The following is a guest post about an organized diaper changing station from regular contributor, Rachel.
I’m excited to show you my baby diaper changing table solution for downstairs. It’s discreet and convenient for quick changes. Above all, it beats running up a flight of stairs to the changing table with a wiggly baby in tow. 🙂
It all started with an underutilized ottoman and an empty under-the-bed storage drawer. The drawer is made of wood, is very sturdy, and moves on caster wheels. It came with my daughter’s bed frame but she never used it much. It’s my proudest “shop your home” organizing find to this day. 🙂 A contoured changing pad fits inside perfectly with room for diapers and wipes on the side. The drawer slides under our ottoman just as easily as it would under a bed.
Two side notes: The changing unit is truly discreet. You don’t notice it when you walk into our living room but you will notice it in these pictures because of the angle I photographed (like below). It’s also important for me to note that I don’t keep anything other than diapers and wipes in the pull-out drawer. My little one doesn’t mess with the drawer contents – I’m convinced that’s because she dislikes diaper changes so much, lol. Even so, I keep it safe because I don’t want anything harmful (like rash creams or plastic bags for stinky dipes) within her reach.
As for the ottoman itself, that was an impulse buy years ago from Homegoods. It’s actual usefulness is debatable due to the internal compartment being ridiculously shallow. To make it more useful for our needs, I fill the inside with surplus changing related items. This is where I keep a small tube of rash cream because my youngest still can’t open the lid.
I also keep a stash of toys inside the lid. Those make diaper changing times easier on Mom. I’m quick to hand her something that’s not part of her daily play toys when I start the changing process. For some reason, my second child hates diaper changes. It’s often been a struggle until I discovered the art of distraction. I’m tellin’ ya, keep handheld new-to-baby toys near the diaper changing station and diapering becomes much easier! Oh, and light-up or noise-making toys are a bonus distraction. 😉
Yes, my set-up requires diaper changing to be done on the floor, which I know isn’t for everyone. However, running upstairs for dirty diaper fixes got old from the start for me. I was already using a changing pad on the living room floor before I came up with this system. It works for us and involved using things already around the home.
One final picture because I couldn’t resist. Hope to make you smile from a little baby potty-humor. 🙂
In the professional world, I’m a nurse by trade. But, around our house, I’m known as Mommy to our young daughters. My two worlds collided and began shaping into a blog. Useful Beautiful Home represents the hours I’ve dedicated to managing my household as efficiently as possible. I offer you motivation to keep your home healthy, organized, and welcoming. My goal is to share what I’ve implemented in my home to inspire you with fresh ideas and to encourage you to keep up the good work in yours!
- *Please note that affiliate links are included in this post to make it easier for you to find what is being referenced. A small commission is made should you purchase product using these links, but this is at no extra cost to you. As always, any and all opinions are genuinely my own – or the author, in the case of posts by my guest contributors. Thank you!*
Jerralea says
Love this! How creative!
Ann says
I always had little chunky books or softcover books for my kids to read during diaper changes. Gives you a chance for verbal interaction–“can you find the picture of Elmo?” “Show me the page with __ on it.” Storage on first floor is great to re-load the diaper bag!