Taking Diaper off in the Middle of the Night

Updated on December 10, 2010
K.C. asks from Phoenix, AZ
23 answers

My 20 month old son takes off his diaper in the middle of the night and then inevidably pees (or worse) in his crib during the remainder of the night. I put pajamas on him but he takes those off too. Any suggestions?

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T.H.

answers from Phoenix on

Hey K.,

We had the same problems before with my daughter. I cut the feet off the sleepers and put the zipper of the pijamas in the back. This way she wasn't able to take her pijamas off or the diaper and it worked great. Before we did that my husband has put some tape around the diaper:) and that worked, too. Hope that helps. Good luck.

2 moms found this helpful
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K.O.

answers from Phoenix on

Hi K.,

Have you tried footed pajamas with the snap at the neck that covers the zipper pull? I know that has worked with a couple of children that I've cared for who pulled off their pajamas and diapers. Hope you find the answer!

K.

1 mom found this helpful

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J.C.

answers from Phoenix on

find the PJs that zip in the back... and go all the way down the body...it would be hard for a 20mos old to unzip from the back

1 mom found this helpful
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M.R.

answers from Phoenix on

Get some pajamas with feet in them and put them on backwords so that the buttons are in the back.

1 mom found this helpful
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A.S.

answers from Tucson on

my daughter does that too. I have found that if she does it, then I get the pajamas that zip up the leg to the chest, and put them on backwards so she cannot get to the zipper. She rarely does it now. She does it because she is really bored and fighting sleep. I hate it too.

1 mom found this helpful
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B.C.

answers from Phoenix on

I know you said you put PJ's on him, but I was wondering if you put the one piece footed, zip up kind on him. If he's getting out of those, I don't know what to say! If you haven't tried that, I have found the bigger sizes at The Children's Store. They have a flap at the top of the zipper to snap over the zipper pull-down part.
Good luck!
B.

1 mom found this helpful
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T.P.

answers from Phoenix on

You can also put the diaper on backwards. My niece always used to take her diaper off during the day and at night, but she couldn't do it once my sister put the diaper on backwards. :) Hope this helps./

1 mom found this helpful
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J.K.

answers from Phoenix on

Put a onesie on him. Someone else mentioned to put a diaper on him backwards. I would suggest that you don't on a boy because I tried it with my son and he would pee through it because there's no absorbancy in the back area, the part of the diaper that normally covers the butt. So, then you will be washing crib bedding everday-no fun.

1 mom found this helpful
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R.L.

answers from Phoenix on

Put him in zip up footie pajamas (you know, the ones with the zipper that goes all the way from one knee to under the chin, long sleeves, etc.) and pin the zipper shut with a safety pin. Let him try to get out of those! Good luck! I had several children who did that same trick, our fifth is 18 months and hasn't tried it yet, but it's only a matter of time. . .

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A.R.

answers from Phoenix on

I've been very lucky on this front with my two (knock on wood!) but I seem to remember my parents safety pinning the pj top to the pj bottom of my sibs.

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L.H.

answers from Phoenix on

i know it's simple, but may work, try diaper on backwards, and if you can find drawstring pants

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C.T.

answers from Atlanta on

Have you tried zipper or snap type PJ's??? You might have to wake up a few times in the night to check on him. I am wondering what he is doing up in the night in the first place. He must be waking up enough to get bored and looking for something to do. What are your reactions like in the morning when you realize what he's done? He must see the anger and frustration on your face and get some sort of payoff for his behavior. Try not reacting. He wants the attention even if it's negative. Don't give it to him, see what he does when you ignore it. Try talking to him calmly. Tell him "Mommy doesn't like when you do..., this behavior is unacceptable." "Now I have to spend time cleaning and not with you." Also praise, praise, praise his good behaviors. When he doesn't do this make a huge deal of it. Tell him how proud you are over and over. This positive attention will fill him up and he will have no need for negative attention getting habits.

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K.B.

answers from Phoenix on

Hi K.,

My guy was doing the same thing. Sometimes during the day too. We decided to try potty training, and worked like a charm. We found an AWESOME potty, he uses that one, and can also sit on the big potty now without being afraid. He goes with just shorts on all day, and in a diaper at night and nap time. He knows he needs one at those times now, so he asks for it. He is not old enough yet to have bladder control for that long. As his control builds, we will work out of using them for nap time, then for bed time. I think he is trying to tell you he is ready. Putting footie jammies on him will probably just frustrate him like it did my guy. ( He is same age BTW)

(Have never met another K. with the "correct" spelling :-)

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K.S.

answers from Chicago on

I highly recommend the Little Keeper Sleeper. This zippered back sleeper has a non-stretchable neck and their locking systems is a MUST to stop diaper and sleeper removal. This toddler pajama is also a great everyday sleeper.
Just read their amazing testimonials. Check it out at http://www.littlekeepersleeper.com

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N.B.

answers from Tucson on

Put the diaper on backwards.

If you've tried that already, try cutting out the feet of a pair of sleeper pajamas, and put those on backwards.

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B.B.

answers from Phoenix on

My daughter did this for a while--we did onesies, and that helped us.

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A.S.

answers from Tucson on

My son does the same, so at night I keep him in onesies that snap at the croch. He is 28 month old and it's getting harder finding the ones that fit, but it sure works!

A.

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A.T.

answers from Phoenix on

We had this same problem....duct tape works great over the tabs. Really, we did this out of desperation....just over teh tabs or around the waist of the diaper not on the skin.

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K.K.

answers from Phoenix on

Onesies work great! My kids did this at nap time for a long time. It got worse when we potty trained, but the onesies were fantastic!

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R.A.

answers from Phoenix on

DUCT TAPE around the diaper..... It works, Good Luck !!!

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S.C.

answers from Phoenix on

Get some footie pajamas that zip up and cut out the feet so you can put them on him backwards. Another mom suggested cutting out the neck to avoid "chapping" or irritation at the throat (since the back of the pajamas go higher than the front does) but I found that to be unnecessary. It's one of those things that LOOKS like it should bother them, but it really doesn't. It's not like the fabric rubs around a lot while they're sleeping.

Another option is to put them on him front ways, but with a t-shirt over the top to keep him from messing with the top of the zipper/clasp. This might work for a while, at least. It's a little hot, though, so you'll need to keep that in mind.

I've had other moms tell me to put duct tape around the top of the diaper at night to prevent "tampering" but never actually tried it since I didn't want all the hastle when I changed the diaper later. But looking back, I went through a lot of hastle anyway so perhaps I should have given that a shot. :-)

Good luck.

K.C.

answers from Albuquerque on

Had this problem with some of our 4....put their pajamas on backward. We got cheap ones at the thrift store that snapped and cut out the back of the neck so it wouldn't chap their necks.

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J.J.

answers from Phoenix on

Maybe he's ready to start potty training? Mine was trained by 2.

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