A newborn baby is a life changing time for the new parents. Things that were learnt earlier have to be unlearn, with everything now revolving around the baby and his or her needs. With all this happening changing a diaper is also very important. Most often new parents flounder at the time of changing their child's diaper, yet there is no right or wrong way in which to change a diaper. Diapering a baby is an art that parents learn after changing the diaper of their kid a few times. There is nothing like too much knowledge and a book for tips on parenting can also provide the right tips on diapering a baby.

Before you have to change your child's diaper there are a few precautions you need to take care of.

Wash and sanitize your hands with a hand sanitizer or a baby wipe.
Place your baby in a warm, clean area while you change your baby's diaper. You can also place a blanket or towel on the floor or the bed.
Keep a clean diaper and plenty of wet wipes nearby. If your baby has sensitive skin then using lukewarm water and gauze will help ease any discomfort the baby may face. You can also use rash cream or petroleum jelly if your baby is prone to diaper rash.
Make sure that you do not place your baby on an elevated surface as babies are prone to squirm off the table or the elevated place. Also make sure you keep your hand on your baby at all times.

Diapering a baby:

1) Open a new clean diaper and back half under the baby while making sure that it reaches the baby's waist. This way you can prevent the changing mat from changing becoming dirty if the diaper you are changing is a mess.
2) You can untie the tabs on the dirty diaper and fold them so that they do not stick to the baby.
You can pull down the front half of the diaper and clean the baby's bottom if there is poop in the dirty diaper.
3) You can fold the diaper in half under the baby with the clean side up. To do that you need to lift the baby's bottom by gently grasping both the ankles with one hand and lifting it upward.
4) Clean the baby's front with a wet baby wipe or a cloth or gauze. If you have a baby girl then to prevent infections you would need to clean from the front to the back which would help keep the bacteria off.
5) If you find that your baby has pooped then you can take another wipe and clean the mess, while making sure that you also clean the creases of your baby's thighs and buttocks too. While wiping the baby you can also apply rash cream or petroleum jelly to prevent diaper rash after allowing the baby bottom to dry.
Remove the dirty diaper, keep it aside and then pull the front half of the diaper up-to the baby's stomach and past the tags. For a newborn make sure you do not cover the umbilical cord stump allowing it to dry and fall off on its own.