Middle of the Night Diaper Changes

I went through the same issue when my son was little. 1) when he got off the breast (about 8 months) I cut back his bed time bottle about 1 once. 2) I changed him in his crib while he was sleeping before I went to bed.

I put the plastic pants over the diaper (the ones intended for cloth diapers). My son still wakes with a pretty wet diaper but he doesn't leak through to the sheets so often and sleeps better through the night.

I just went through this with my daughter and someone recommended using Huggies Overnites for bedtime. She hasn't woken up wet once since I switched!

I used to get up at night to change my daughter as well. I kept the house as dark as possible and I didn't talk to her at all. She usually went back to sleep pretty easily.

But then I took another kind mother's advice and started putting two (cloth) diapers on her at night. Now we stay in bed all night! If she needs to nurse, we nurse in bed and fall right back asleep. When morning rolls around, we change the diaper and it's soaked through, but not leaking. She's had not a hint of diaper rash. I can't advise you on disposables, but I'm sure lots of other people can.

Same thing happened with my son and I started using diaper doublers, you can find them at Babies R Us.. He has been leak free for over 2 months now :)! Good luck!

G.,
Since you are breastfeeding your son, he may need to feed during the night. Breastmilk breaks down more quickly and therefore babies need to feed more frequently. (The US has been using formula for so long that most moms don't know that breast fed children need to feed more often and think that a breast fed child should not need to wake and feed since formula fed (ff) children can take 8 ounces and be done for the night.)

Most Drs will tell you that at this age 'sleeping through the night' means 4.5 to 5 hrs. Using the larger diaper may solve the issue of leaking, but probably nursing back to sleep is going to be normal for a while. If you bring your son back to bed and nurse him there, you can both fall back asleep more quickly! I found that I could dose off while my dd fed and when she finished we both just snuggled and fell back asleep. lllfThat could help you get more sleep and keep him happy too.

Things will get better soon. When your son starts solids he will still need to nurse but as he eats more solids this will begin to slow down.

Cudos to you for breastfeeding. You are doing what it is best for both you and your little one. The World Health Organization recommends breastfeeding for the first 2 yrs. Just remember that for each year you breastfeed it lowers both of your risks of getting diabetes, provides your son with sntibodies for fighting infections and helps you regain your shape faster. The last one most women don't know.

Good luck. Things will change so fast that you will one day look back and wonder when they grew up. My dd is now 28 months and I am amazed at how quickly she grew. Some days I will admit though it seemed that I'd never get the sleep I needed.

Take care, and enjoy these brief years of infancy and toddlerhood. They will pass all too quickly.

when that happened with us, we went up one size of diapers, and that seemed to work. or, i've heard of people double-diapering or there are some on the market that are supposed to be extra absorbant. i don't think sleeping too long is the issue, and we found that oliver outgrew this issue once he started eating solids (started eating more/drinking less). good luck! L.

We used Diaper Doublers (a pad you put inside the diaper for night-time) until we realized that going a size up in diaper was what we really needed. We also tried a few different brands of diapers until we found one that worked. Pampers cruisers worked most of the time, then he hit an age where they started leaking. We found a store brand that was supposed to be like Huggies Supreme (Safeway's brand) -- they cost much less and seem to be doing the trick.

Sounds like it might be time to go up a size in diapers. I found with my sons (4 and 2) that when they started to wet through their diapers at night, that was usually the solution. Also, I have found that Luvs diapers are the only brand that was able to take a long night's sleep (more than 6 hours) and not leak-and the price difference between the Luvs and the bigger name diapers is substantial. Hope this helps!

G., here a couple of ideas. When you change him in the middle of the night, do not turn on a light (use a night light so you can a little or use a hallway light) and do not talk to him. That is hard to get used to, but you will get to a point where it won't bother him at all.

When our boys starting leaking during the night it was almost always because the diaper size we were using had gotten a bit too small. Try the next size. Also, the diaper brand. We could only use Pampers on our boys as huggies leaked with them each time.

I hope this helps!

P.

I put a G diaper inside my son's cloth diaper at night, and it would probably help with a disposable diaper, too. G diapers are a flushable, compostable diaper system available at Elephant Pharmacy and possibly Pharmeca, but not the Oakland Whole Foods. I found the G diaper system as a whole to be a complete failure, but the replaceable liners are compact and very absorbent and fit neatly inside regular diapers. That way I don't have to change my baby's in the night.

At almost 5 months, my baby tends to do the same thing. have you looked into the nighttime diapers from Huggies? I was hoping these would work, when he was big enough. They only start in size 3s. They are suppose to have more support to last the entire night.

Let me know if these work.
R.

Well, how much is your son drinking at all those waking up times? I'd say the diaper should be absorbent enough to last thru that. Not sure what diapers you're using but we've always used Huggies as I've found them to be the most absorbent. So, I have a few suggestions: bump him up one size diaper just for the night or get him night time diapers. Not all brands make night time diapers so you may have to do a bit of hunting around. And they aren't always available in the smaller size diapers. I always found them at drug stores, usually not Target or grocery stores. Some companies also make liners which also aren't always the easiest to find. So, my 3rd & very odd suggestion, stick a super maxi pad in his diaper in the crotch area. I never did this but know of other moms who have & reported it worked great. Hope this helps & good luck!

My son used to do that - I'd have to change his diaper and clothes 2 or 3 times every night because he would pee huge amounts of pee. He never peed through his diaper during the day. He also woke up every 2 - 3 hours at night. I believe the waking and the peeing happened because I nursed him back to sleep at night over and over. I have two suggestions: 1) find a way to get him to not nurse back to sleep and you may solve your pee situation. 2) Find a way to stay home with him and you might solve your waking situation. It sounds like the overnight time is the time that he gets to spend with you. I don't blame him for waking you up over and over!

Good luck!
M.

Lots of advice. I have a son too and we had the same problem. Since my daughter is older, we but a size 4 diaper on first (his size) then a size 6 diaper (my daughter) over that. I try to make sure the bigger one is up higher in the front because that's where my son would always leak through. We've been doing that for over a year now and no leak and my son sleeps through every night.
Good luck!!!

One option is put TWO diapers on him! It works surprisingly well...Good luck!

Go up a size for nighttime diapers. The next size up will be much more absorbent and last through the night.

Hi G.,

Try going one size up with your night time diaper. I also recommend pampers baby dry for night time they seem to handle a lot of wetness.

Hope this helps
T. mom of two boys ages 5 and 2

G.,
My daughter had problems with filling her diapers at night and soaking her PJs. Not only did I buy Huggies night diapers a size bigger than her daytime ones, I also bought diaper doublers at Safeway. I also found that she peed alot more if she got too cold. She sleeps in blanket sleepers with a pair of socks underneath and I keep her room warm (but not too warm) I always put a thick layer of Desitin on her bottom too. As for the night waking, I suggest getting Dr. Marc Weissbluth's book "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child". Skip the intro and go to his age section. He also has a section on sleep problems. At 6 months, he should be sleeping longer between nursing. Do you give him a bottle ever? Try that at night if you do. Also, I started waiting longer before responding to my daughter and she would fall back to sleep on her own. I also quit talking to her at night. Now is the time to teach him to fall asleep on his own. It is not a skill we are born with, it is something we learn. I really recommend this book. The man is amazing!
My daughter is 2 1/2 yrs now and still sleeps 11-12 hours each night. She still wakes up once in a while but I don't go in unless she is ill and she falls right back to sleep. I am a huge advocate for sleep training and the importance of quality sleep for everyone. Good luck!
L.

My son had the same problem ;0) We tried diaper doublers and different diaper brands. We finally settled into a routine of Pull Ups at night when he got big enough for him 17 pounds or so. Also, a well fitting onesie helps to keep things in place.

The other thing that has helped is less feeding at night ;0) Sometimes, even now, (but rarely- those pull ups can hold a lot!) when he eats two or three times at night he will still wet through ;0)

M

I don't think they should last a whole hour! However, when we went through this I started cheating. I would stand over him nursing him while my husband changed his diaper. He wouldn't even wake up! Maybe you could try this in addition to the bigger diaper suggestions, or another variation. I hope you find a solution to get some much needed (and deserved) rest.

Usually when my girl start leaking at night, it's because she's growing out of that diaper size. You can also try using a diaper doubler that you wash, since it's just pee diapers at night. I NEVER change her in the middle of the night, for just the reasons you describe.

Try going up one diaper size, if he's at a 3 go to a 4, etc. Even if you are just moving up for the nighttime, it might help. If that doesn't work, I've also heard there are some liners that you can get to put in the diaper that supposedly absorb more.

The same thing happened to me and i switched to pampers baby dry. Worked great.

Have you tried using night time diapers, they are much more obsorbent. I don't know what size diaper your son is in but they come in size 3 up to I beleive size 5. You can also try going up a size in his regular diapers. My 23 month old sleeps on average 10 to 12 hours a night without getting up and they last. They are really full, and sometimes her p.j's are a little damp, but not enough to bother her.

Just get night diapers... they should last all night!!!
Unless your child poops in the middle of the night then this should be an option for you!!! Love, G.. :0)

Try cloth diapers at night. If you use 1 or 2 pre-folds, with a wool soaker over them, your baby shouldn't leak. Cloth is also so much better for the environment, and is often better on baby's bottom. My friends who use cloth with wool covers never get leaks at night.

I had the same issue with my son and what I found really worked were the huggies overnight diapers. In the morning after a 12 hour night of sleep the diaper was barely wet. They are more expensive but they are worth you and your son getting more rest. They also work so well my sons skin is never wet and they never give him a rash (if the length of time is a concern). My son wears normal diapers during the day but gets an overnight right before he goes to bed. GOOD LUCK!!

Simple. Put him in a bigger diaper. Even one that seems too big. I use a bigger size for night than day. That fixed it for my son. :-)

G., when this started happening with my daughter, a friend suggested using the next sized up diaper at night. Worked like a charm. She was still wearing her size 2 during the day, but I'd put a size 3 on her at night and sure enough, no more leaks. I also put powder in her bedtime diaper as well as cream, to help absorb any liquid and I haven't had a wet crib sheet since.

Pampers Cruisers...one size larger than your baby is currently wearing worked for our two diaper soakers.

A diaper can last that long, but sometimes the baby will go through a period of wetting more at night. It sounds to me though that at 6 months, every two hours is quite often, which will cause him to have to pee more often. Talk to your doctor about not feeding so much at night, by this point he should be able to go with two or less feedings at that time of night. That might stop the wetting problem.

What type of diapers are you using?
I cloth diaper and change only once at night, we also co-sleep, so getting the baby back to sleep is pretty easy, we lay back down after the diaper change and he will nurse back to sleep.
goodluck and i hope your able to find a solution for your little man.:)

I used one of the nighttime diapers. They hold a lot more than the reg diaper do. I would load their bums with diaper cream and then powder them to help them feel more dry. Just make sure that you use an cornstarch powder and not talc. Talc gets so gunky and it always caused rashes with my kiddos. As for changing them and not waking them I never did figure that one out. Good luck...

G.,
Huggies carries OVERNIGHT diapers. Those work pretty well.
I have also doubled the diapers. I put a regular diaper on with a pull up ontop or just another diaper. (My son is older)

I have read about the diaper doublers which sound wonderful but have never tried them. Sounds like they might be cheapier than doubling up on diapers.
I rarely changed diapers in the middle of the night unless he was soaked thorugh his PJ's.
Good Luck

Usually if the diaper leaks I know it's about time to consider going up a size in diapers. I know it sounds crazy but my mom always has encouraged me to do this with all 4 kids and I am always amazed when she is right. Also try to do the diaper change with as little light as possible and no talking. It seems to make those late night diaper changes less of a treat. Good luck!

I went thru this with my son and since both my husband and work full-time, middle of the night diaper changes were such an inconvenience for us AND our son. What worked for us is the overnight diapers. I know diapers are expensive as it is, but it may be well worth it to buy the overnight diapers (we used Huggies). They are super absorbent and it really eliminated him leaking thru his diaper every night. Unless he had a bowel movement (which was rare) in the middle of the night, we were able to leave him alone thru the night. Also, as a precautionary measure, we used the A&E Ointment (the best product out there in my opinion) to eliminate a potential diaper rash.

Good luck.