A few days ago, I set up this doll diaper station for the hooligans, complete with a doll bath, diapers, and play “wipes” made from white fabric (more on that in a minute).

The station has been set up in our playroom and it’s been really popular with our doll-lovers.

Today we moved it all outside, and I took some photos of the girls at play.

There’s the doll “bath”.  It’s too cold for water play so I tucked some blue tissue paper in the tub hoping it would resemble water.

A few empty bottles, soap pumps and shakers simulate shampoo, soap and talcum powder.  I added coloured tissue paper to one small bottle to make it interesting.

Another tray holds syringes, eye droppers, tooth-brushes and tongue depressors so the children can give their babies a check up.  A stack of towels and receiving blankets are handy for wrapping baby up after the bath.

And the most popular part of the station is the diaper changing area.

A change pad to place baby on, a tub of homemade fabric “wipes”, a couple of diapers, (one made from a cloth napkin and velcro) and a jar of “cream” await.

I made a stack of these wipes the other day, and they’ve been a big hit.  I simply cut a few old white napkins in half so they were roughly the size of a real baby wipe.  

I folded them in a way that when one is pulled out of the plastic tub, another one pops up, just like real wipes do.  Take a look at a stack of real diaper wipes or facial tissues and you’ll see what I mean, but basically you fold your “wipes” in half, and tuck them into each other in an overlapping fashion.

I made about a dozen, and I popped a piece of styrofoam into the bottom of the wipes container to raise the wipes up high enough that they could be easily grabbed through the hole in the container.

It’s been so sweet to watch the Hooligans nurturing and caring for their babies at this doll diaper station.  There has been much washing and wiping, swaddling and doctoring.  Temperatures have been taken, and diagnoses have been made: “this baby has a purple tongue!” was one that I overheard today.

And I captured this touching shot as I stood back and observed this morning.If your child would enjoy this activity, you should have a peek at our baby bath station as well.  It involves water, and it was one of the Hooligans very favourite warm weather activities last Spring.