Sooner or later, one of your nappies will leak. Even your cloth ones. Whether it’s because your baby only poos once a week and it’s huge, or they have a tummy bug, something will leak out the back, the legs, even the front. And sometimes, unfortunately, it’ll happen while baby is on your lap.

Now, what on earth can you do about a leak of that magnitude?

Is someone else with you? Have them run for a towel, a flat terry nappy, a blanket, basically anything big that’s available and can help to prevent any drips onto carpet or furniture. Wrap it around your child’s bottom half – wherever the worst leakage is happening. If you’re alone with your child, you’ll just have to make a run for it. Get into the change room or bathroom as quickly as you can. Place baby on the change table, or, if you have one, the bathtub. It’ll be easier to clean up afterward.

Remove any soiled clothing and deposit into your nappy pail or wet bag. Then open the nappy and try not to gag. Put it with the soiled clothes. Grab as many wipes as you need and wipe your baby clean. Put a clean nappy and clothes on them. At this point, you can finally deal with your own soiled clothes. If you’re home, this is easy. Just put your dirty clothes with the nappies and do a wash (after removing any solid matter from the nappy). If you’re out and about, well, that’s a different story, isn’t it? Wipe up any stains as best you can and hope nobody notices before you get home to change!

Now what about the stain on the carpet or furniture? I’ve always found that a wet flannel is great for wiping up breast milk poo. If that’s not quite enough, a safe way to clean carpet and furniture stains is to sprinkle some baking soda on the stain, leave it for a few minutes, then spray vinegar on the baking soda. It’ll bubble up and clean any remaining stain. Then wipe it clean with another wet flannel and let it dry.

Even the best fitting nappy will only hold so much. Knowing this is important. If your breastfed baby is one who only has one massive bowel movement a week, and if they’re willing, try placing them on a potty for it. One less nappy to wash is always a good thing in my book!

So there you go. A few tools to help you out with a nappy explosion. Good luck!