Dressing And Undressing

Dressing and undressing upset many babies. They fear the feeling of air on bare skin and dislike being pulled around. So keep nakedness to a minimum and try to pull the clothes rather than the limbs. At the beginning you will probably feel that you do not have enough hands to support that wobbly neck and hold the whole baby steady and pull the clothes on or off.

Use a firm surface, such as a bed or changing table, and lie the baby on that while you deal with the bottom half. This is much easier than doing it on your lap because it keeps the baby properly supported and both your hands free.

It is the top half that causes problems, and here the type of clothes you use will help or hinder you (see illustrations). Take the baby on your lap and cross your knees so that the upper one supports the lower back. That leaves a hand for the head and another for clothes.

[picture]

Undressing

• Settle him on a blanket on your lap with your legs crossed, your left arm around him, and his head against your bosom.
• Lift the top garment to shoulder level, concertina each sleeve with your left hand and lift it off his arm with your right.
• Now shift your left arm so that the wrist supports his neck and he sits with his head just clear of your bosom.
• Stretch the neck of the garment wide open, using your right hand and the thumb of your left.
• Lift it cleanly over his head without scraping his nose or ears or jerking his head back.
• Wrap him immediately in the blanket he is sitting on and cuddle him against you.

[picture]

Dressing

• Settle him as on undressing. Use your right hand and the thumb of your left to stretch neck of garment.
• Pop it over his head, keeping it open so that it goes on without scraping his nose or ears.
• To pull on each sleeve, first put your left hand up the sleeve in reverse and grasp his hand.
• Then, with your right hand, pull the sleeve over his arm rather than his arm through the sleeve.

Clothing

Try to buy clothes that will be easy for both of you. If everything the baby wears fastens down the front, for example, you will not have to turn him over to do up the back.

If all long sleeves are raglan type, you will be able to use your hand to guide the baby’s through, instead of trying to push that soft little fist through a tight sleeve by itself.

If none of the clothes has ribbons or strings to tie, you will not find them in a knot just when you are in a hurry, and you will not find them chewed or wrapped around the baby’s neck either.

If most of the clothes are made of stretch materials, the whole business will be far easier.