The Dear Dr.MOZ Baby Blog

Dear Dr.MOZ,

I hope this isn’t too “girly” for the GoodFather, but I have an odd one for him. My wife and I are throwing a baby shower and we’re making a diaper cake as a centerpiece for the party. I just learned that this isn’t an actual cake that you eat, so you can probably guess why I’m writing. I see diaper cakes for sale online, but I haven’t found simple directions for building one. Any advice for a first-time diaper cake designer GoodFather?

Thanks,
Ray

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It takes guts to ask another man how to make a diaper cake Ray. Thankfully, you’ve come to the right guy. Creating a diaper cake is more of an art than a construction job, and between you and me…I’ve built diaper cakes that have made grown men weep. First, visit our friends at Clever Parents for useful “recipes” for

creating a diaper cake, then revisit my tips below to create the prefect diaper cake:

• GoodFather Tip #1 (The Base): The expecting parents will need to take the diaper cake home (and won’t want to destroy the cake), so plan ahead by making it portable. Although most directions call for building the cake on a cardboard cake “round”, I recommend spending a few extra dollars on a plastic plate. You’ll find a cheap flat plate for as little as $1 to $3 dollars at any major retailer, and it will provide a much more stable base for moving compared to cardboard that might buckle and cause a cake-tastrophe. Sorry, I couldn’t resist.

• GoodFather Tip #2 (Diaper Size): You might think that buying the smallest “newborn” diapers would a be a no-brainer when choosing diapers for a newborn, but most of the diaper cake pros use larger sizes of 1 and higher. Babies are being born a little larger than they were in the past, so I like to go with both “Size 1″ and “Size 2″ diapers in the same cake. This makes the diapers useful in the beginning and when the baby starts to grow into larger sizes in the near future.

• GoodFather Tip #3 (Diaper Color): Plan your cake color-scheme, top piece, ribbon, and other embellishments before buying your diapers. Cakes that are heavy on accessories and colorful ribbons typically look best (and more like cakes) when created with plain white diapers. On the other hand, “diaper-only” cakes (with little or no accessories) can look nice with colored diapers which helps establish a “boy” or “girl” theme if the gender is known. Either way you go, you should stay away from diapers with printed designs because they often appear cluttered when put together.

• GoodFather Tip #4 (Tools): The great thing about diaper cakes is that the individual “ingredients” used to create the cake are useful. To ensure that your diapers can be worn without springing a leak, use rubber bands and ribbon instead glue or tape. Glue, tape, and pins will tear the diapers when they are removed to be used.

Thanks for the question Ray. It’s great to hear that GoodFathers are finally invited to baby showers AND stepping up to their diaper cakes like real men!

Your favorite family man,

The GoodFather

(meet the GoodFather at DrMOZ.com)