steps from above to put on the new diaper.
11. Enjoy your diapered baby!

And that’s it! The most important part is the closure around the legs as you can see at the end of the diaper change video above. You can check with your finger whether there’s enough tension in these areas. Other than that, realize that peeing while hanging from a playground bar upside down or doing a handstand will very likely lead to wet clothes. A diaper will fail in some circumstances, but if you’ve followed the steps above, there should be no reason for you to worry in case you’re going out with a diaper under your clothes!

And now, here’s a few diapers you can use to practice diaper changes:

And if you’re still scared of diaper changes, here’s some pull-ups for you instead: