4 Features To Look For In Baby Changing Mats

Congratulations on your coming new bundle of joy! Or, you may be reading this is a thoughtful friend, in-law, sister, or relative of an expectant mum to help them complete their baby shopping list. A new baby comes with a lot of new things to buy, especially if this is going to be the first baby. Perhaps, now, you’re on the point of choosing a baby changing mat.

A diaper or nappy changing mat is one of the must-have essentials for a newborn baby. Most rightfully so, as changing nappies is also a non-negotiable part of parenthood! It’s one of the dirty tasks no parent ever wants to do yet has no choice but to do it. Fortunately, there are many things to help this task easier, like a baby changing mat.

Once you head out to shop, there are quite a variety of brands and baby changing mats you can choose from. But you only have to focus on the basic features, like the following:

• Safety Straps

Some changing pads have safety straps in them, while others don’t. Opt for the former. Any added layer of protection is best for your baby, especially once they start to roll, twist, and turn.

It can be challenging to protect your baby from rolling over, especially if you have to reach for many things to clean your baby, fast. Add up to that your lack of energy and focus when you’re still sleepless and feeling groggy.

To give you that added assurance of security, a safety trap, together with a changing mat that has raised edges, will surely do the trick. With this, you can significantly reduce the likelihood of an accident since you can secure them with the safety strap.

• Waterproof Protection

Pee and poop explosions can happen quite a lot during diaper changes. And, if you aren’t changing your baby on a waterproof surface, this can get very messy. Any parent who has gone through that before will attest to the horrors. The last thing you want to do when you’re already tired and sleepless is to have so much more to clean up.

A life-saver is a waterproof baby changing mat. If your baby pee or poop during the change, it’s easy to wipe through the mat with a cloth, wipe, and disinfectant. Hence, you won’t have to give the mat a thorough wash after every clean.

Apart from pee and poop not seeping through a waterproof mat, it also adds another hygienic element. A waterproof pad can prevent the formation of molds and mildew on the inside cushion, which happens when water is absorbed and not cleaned and dried well enough. 

With all the protection you intend to give your baby, you wouldn’t want to place them on a surface that’s unknowingly breeding molds and mildew.

• Soft Liner

Diaper changes can be quite stressful, and one good reason which contributes to this is the discomfort of a cold surface. This can wake your baby up, sending them into a crying frenzy when they feel the cold surface from the change of environment in their warm and comfortable cot to the changing mat.

However, you won’t have to worry about this if you have a soft liner. This provides an added layer of warmth and comfort so your baby won’t feel as cold. It can make nappy changes, especially at night, a lot more pleasant, both for babies and parents, which is important as it can be challenging to console a shrieking baby to sleep, at night.

• Portability

Depending on your current situation at home, you may not always have an accessible changing station. It can be a lot of work for a tired mum to go back up to the nursery, especially during the daytime, for multiple changes. Fortunately, you’ll have that added convenience by having a portable changing mat.

This means you don’t have to confine yourself only to one changing station. Having a portable one enables you to move from one room to another so you can change your baby fast and with ease, wherever you may be in your home.

This portability feature also works well for mums who have older toddlers to attend to. This way, you won’t have to keep racing from one end of the house to another just to keep up with your newborn’s demands.

Conclusion

With this list of features, you should be feeling more confident about ending up with the right choice of changing mat. A newborn baby will need a lot of nappy changes, about ten to twelve of them in a day, so you’ll need to have the best gear and equipment to help you out with these less-than-glamorous tasks. A sleepless new parent shouldn’t have to be bothered with extra chores that come on top of nappy changes, simply because the mat wasn’t good enough. 

Most importantly, baby gear expenses can add up. So, you want to be certain you’re getting your money’s worth with your chosen baby changing mat.