How to Change a Blanket Sleeper on an Infant or Child

Has your infant or child just spit up or soiled their blanket sleeper, and now you need to change one? The process may look tough, but with the help of this article, you'll become a professional in no-time.

Method 1

Preparation

1. 
   1
   Take off any additional blankets and blanket-like outer coverings that exist.
2. 
   2
   Take a look at the garment. Find out which type of closure system the sleeper (as they are more formally known as) uses. While most sleepers use zippers, some undoubtedly use buttons or snaps.
3. 
   3
   Determine from what position the closure system zips, snaps or buttons from. How far does the garment zip down to? Most zippers will zipper down to the child's ankles! Some will only zip down to the child's waist, but these are rare.
4. 4
   Ask the child to lay down in front of you, or if the child is tiny and/or small, you will need to pick them up yourself and carry them over to a changing area.

Method 2

Removal of Old Blanket Sleeper

1. 
   1
   Unzip or unbutton/unsnap the blanket sleeper from the top of the garment to as far down as allowable at the bottom.

   • If the garment has a zipper-flap closure at the top of the garment, you'll need to unsnap this piece first. These closures are used to intentionally stop the child from un-zippering the garment without the parent's consent (which can intentionally "mess-up" the child's thought process enough, thereby making them lose their concentration and quite possibly be able to stop them from undressing themselves at all from it).
2. 
   2
   Grab the child at the ankle of the leg that is the most-unzipped and pull it upward, (and later) slightly outward.

   • If this zipper runs to waist-high height, you can't quite use this step. You'll need to pull the arms out of the sleeves instead. (The legs will come later, after picking up the child from behind and folding it to a location underneath the child's back).
3. 
   3
   Reach into one of the sleeves and grab the child's arms from just above their elbow.
4. 
   4
   Pull out the child's arm from their sleeve.
5. 
   5
   Repeat these two steps for both elbows.
6. 
   6
   Reach into one of the leggings and grab the other leg that hasn't been pulled-out yet.

   • Reach far enough down, so you can grab the child's ankle.
7. 
   7
   Pull the leg outward. The child's knee will bend (as it naturally should), but as long as you don't push the knee so it stretches too much at an uncommon angle (to where the knee can't bend, and can snap/break), you shouldn't have a problem.

Method 3

Transition

1. 
   1
   Reach under the child's arms again and pick them up.
2. 
   2
   Take out the new blanket sleeper and unzip/unpin the item, down till it can zip no more.
3. 
   3
   Transport the child over to the newly-picked out sleeper garment. Place them on top of the child's newly picked-out blanket sleeper.

Method 4

Replacement with New Blanket Sleeper

1. 
   1
   Repeat the process with the new sleeper's closure system and placement system of the child's body parts in reverse order(the leg that required the most effort to pull out, followed by the arms and later, the other leg that required the least effort).
2. 
   2
   Zipper up the zipper to the very top portion of the garment.
3. 
   3
   Fold the zipper-stop flap over(if available)(Snap the closure snap into place).
4. 
   4
   Grab the child under their arms, and you'll be ready to continue the night. Rest assured: your child is ready to spend their cozy night, all snugly and peaceful again, with a fresh new sleeper on.

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Tips

• Some blanket sleeper garments on some infants/children's sleepers have hoods. Pull the hood back and off the child, after raising the head a tiny bit. (The hood should just about fall off the child, when the child's head is raised slightly off the changing surface.)
• Although the majority of blanket sleepers are of a one-piece and footed construction, there are some that are of a two-piece construction. The two-piece ones may be more cumbersome to change, but they shouldn't require much brain power, since changing these is just like changing any other single piece of clothing. (They generally just consist of a shirt and a pant.)
• If you would rather not have your child wear one that comes from the store, you can also make a blanket sleeper, following the sizes most-suitable to your child's needs.
• Some blanket sleepers for infants and children (toddlers) even come with fingerless mittens. Use these mittens (for the few that still do) to your advantage, to keeping your little one from intentionally pulling out their pacifier, yet keeping their hands warm otherwise.
• Since it's much easier to zipper up and keep the child warmer with a zipped-up blanket sleeper than to use the snaps, if the snap kind is like the one you are currently using, try to get that system replaced.
• While undressing the child, make sure that their diaper is still quite desirable and not too wet to wear.
• Depending on the style of sleeper the child wears, most sleepers can be worn in any season of the year. Just plan your home's temperature accordingly (plan it 10-15 degrees cooler than normal in summer, while still keeping the winter at or around normal temperatures).

Warnings

• When the parent grabs the child's ankles, they shouldn't be too rough. Keep a firm grip on the child's ankles to stop the child from fidgeting (especially in the case of a wiggly child who resists getting his/her sleeper changed).
• Don't bend the child's knees backwards too far when pulling out the legs from the leggings. If you do it too rough, you could easily break or fracture a bone in/near the child's knee.