Nighttime diaper question....

mfrost868 · August 2013

So LO is 6 months and 2 weeks. And (Thank God) he hasnt been sick once, with anything. Anywho, he has been sleeping great through the night since he was about 6 weeks old. BUT most mornings he wakes up around 9, SOAKING wet from his "bathroom breaks" during the night. Well, today I woke up to find diaper rash, which is no biggie. But throughout the day, it looked like it spread to his tummy (still no biggie, I chocked it up to his clothes being wet and him sleeping on his belly through the night) so I rubbed some Destin on it and thought it would be gone. Well after fighting this stupid rash all day and now all night, its almost under control. BUT, I am wondering, is there anything I can do to keep him from wetting so much at night? Adjust his dinner time? He is still mainly formula, with some baby food here and there during the day. He goes to bed about 6:30-7:00 everynight, and has dinner about 20 minutes before he goes down. Anyone have any advice? I just woke him up (at 11) to change his diaper (I dont normally wake him once he is down for the night) and now he is WIDE AWAKE and thinks its playtime! What do I do?!?!?!

pinkyswife · August 2013

My son was waking up soaking wet all the time too. I finally went out and bought the next size up (size 4) in nighttime diapers. I don't remember which brand but he hasn't had a leak since.

jbatch · August 2013

I would buy different or larger diapers I would never wake him at night..

jd614 · August 2013

dont wake him. last night my son woke up on his own at 2am bc he leaked through his diaper...he was up til 330am! ugh. try a diff brand or bigger size.

Rynleigh · August 2013

Is there a reason you put him down so early at night? We keep our boys up until about 9PM, and wake them at 6AM - diaper right before bed, diaper in the morning. We use bigger diapers (size 2, for us) at night, and normal fitting diapers (size 1) during the day.

Rynleigh · August 2013

Babies need more sleep than we do, but expecting them to sleep 12hr+ stints is a little extreme, imo. If you're putting him down at 7PM and expecting him to sleep through until 9AM, that's 14hrs straight - that's DOUBLE the sleep cycle of the average adult...

cmhicklin · August 2013

Umm, most babies and even toddlers sleep 12 a night. The problem isn't with sleeping, its with the diapers.

Rynleigh · August 2013

A child who is between 4mo and 12mo should be sleeping up to 15hrs in every 24hr period. That doesn't mean that time should be *consecutive*.

meechellebelle · August 2013

I dont think sleep time is the issue here? Babies make their own schedules - my boys are also down by 6:30-7 and sleep until about 8 (today it was 9). They sleep about 17-18 hours a day still.
Anyways, to the real point of this post - we were using nighttime diapers a size bigger than they usually use during the day and had luck with those. DH ordered pampers cruisers by accident the other day and those have also worked. As for the diaper rash, put something on it before your LO goes to bed to help reduce the risk of more rashes. Could just be a heavy wetter. If he wakes up then I would change him but I wouldn't wake him to change him otherwise (at least after the rash is gone).

Rynleigh · August 2013

She's saying that if she wakes him to change his diaper mid-sleep cycle that he doesn't want to go back to sleep, but his diapers aren't lasting the full 14hrs she's having him sleep. If she keeps him up an extra two or three hours and gets him up a little earlier in the morning, the diaper problem should be significantly reduced... he will probably add a nap or take longer naps during the day, but that's completely normal for an infant, and it's a choice that could significantly impact the chance of rashes and leaks...

asoetenga · August 2013

Dumb question, do you point his wiener down? We've noticed when we forgot to do that he leaks through. My SIL found the huggies night time diapers worked best for her as her son peed a lot. Also my son sleeps 12-14 hours every night and takes two naps a day ranging from one hour to two and a half. He's also perfectly healthy. I've just been blessed with a great sleeper and so have you!!

Karla CS · August 2013

I'm going to go in the same camp as PPs - a baby's sleep habits are a baby's sleep habits. Most sleep experts recommend putting a baby down for the night around 7-8pm. At six months, babies need around 11-12 hours of uninterrupted sleep at night. Just like adults have a range of 6-8 hours of sleep, but some people require less, and some people require more, babies have a range also.

It sounds like her baby is sleeping just fine - more importantly, it sounds like her baby is sleeping the way most parents wish their babies slept! Her question wasn't about sleep habits or how you choose to govern your child's sleep, her question was about diapers.

In the interest of being helpful, and actually answering the question about diapers - size up to the next size, and try overnight diapers. I'd also recommend using a diaper cream at night just to keep any moisture off of his skin while he's happily snoozing the night away.

Rynleigh said:

A child who is between 4mo and 12mo should be sleeping up to 15hrs in every 24hr period. That doesn't mean that time should be *consecutive*.

cmhicklin · August 2013

I can't really answer, because we use cloth. But DS is starting to sleep longer, and we are trying to find a new solution as well. I *think* we went up a size with my DD when she was leaking at night as well, but I can't remember for sure.

kelly321 · August 2013

We use a size up for nighttime. It seems to work well and we've never had a problem with leaks (other than when the diaper is full, and then we know it's time to move up a size).

As for sleep times, my 2 cents is that if that's how your baby sleeps, then that's how he sleeps. DD2 is nowhere close to STTN, but she is definitely ready for bed by 7 at the latest. She's usually up around 6, sometimes 7.

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