Changing baby's shirt

Question

Baby needs a change of shirt, but baby is also sucking on a bottle (see this stock photo for a visual). If the bottle leaves baby's mouth, baby will start crying. Also, baby loves holding the bottle himself, so he needs to be holding the bottle at all times. Is it possible to get the old shirt off without the baby crying?

This puzzle was inspired by real life.

Let him cry... life is hard, and he has to understand that he will not be able to obtain everything... (if it was a diaper instead of a shirt, I'd also say "to get out of s**t you have to sacrifice something) — frarugi87, Mar 09 '18 at 09:00
come on.... this is so easy. Anyone who has children knows the trick :p — Patrice, Mar 09 '18 at 19:55

score 71 · Accepted Answer · answered Mar 07 '18 at 21:49

Step 1:

Take the baby's left arm out the shirt (he is holding the bottle in his right hand).

Step 2:

Pull the shirt over the baby's head, and continue to pull the neck opening over the bottle. Now the shirt is entirely on his right arm; his arm goes through the arm hole and the neck hole.

Step 3:

Move the bottle from the baby's right hand to his left, being careful to keep him holding the bottle with at least one hand at all times.

Step 4:

Pull the shirt off his right arm.

Answer from an experienced and sympathetic father of 3.

score 55 · Answer 2 · answered Mar 07 '18 at 22:17

55

After re-reading the question carefully, I see no reason not to

Simply use scissors to cut the shirt off. (He/She will outgrow that shirt in mere days anyways.)

answered Mar 07 '18 at 22:17

Chowzen

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I like this answer. Very efficient, saves time. – Prince North Læraðr Mar 07 '18 at 22:34
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However, you may want to keep that shirt for the next one... – Alex Jones Mar 08 '18 at 11:45
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@AlexanderJ93 it'll still have uses, baby clothes make great clothes for things like laptop screens where you want something absorbant and soft but not fluffy. – Jon Hanna Mar 09 '18 at 15:15
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this must be the answer. it has a score of 42 (as of 2018-03-09T15:25:10-0700) – NH. Mar 09 '18 at 22:25
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@NH. It is no longer the answer... score is 43. Thanks for all the fish. – Floris Mar 10 '18 at 12:47

score 34 · Answer 3 · answered Mar 07 '18 at 22:14

34

Follow Steps 1 and 2 of Pugmonky's solution. Then

Step 3

Pull the shirt further down so it is around the neck of the bottle.

Step 4

Push the shirt down past the nipple of the bottle into baby's mouth (hopefully the shirt is manufactured from thin material and/or baby has a very large mouth). The nipple is fairly malleable so with a little care the nipple will stay in baby's mouth at all times.

Step 5

Remove shirt from the corner of baby's mouth (once again without removing nipple from mouth) or, alternately, via baby's nose.

Please don't try this at home...

answered Mar 07 '18 at 22:14

Penguino

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Excellent use of a topological loophole. – Jonathan Mar 08 '18 at 00:31
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Thus we see that topologists should not be allowed to have kids. – Paul Sinclair Mar 08 '18 at 00:50

score 7 · Answer 4 · answered Mar 07 '18 at 21:44

7

Yes, it is possible. Take in the arm, pull the shirt over the head and pull the shirt onto the bottle. Now swap arm holding the bottle and take the folded shirt off the other arm.

answered Mar 07 '18 at 21:44

Carl Löndahl

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score 3 · Answer 5 · answered Mar 08 '18 at 17:50

3

You're all overthinking this. Even Chowzen. The simplest answer is

Baby shirts have a neck opening large enough to fit over a baby's head. A baby's head is as large around as, or larger around than, their body. This means the shirt can be slipped down over their body.

Also from real life.

answered Mar 08 '18 at 17:50

Rich

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Hrrrm, I think you're underthinking this... What you've described ends up at the end of step #2 of Pugmonkey's answer. – Lamar Latrell Mar 08 '18 at 21:05
Not at all. Just because some minor steps may be involved to encourage baby to cooperate doesn't make those steps part of the process. I mean, aside from assuming the actor is continent (so we skip steps like "Be sure to not to poop yourself!"), we're also assuming baby is some form of mammal with opposable thumbs to boot, and has two arms. What if it's a baby squid? As I said. Overthinking. – Rich Mar 09 '18 at 00:53
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I don't understand the +1s here. Ok, so you pull the shirt down, until it hits the babies elbow, then what? Your answer suggests you just keep pulling. Have you read the actual puzzle or perhaps you don't see how this action will cause the baby to cry? – Lamar Latrell Mar 09 '18 at 03:53
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This is a correct answer, but needs a few more steps to satisfy people: 1. Guide baby's left hand through the neck hole and move the bottle to left hand. 2. Guide baby's right hand through the neck hole. 3. Pull down the shirt. – jpa Mar 09 '18 at 11:40
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How do you get the arms out of the sleeves? – jpmc26 Mar 09 '18 at 17:31
You get the baby's arms out of the sleeves by making so that the path of least resistance is to cooperate. How do you do that? Well okay, how do you hold something? anything? You're overthinking this. – Rich Mar 15 '18 at 18:49
No, you misunderstand. As stated in the puzzle, the baby must hold onto the bottle at all times. How do you get the arms out of the sleeves without violating that constraint? – jpmc26 Apr 04 '18 at 23:32
@jpmc26 The puzzle is about a baby, not a baby doll. A baby will cooperate. If you feel that strongly about it, pose your own question for how to change a baby doll's shirt. Babies have minds of their own and will cooperate. Sure, there are uncooperative babies. Some of them will barf right on the clean shirt just after you changed it. Sure, I'm making an assumption but that's not explicitly disallowed in the question. Maybe I should've said "you're underthinking this". – Rich Apr 05 '18 at 18:14
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How to adhere to the constraint of the baby holding the bottle at all times is the most critical component of the puzzle. Not explaining how this works in relation to that just makes for a poor answer, regardless of what I might or might not imagine you intended. Saying, "the baby will cooperate," does not explain how holding of the bottle is maintained while removing the baby's arms from the sleeves. Perhaps if you're not able to easily explain it in a clear, succinct way, it's not as trivial as you're suggesting. – jpmc26 Apr 05 '18 at 18:19
There's also the additional problem that while the neck hole might be big enough to pull over the baby's body, for the baby to still be holding the bottle, you also have to pull it over their arms and the bottle, which is a significantly larger diameter than the just the head or body. Your answer might work, but you haven't explained it very well at all. There's a number of details you've neglected, just from a spatial reasoning perspective. – jpmc26 Apr 05 '18 at 18:26
@jpmc26 - Again, this puzzle involves another human. Think of all the possible ways another human would possibly screw up a perfect solution, and the only reasonable way to answer the puzzle is to make it very generic and make assumptions. One of the major assumptions made in most of the solutions is that the baby has a functional hand on each of its two arms. Sure, it's a reductionist answer. Again, if you feel that strongly, restate the puzzle with all the unknowns accounted for. – Rich Apr 05 '18 at 18:52

score 3 · Answer 6 · answered Mar 09 '18 at 07:14

An answer based on real life as well.

Background: I've seen babies holding the bottle with both feet to have the hands free to play while drinking. OTOH I've had the lessons learned that removing one hand is already no more considered "holding the bottle" and therefore doesn't qualify. My assumption would now be that at least two limbs have to be attached to the bottle at any time, but feet count as limbs. Due to that the following steps should be good.

1. get the baby to grip the bottle with the feet as well
2. no more grip the bottle with the hands
3. pull arms into the shirt
4. move the shirt over the head onto the feet
5. get the hands back on the bottle
6. no more hold the bottle with the feet
7. remove the shirt from the feet

Welcome to Puzzling. Wait, doesn't holding the bottle with feet make the baby a toroid o.O — ABcDexter, Mar 09 '18 at 07:17

Changing baby's shirt

6 Answers6