Homemaking Tip o' the Day: How to Dress a Baby (or Two)

I am pleased to include this post in...


...@ Rocks in My Dryer, am AMAZING blog everyone needs to see!

In my effort to publish posts that will be interesting to myself, my posterity, and anyone else who might view my blog, I have been interested in seeking ideas from other sources. One source I searched suggested that one can write a how-to post. I don't know how to do a whole lot of things well, but one thing I really know how to do quickly is to dress a baby. I know most of you who read this post will already know how to do this, but there are some who may not, and you may be entertained by this either way. This is what "works for me"...

I chose to chronicle the one-piece sleeper. I love sleepers because you only have to find one piece of clothing and never have to worry about socks falling off wiggly feet. Plus, they always stay warm in cool weather or air-conditioned rooms. Our models are four-month-old twins, Joseph (on left) and Hyrum.

Step 1: Believe it or not, it took me many years to learn that if you lay out the sleeper in preparation for laying the baby on top of it, he can't kick it off. See picture below.



Step 2: Lay the baby in the center of the sleeper.



Step 3: Put the baby's feet in the sleeper feet.



Step 4: Button up the legs so the chances of the sleeper feet being kicked off are even more remote.



Step 5: Put the baby's arms in the sleeper sleeves. This is the most tricky part of the whole process because little fingers can be bent. I like to spread open the sleeper wrist openings with the tips of my fingers, then grab their little hands from the outside and pull them through, that way I can control what goes on with their fingers. You can see from the picture that this step was successful, as they are still happily cooperating.



Step 6: Button the top button to make sure an arm won't wiggle out.



Step 7: Button the rest of the buttons. You may start from the bottom or the top. It's your choice!



Step 8: At this point, your baby is considered dressed, but if he is teething, you may want to add a bib to make sure the sleeper won't get soaked or you will have to repeat this entire process in three minutes. Happy dressing!