Young House Love

Home Decorating & DIY Tutorials

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Making A Waterproof Vinyl Changing Pad Cover

When we last left off in the nursery, we had painted the closet door green, but still had a few lingering functional things that we needed (like a changing pad cover, a hamper, and a bin for dirty diapers) as well as a plan for the wall behind the crib that we had been debating.

Update #1. You probably remember when we were considering this fun arrow wallpaper for that spot (among others) but thought it might be a little busy on that side with all the built-ins, so imagine our surprise to find a changing pad cover in the same pattern on Etsy. Teddy loves it. So much, in fact, that he has already peed on it a whole bunch of times. You know, to mark his territory.

Updates New Changing Pad Far

We’ve heard a ton of tips (washcloth, wipe, clean diaper) to block the spray, but even with those methods we found that it still managed to run down and pool on the changing pad cover, meaning that we had to strip it off and wash it more times than we hoped in the first few days of being home from the hospital. To the point that even if we had 4 spares we’d still be washing them constantly. We had the same problem with baby Clara (good genes I guess) so we used a wipeable changing pad cover over her cloth changing pad during that phase (it was so much easier to wipe that down than constantly be washing the cover itself).

Which brings us to Update #2. Now that we use that vinyl pad in the car for changes on the go, I thought I’d make one for the house from oilcloth. Here was my process in a nutshell:

Updates Making Pad

1. I grabbed half of a yard of “marine coat vinyl” in white from JoAnn for $6 (they didn’t have white oilcloth), and I actually got two changing pad covers out of that half a yard (so we can use one downstairs when we change Teddy on the ottoman as well)

2. I laid out our existing car pad by Skip Hop (the front is the shiny vinyl part and looks like this, so the black fabric is the back) and traced the shape onto the back of the white marine coat vinyl fabric with a sharpie (twice since there was room for two).

3. Then I just cut them out. Vinyl doesn’t have a fraying edge, so I didn’t even need to hem them or anything

Updates Pad With Teddy

So far it has been awesome. Just look at Teddy modeling his new waterproof cover. He actually peed through his diaper and his onesie while we took this shot. True story. It’s like he wanted to test just how waterproof it was. Thankfully, it worked like a charm. And it has been saving us a little bit of laundry (every little bit helps!) ever since.

Update #3. You can also see the simple white trash can that we grabbed at Ikea for diapers (we’re using disposables until Teddy grows into our cloth ones, just like we did with Clara). So far it’s working well. The lid (with the step-to-open mechanism) keeps smells in, and makes for hands-free opening, which is really convenient.

Update #4. In other “I’ll take all the small conveniences I can get while running on a lot less sleep” category, we also got this adorable navy and white Boppy cover from John’s sister as a baby gift (it was also from Etsy). I know some folks skip the Boppy and just use a pillow or something but I use it so much in these early days when the baby’s so small and nursing all the time. We debated bringing ours to the hospital and I said “nah, that’s overkill” and I actually wished I had it instead of using wadded up blankets and pillows, which surprised me.

Updates Bopp 2

Please avert your gaze from my dirty nails and focus on the cute baby.

Updates Boppy 1

Update #5. This is a little craft fair item that we bought here in Richmond at the annual Spring Bada Bing event (we’ve blogged about it a few times before). It’s always fun to support small businesses and browse homemade wares – and this one is made by The Little Bandit Shop. It’s an embroidery hoop with discontinued fabric (from Ikea a while back) that she hand-stitched with some cute green vines on each side. We thought it was so charming, and a great idea for a DIY project too.

Updates Moose Art

Update #6. We also realized we needed a clothes hamper, so we grabbed a basket from HomeGoods that’s around the same size as the hamper that we use in Clara’s room and I quickly sewed a little inside-out pillowcase to create a liner. Why inside out? That way when you fold the edges over the side of the basket, they face the right way (and when you look down at the inside of the hamper the patterned side shows). It’s easy to pull out and wash, and I got half a yard of this soft gray ticking fabric at JoAnn for $4.

Updates Laundry Front1

Update #7. Now for our little plan behind the crib wall, which we didn’t actually do yet – but we think we’re set on this idea. John came up with a repeating pattern of T’s (for Teddy of course). Although this photoshopped version leaves a lot to be desired in the “realistic” department, in our minds it’ll look awesome.

TWall Photoshop

It’s subtle and sweet enough for both of us to like it best of all the other options we’ve considered, so now we’re just debating if we’ll end up making a stencil to paint the T’s on the wall like Clara’s raindrops, or if we’ll use contact paper or some other method to add them. Will keep you posted!

Oh and I finally remembered to snap a picture of the fourth wall of the room (it briefly flashed by in this video tour, but I don’t think I ever took a photo of that angle). Right now there’s just a floor lamp for function (it works on the wall switch, so we can flip it on when we enter the room) but eventually we’d love an overhead light on a dimmer and we think we’ll use that wall to make a fun little play area once Teddy’s a little older, like we did on this wall in Clara’s room.

Updates Blank Wall Side

Are you rallying to add a flurry of small things to a space that’s mostly complete? Buying anything fun from Etsy or at a local craft show? Peeing on changing pads, just for fun?

Psst- To read about all of the nursery updates from the beginning, here’s how we painted all the pink trim, laid new hardwood floors, got a rug, painted the walls & ceiling, added built-ins, tackled some baby bedding, hung extra thick crown molding, filled up the built-ins, added a storage cabinet/changing table, made a mobile, and made art & painted the closet door green.

Comments

    • YoungHouseLove says

      That’s in the the paragraph above the grid of photos (making the vinyl cover). It’s in bold, but not sticking out on the end like the other ones, so it’s hiding a little ;)

      xo
      s

  3. Melissa R says

    The T’s on the crib wall would be great. Would you use painter’s tape to make the T’s and paint a darker color instead of painting all those individual T’s?

    Reply

  4. Erin B. says

    I love the boppy cover. I noticed my boppy got a little flat after my first born. Instead of getting rid of it, I restuffed it with some pillow filler from the fabric store. It will bring new life to your boppy and raise your son up to you a couple of inches.

    Reply

    • Liz K. says

      THAT is seriously one of the best ideas EVER. I really wish I had thought of that before I bought a new boppy for my last two babies.

  5. Amy B. says

    You guys sure are posting a lot for reducing your posting schedule. ;)

    Just wanted to say I love Teddy’s nursery. The colors and textures are great together. You are making me want to learn how to sew! You make it look so easy, whipping out an inside-out pillow case for a laundry basket. Sheesh!

    Reply

  6. Robin says

    I’m still in early planning stages of our nursery and can’t wait for all the adorable cuteness! As a soon to be first time mom I cannot get enough of posts like this. #nurseryideasoverload

    Reply

  7. Janelle @ Two Cups of Happy says

    I’m glad you found a use for the arrow pattern — I love it. Also, I laughed at your marking territory comment. My girl dog is slowly turning into a boy dog and now pees with her leg up. She has a buddy who’s a boy, so I think she’s learning it from him. And I don’t know why I’m telling you this…. #dogmomlife

    Reply

  10. Alex P says

    LOVE all of the updates, his nursery is lovely!!! But I have to say, that sweet boy steels all the shots, he is precious!!

    Reply

    • Leah says

      We moved when I was a teen, and my little brother got the smallest room. As “compensation,” my parents brought in a company that painted the actual night sky from the night of his birth on the walls/ceiling with glow in the dark paint. He had a blacklight in there to help charge up the paint. In 14 years of living there, the paint never got dim. I can’t tell you how many hours I spent lying on the bed with my bro and our friends stargazing from indoors. You could legit see constellations and everything!

    • Jessica Leonard says

      I love this! I’ve been thinking of what to do on the ceiling of our second little one’s nursery if it’s a boy. I’m planning a Star Wars theme. This would be perfect!

  13. Lindsey says

    Love all these simple but practical updates! When I saw your idea for the statement wall my mind immediately went to 3D. I can see using very thin pieces of wood (like shims or something) to build out that T pattern and painting it all out white (or maybe a color, but I think simple is better). It would kind of have a moulding effect. You’d have shadow to give it interest but it wouldn’t be all up in your face :) Love seeing pics of baby Teddy. MORE!

    Reply

    • Katie says

      This really is a great idea! Might even be easier than taping and painting if you can find a pre-primed thin piece of trim that you can just cut up.

    • Vicky says

      That is what I was thinking too. Maybe the thin craft wood from Michael’s would work if they had a specific font in mind…or maybe even cardboard.

    • Mara C says

      Be careful it’s not MDF – that’s not safe material for a babie’s room! Also if you are doing something 3D you’d want to REALLY secure that safely. Things falling in the crib = not a good situation…

    • Aimee says

      My mind immediately went to what Teddy’s initials (if you don’t count his middle name) are. Because I was thinking just Ts alone weren’t jazzy enough and maybe they could do an abstract monogram thing. But it would have to be 3 letters because otherwise it would be a wall of TP!

  14. Bethany says

    Love the T pattern on the crib wall! All the other options seemed to dark or busy to me, but this one feels just right. Sweet and suble!

    Reply

  15. Marissa says

    Someone bought us these as a gift after our son went through the pee on everything phase:
    http://www.bebabean.com/pee-pee-teepee/
    I never used them, but they look amusing.

    Also, I used to think my friends were strange for doing this, but my daughter will pee while we’re changing her, so I put the clean diaper under her before I even removed the dirty one and that way if she starts peeing there is a diaper there to absorb it. It stinks because it’s a waste of a diaper, but at least you don’t have to give the baby a bath 4 times a day…haha…It’s like a swimming pool otherwise!

    Reply

    • Haley says

      I put the clean diaper underneath before changing too. Luckily I’ve only had my daughter pee once when I was changing her, but it would be a good idea if they pee a lot during changes. I mostly do it because I can change her quickly before she tries to wiggle all over the place.

      PS. The ‘T’ wall is a great idea! I love that it stands for something, but still seems like an abstract pattern.

    • Pia says

      To minimize peeing on the changing table here is an other tip. When you are about to change the dirty one just air their private parts but leave the old diaper on. You can help the air by blowing a bit on their “thing”. That will make them pee in the old diaper and then is just to change it. Works like a charm every time.

  16. Alicia says

    What is the size of the bedrooms……we are thinking of building and want the kids to have enough space to grow in a bedroom. Your thoughts?

    Reply

  17. Diana says

    The constant peeing thing is why we never bothered with a changing pad cover at all! Easy to wipe down and never seemed to bother our son (he’s 13 months so that’s what we still do).

    I think you’ve shown Teddy now in all 4 of those striped onesies? I like it because we have the same ones in 6 month size.

    P.S. I know you said 3-5 posts a week probably so I’ve been expecting 3…spoiling us with 2 days in a row!

    Reply

  18. Lindsay says

    I absolutely LOVE the “T” wall! Such a cute way to personalize the room!

    PS- Teddy is so adorable! Congratulations!

    Reply

  19. Melissa says

    I have four boys. The peeing constantly during diaper changes stopped when we received a wipes warmer as a gift. BEST THING EVER. I know many thing it’s unnecessary, and that’s true, but honestly it just stopped the last two from peeing when the cold air/cold wipes hit them. We have a Prince Lionheart one and it’s been with us for nearly four years with no problem so far.

    (We put cloth wipes in ours, because they are a no-brainer when washing with cloth diapers already…I don’t even fold them. But you could put in any wipe at all with excellent results. I just use water, no solution of any kind.)

    Teddy is beautiful, congratulations!

    Reply

  20. Lisa | Winter Heights says

    Everything is so adorable! And I am perfectly fine for you to keep sharing as many photos that you like of sweet little Teddy. Hope your first few weeks are going well. I remember not having much of a distinction between night and day. :))

    Reply

  23. Sandy says

    I love the T is for Teddy wall idea! It makes a really cool graphic design that is very unique. Waiting a bit after brainstorming always helps the best ideas rise to the top.

    Reply

  24. Jordan says

    Just wanted to say after the announcement on the blog last week, your posts seem to “feel” more light and happy! Great job!

    Reply

  25. Elaissa says

    Boy diapering tip (from our newborn class) – loosen the diaper tabs (this releases pressure on their bladder) first thing then get the next diaper and wipes ready, after a few minutes then change the diaper. Following this tip we have only had a few accidents.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      So far they are super CUTE! But there have been some leaks. This guy eats like a champ, so he pees through them all the time. Not sure if it’s a sizing issue or just that he’s very… prolific. Haha!

      xo
      s

    • Amanda says

      Might be the size. Every time my boys began to leak a lot I realized they were nearing the max weight for that size of diaper. My favorite diaper right now is the Costco brand. They seem to work really well (no leaks yet, except for a couple times when he slept for a really long time. NO diaper would have held that much urine…) and they go on sale every now and again for less than the store brands plus free shipping. Pretty awesome, if you have a membership.

    • Marisa says

      Maybe you could start with the cloth diapers early! We started using ours once our little guy was about 8 lbs with good results.

    • Brita says

      As much as I wanted to love them, we had major leaks with Honest Co. too :( My daughter is long and skinny, maybe they’re just not made for that kind of gal!

  27. Dayna says

    Our little man pees and poops on his changing pad cover all the time – I think he waits for us to take the diaper off before finishing! So I completely understand washing the cover constantly! A quick question for you – when you switched to cloth diapers did you find that clothes didn’t fit as well? We just switched when our little man reached 10 lbs and I find that everything seems so snug around his bottom but when I go to a bigger size it is huge everywhere else!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      We noticed the buns looked fuller but stuff still seemed to fit (like you mentioned, it’s a little snug, but Clara didn’t seem uncomfortable or anything). We didn’t up the actual sizes of anything when we switched to diapers because we thought things would be lose everywhere else, like you mentioned :)

      xo
      s

    • Embeth says

      Yes! Our baby is on the big side to begin with, and the cloth diaper just makes him bigger! Overalls almost never fit, which makes me sad. (My favorite outfit!) Now that it’s a little warmer, we have just stopped putting on pants; he gets a onesie, a shirt, and leg-warmers. The cloth diapers are pretty cute, so it makes for a fine outfit. Plus, I think it’s hard for a baby to NOT be cute :)

  28. Jenny says

    I love how you can now whip up a little hamper liner like it ain’t no thing! Such a pro with your dear Brother. :)

    The room is looking great. Makes me want (even more!) to get ours done before our little one shows up in a few weeks. We need a dresser in there, pronto. Also makes me want to go shopping on etsy…such fun stuff there.

    Reply

  29. Anele @ Success Along the Weigh says

    Super cute changing pad cover! Oh those boys will mark anything, won’t they? ;) When we were babysitting my triplet niece and nephews, I made a “pee pee teepee” out of cloth diapers. Kind of like a little cloth party hat for the hoo ha. I wish I would’ve patented that back then because of course someone else did a few years later and now they’re making urine money I missed out on. *kicks pebble* But I must say those worked well unless you have a squirmer on your hands then all bets are off!

    Reply

  31. Jay says

    So cute!

    I just wanted to stop by and say I picked up my first can of spray paint (Rustoleum, Key Lime!) today. Husband said I couldn’t paint our dresser, so I’ve decided to paint the nobs of the kiddo’s dresser! Baby steps… :)

    Glad you and the fam are all doing so well.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Argh, so sorry MP! We have NO idea what’s going on (heard about this yesterday too, but everyone having an issue is using different broswers and it’s fine for most people). Can you send me a screen grab?! I’d LOVE to see the messed up version so we can try to pinpoint what’s causing the trouble. Thanks so much!

      xo
      s

    • Jennifer says

      FYI I had the same issue yesterday with Firefox (but IE somehow worked?) and then today Firefox updated and now it’s fine. Firefox made big design changes though….

    • susan says

      i read the post this morning, and again now, in firefox with no issues!

      love the ‘t’ for teddy wall!

  33. Jennifer N says

    Love the changing pad cover. Why didn’t I think of using a vinyl cover when my baby was still peeing all over his changing pad??? Brilliant! We also forewent the diaper genie and use stainless steel lidded trash can for diapers. When I did the math on the cost of the genie plus the cartridges it just didn’t add up. Finally, I love the idea you came up with for the wall behind the crib. I agreed that wall needed something, but felt like some of the previous ideas were too busy. In all, I’m drooling over little Teddy’s nursery. It’s too late for me to go back on what I’ve done for my baby – before we know it we’ll be transforming his room into a little boys room!

    Reply

  34. Darcy says

    Boys are so crazy aren’t they! I just hope that you are JUST dealing with pee —-it gets REALLY crazy when they start pooping out of their clothes!! My first born was literally ALWAYS having poop up his back! The only thing that I can say that saved all of his cute little clothes was oxyclean!

    I will say prayers for you, that that doesn’t start!

    Teddy is just so darling, and that picture from yesterday with Burger, is just one of the cutest things I’ve seen in a while! :-)

    Reply

    • Amanda says

      In the summer, sunshine is even better than Oxyclean for poop stains. After washing, just lay the (still wet) poop-stained cloth out in the sun for a few hours. I have no idea why it works but it’s awesome and free.

  35. Caroline says

    I love this room and the updates are beautiful!! We still use the boppy at a year old! I lay Emberly on it to drink her morning bottle. It was a lifesaver to use it and hold baby with my incision. Love it!

    Reply

  36. Joanna says

    You know what’s funny? The very first time I saw those bike prints I thought ‘those would be amazing to design a little boy’s room around’. And here now it’s happened! I’m having a déjà vu sort of feeling around it.

    It’s a beautiful room, good job guys!

    Reply

  37. Maureen says

    I love the T’s! That will be quite adorable. I love this room so much. And I really love the color palette (which I say EVERY TIME you post about this room).

    Reply

  39. Meg says

    Lookin’ good, and I love the idea of sewing an inside-out pillowcase for a basket liner. Y’all are too crafty. I lack that gene, but I’m trying to soak up all your knowledge vicariously before I have kiddos of my own!

    Reply

    • CandiceMcC says

      I may be the last person to know this, but I was at Office Depot yesterday and they had a TON of washi options. Here I thought it was just craft stores… Love the T idea. Love little Teddy. So not helping my baby fever (we’re allegedly done).

    • Jennifer says

      I read this post and went about my business but had to come back to recommend washi tape for Teddy’s T’s. Apparently I wasn’t the only one who thought of it… great minds and all. There are so many cute washi tape options to choose from and it’s low tack so you can change it up later without any hassle. Good luck!

  41. Luisa says

    Congratulations on the arrival of Teddy! He is adorable!

    So hate to be a downer but I would be very wary of Marine Grade Vinyl … full of lots of petro-chemicals and other unknown additives. Just don’t think it is a great combination with a newborn. I wish manufacturers disclosed this info to consumers …

    Best
    Luisa

    Reply

  42. Tara says

    I really like the “T”s behind the crib. I was in the “too plain to leave blank, but too busy with the arrow wallpaper” camp – this is perfect!

    Reply

  43. Sarah B. says

    The only thing I can see of this post in my Chrome browser is the little comment bubble, below an ad. No header stuff… then the deck post is the first full thing that shows up. Looks normal when I open in Safari though.

    Let me know where to send a screenshot if you want to see an example of what’s going on. :)

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      We just figured it out, so we’re working on getting it fixed. It was bad ad code that was messing things up. If you refresh a few times it should all be working again. WHEW! At least we hope so…

      xo
      s

  44. Natalie says

    Beautiful room and great updates! As a Mom of boys, I can’t help myself…has anyone mentioned that you need to…ahem…point things down in the diaper to avoid leaks? I was getting peed on all. the. time. until a friend helpfully clued me in!

    Reply

    • Allison says

      Natalie is spot on! I am a Baby Care instructor and always advise parents to point the penis “south” before removing the diaper all the way. Funny how it has a way of moving back “north” after the last diaper change! If you hold the front of the diaper up for a few seconds (think like a shield blocking the way towards his feet) it should catch the surprise pee that often happens when the room air hits him. I’m like you with a girl then a boy, and despite my profession, was shocked at the hilarious adventures of diapering a boy! Love your oilcloth idea. If you don’t want to hunt some down, you can also lay a cloth diaper under Teddy’s bottom half which helps keep the pad cover clean longer and is less to launder. Good for this prolific peeing boy and his great feeding. He’s lucky to be a nursing chow-hound. You’re doing an amazing job with both of your sweet ones. Enjoy them!!! You know already they grow too fast.

    • Annie says

      Seriously, the best tip ever that not enough people know about! Until we figured this out we would always have this crazy phenomenon where the diaper would be dry but there would be pee all over the back of his onesie!

  45. Catherine says

    I love the wall design you came up with for behind the crib. That subtle design looks perfect. So glad my son wasn’t a pee’er! I think he peed when getting changed maybe once. Great solution to your problem though!

    Reply

  47. amy says

    I have to say I’m so excited that you guys are still updating this much. I was mentally preparing myself for lots of days with no 10am reads :)

    Teddy is SO cute and I love the new wall idea, such a great subtle way to honour the initial!

    Reply

  48. Courtney says

    Still trying to finish our 5 month olds room. Since we adopted we only had 5 weeks to get ready. Meant we only has time for the big stuff, paint, crib, changing table.

    Reply

  49. Jill says

    Congrats!!! Teddy (and his nursery) are beautiful!!! I have seriously used my nursing pillow (My Brest Friend, not Boppy, but they all do the same thing) more than any other baby gear we own and my son is 10.5 months old and doesn’t even fit on it anymore – his legs hang off the side, but it must still be comfy for him. I have to credit you (along with my mom – who nursed me and my brother for 15-16 months each) for first inspiring me to breastfeed long term – and for turning me on to cloth diapering. When I first brought it up to my hubby back in 2011, he laughed at me. When our son was 3 months old and we used disposables while at my in-laws and our baby had several blow-outs, my husband vowed he would only use cloth for now on. :-)

    Reply

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