Change Table Essentials (and how we've avoided diaper rash!)

Setting up the change table/change station was one of the topics I researched voraciously in my last few months of pregnancy. Lovebug will be turning seven months old next week, and touch wood, has never had a diaper rash. I think our process has something to do with it.

I've curated a list of typical 'essentials' I found in my research, and my personal experience with them. But first, here's what mine currently looks like:

Change Table
I never liked the idea of purchasing a piece of furniture whose sole purpose is to change diapers. I'd much rather find a nice dresser that's the right height so it can continue to stay in the room once the baby no longer needs a changing station. We had an Ikea Groland kitchen island that was tucked away in a spare room, unused. It turned out to be the perfect height for us, and there's a shelf for storage underneath. We keep swaddle blankets, spare crib sheets, and small towels on ours. There's also enough space on the surface for the change pad and everything else you might need. I have absolutely no complaints! And, when Lovebug outgrows her change table, we can move to another room without anyone thinking "hey, is that a change table?"

Bonus: the hanging rail was great when she was little, and we used the change table to change her clothes as well.


Change Pad
A baby spends so much time having their diaper changed, it makes sense to get a comfy change pad. My husband really wanted the Keekaroo Peanut Changer, but I couldn't bring myself to spending $150 on a change pad, no matter how cute it looked. I did like its easy clean qualities, so, instead, I got a waterproof, contoured change pad from Wal-Mart for under $30. Hurrah!


No Change Pad Cover
I intended to get a cover, but in her early days there were so many blowouts and peeing/pooing while getting changed, that it seemed like too much work to get on and off to wash constantly. Sure, a nicely coordinated nursery would look good, but my Queen of Practicality tendencies trumped having the model nursery look. Though I'll always be in awe of those picture perfect nurseries, I prefer "sanitary and easy" over "pretty and time consuming". Now that there haven't been any cleanups necessary in a while, a soft plush cover might be nicer for her than the plastic-y surface.


Lysol Wipes
These are great and easy to use for cleaning up baby mess on the change pad, particularly when you have the waterproof pad with no cover. When Lovebug was a featherweight, I'd grab a wipe, pick her up in one arm after the change, and wipe clean the change pad with my free hand. Now (at 19lbs), on the very odd occasion that she soils the change pad, I put her somewhere safe (crib, bouncy chair, etc) when she's all cleaned up, then give the pad a good once over with a Lysol wipe.


Diapers (Disposable vs. Cloth)
The crunchy mum wannabe in me really wanted to use cloth diapers. Disposables take up a lot of space in our landfills and come packed with chemicals to be aid absorption. 'Sposies also cost a lot more in the long run than cloth diapers. We do a few loads of baby-related laundry a week anyways, so adding cloth diapers wouldn't add too much to the workload. Plus, they're so gosh-darned cute! But, here we are, almost seven months into Lovebug's life, and she has not once worn a cloth diaper. At first, the biggest reason was our two month trip to South East Asia and Australia. Long haul travel and having to use someone else's washing machine do not mix well with cloth diapering. She was just over four months old when we came back to Canada and we had so many disposable diapers in our stash to keep using! Fast forward another month, and I'm back at work. Fast forward another couple of months and we finally need to buy more diapers -- to go up a size. Now, my husband and I are so used to disposables... and she's just started on solids, so there's a slight change in odour and consistency, which I know will only get worse... and the thought of starting now is just too much... Ah, what a fail! Oh well. It's what works for us. Maybe we'll try cloth with #2.


Wipes (Disposable vs. Cloth)
So you'd think that using disposable wipes with disposable diapers would make sense, right? Yeah, except we don't use disposable wipes at home. In the early weeks, I didn't want her to be touched by a synthetic wipe. The ingredient list scared me, and she was so tiny and precious. I looked up various homemade wipe solutions, but ended up just using a small bowl of water, paper towel, and washcloths. We cut up a stash of paper towel into approximately 3" x 6" squares, and every time Lovebug needed a diaper change, we'd fill the bowl up with fresh warm water. If there's poo, we wet the paper towel and wipe as many times as required to remove the bulk of her poop (no double dipping), followed by a wet washcloth for a more thorough clean. If it's just pee, we just use the wet washcloth. Then, we pat dry with another clean washcloth.

Now she's a little older, and hypothetically tougher, we keep a box of disposable wipes on the table now for really big cleanups. This saves us from using too much paper towel, and we don't have to burn any sacrificial cloth wipes after. We still always follow with the water wipe with the wash cloth. We try to let her have some bare bum time before putting a new diaper on, if we remember or aren't in a rush.

Side note: when we go out, we use disposable wipes, since our home process ranks poorly in the portability scale.


No Hand Sanitizer
A lot of other mummy bloggers and vloggers keep hand sanitizer at their change tables. It made sense to me before I actually had to change a baby. I'm a big proponent of keeping at least one hand on Lovebug while she's on the change table, and I'm also a big proponent of making sure hands are properly cleaned. You can't effectively clean your hands with sanitizer without rubbing your hands together - at least I can't. Plus, Lovebug tends to put my fingers in her mouth at any opportunity, and the thought of having sanitizer residue on them revolted me (try licking your hand after you've rubbed hand sanitizer all over it). So I ixnayed the sanitizer on the change table and instead pop her in her crib after I've changed her and wash my hands properly with soap and running water. I do keep some in her diaper bag though, because you never know when you won't have access to running water and/or soap.

Tip: the big bottle we got for the change table did not go to waste. It now sits in the cup holder of my car, so it's easy to remember to sanitize after filling up the tank or touching shopping carts.


Cotton Pads
Lovebug gets a mini sponge bath on her change table after she wakes up every morning. The bowl gets some fresh warm water, and we start with her face. Our washcloths are pretty soft, but they're still too rough for her delicate little face, so instead we use these cotton pads. One for each eye, then I just use the same 2 for the rest of her face. The ones I use are cheapo knock-off brands that are prevalent in Malaysia. The only suitable option I've found in Canada are Sheseido cotton pads, that run around $10 a pack. Still worth it, I think. They're super soft, hold liquid well without dripping, and don't shed lint.

AM cleanup routine: after we clean her face, her hands get a good rub down with a wash cloth, then we go through the diaper change as described above.


No Diaper Cream
I don't actually know how common or uncommon diaper rash is, but I do know that most others would deem diaper cream to be an essential. Many seem to use it even when there's no rash -- as a precautionary tool. Just as I didn't want to use disposable wipes on Lovebug, I also didn't want to lather highly chemical-ized cream on her for no reason, so I don't. I have a load of free samples to last forever if she ever does get a rash. I do want to note that in the meconium days, I used coconut oil on her toosh at each diaper change. That sticky goop just slithered off as a result - no rubbing necessary.


Moisturizer
Before Lovebug was born, I set the change table up with some nice Live Clean Baby moisturizer. That yummy smelling stuff now sits at my desk at work. I didn't want any scents on her, and for the longest time, I avoided moisturizing her with anything but coconut oil. Even that was scant. She ended up getting eczema on her face at around 4 months (I'm blaming it on extensive air travel), and we've been able to keep it away by using Exederm anytime she starts feeling a little dry. So, we keep a bottle of that on our change table.


Diaper Disposal
So far, we haven't needed a specialized receptacle to house dirty diapers because breast milk poop is not at all offensive. We empty our little garbage bin every 5-7 days, and Lovebug's room doesn't smell funky - at all. On days when she's had formula though... ugh. I've been told solid food poop is even worse, so perhaps we'll soon have to invest in something that can better contain the stench, or we could just empty our garbage more frequently... :)


Laundry Hamper
We keep a small square laundry hamper to the left of the change table. All used washcloths go in there, as well as whatever clothes we strip off her. It's right by the door to the room too, so it's easy to grab when it's laundry day.

Change Table - Surface View

Lovebug's getting more and more wriggly these days, so sometimes, we have to move the diaper container or the water bowl to the dresser beside our change table when we change her. She's getting bigger too, so we'll probably have to revamp our system soon. A hook to hang a toy for her to play with during changes might be a good place to start.

How do you set up your change table? Share with all of us in the comments below!