sleep vs clean diaper

QOTR · July 2014

Do you ever postpone a diaper change in favor of more sleep? If so, do you feel as conflicted about it as I do?

I've really been working hard the past week to make sure he gets the recommended hours of sleep per day, and I'm seeing good results. He got 15+ hours the past two days and slept well each night. So when he is nearing the 2 hour wakefulness mark during the day, is nursing and on his way to dreamland, I get filled with such angst if I hear him pass gas. I don't want him to get a diaper rash, but if I change him he's guaranteed to be wide awake and we'll either delay the nap or miss it altogether. Likewise in the early mornings, he will often grunt and fuss in his sleep for 30 minutes to an hour and then have a loud bowel movement. After he gets that out, he almost immediately drifts back off to a solid sleep. It bugs me to know he's lying in a dirty diaper, but I think that getting another hour of good sleep is important too.

I think I'll continue to choose sleep over changing him until a diaper rash issue pops up, but what do you guys do?

giggler25 · July 2014

I'm completely with you on the angsty guilt but so far I've also chosen sleep. We've had a hard time ensuring Emily gets enough sleep so I don't chance waking her...

jcf2133 · July 2014

DH and I differ on this... I go with sleep. He changes, and suffers the wide awakeness.

lrmrtn · July 2014

We usually choose sleep unless it really can't wait.

jenb_99 · July 2014

I don't change a sleeping baby unless I know for sure s/he'll go right back to sleep afterward.

If your LO has a habit of pooping while sleeping, you can coat his bottom (as well as the entire crack and the anus) liberally with petroleum jelly at every change to make sure a good barrier is always in place to protect from irritation.

lauralou3x3 · July 2014

If it's poop, I change it but if it's pee I only change it if she fusses from it.

haylo33 · July 2014

I've been struggling with this at night. LO never fully wakes up to eat in the middle of the night. When he was younger, he would poop with every feed so it was an easy decision to change him. Now he doesn't poop at night, but we feel bad if we don't unswaddle him and change him. Older babies sleep through the night with no diaper change so I'm not sure why I feel bad. Must be a new mom worry. As long as they don't develop a bad diaper rash, we should give ourselves a break!

LoveIsAll25 · July 2014

jenb_99 said:

I don't change a sleeping baby unless I know for sure s/he'll go right back to sleep afterward. If your LO has a habit of pooping while sleeping, you can coat his bottom (as well as the entire crack and the anus) liberally with petroleum jelly at every change to make sure a good barrier is always in place to protect from irritation.

This is what I do every night before we go to bed.

spacepotatoes · July 2014

At night, I change if it's been 4 hrs or if I know there's poop. When she'd wake every 2 hrs, I'd change every other time. Now that we're into cloth diapers full time, we use the micro fleece lined ones for night and those keep her feeling dry so I don't feel as guilty leaving them on.

Having said all that, I always change at the start of a nursing session so that she's awake enough to eat and I can put her right back to bed again after.

jenb_99 · July 2014

I just caught the "another hour" part of the original post. If it's only going to be an hour or even two, I'd definitely let the baby sleep. Especially if his bottom had a good layer of ointment protecting it.

Baby poop from 2-6 months isn't nearly as irritating as the earliest newborn stools or what comes out after the introduction of solids.

purtz · July 2014

We regularly use triple paste diaper cream and I opt for sleep! Unless I have heard or smell an obvious poop.

Veittobe · July 2014

If there is poop, I wake her up to change her.

My DD1 had kidney reflux and developed chronic bladder infections. We had to be really careful with poop not causing more problems for her so we always change at the first sign of poop. The only exceptions are if we are in the car or don't hear it happen.

Krisd6 · July 2014

If there is an obvious poop- I'll change him but I tend to vote and go for sleep! I felt guilty at first but then realized he would be up in 2-3 hours again to feed!

MrsT2008 · July 2014

Unless she's just pooped, or the diaper is very clearly full to the max, I choose sleep. Having a 2.5 year old has "trained" me into fewer diaper changes simply because she doesn't need them as much so basically I don't think to change the baby as frequently as I did the first time around (I was pretty strict with changing with each feed or every time she woke up). And I never wake her to change her but she also never sleeps thru pooping so I haven't had to worry about that. I figure she sleeps all night in the same diaper (12ish hours with one or two wake ups to eat, but I don't change her diaper) so going a few hours or whatever during the day isn't the end of the world.

hbird0723 · July 2014

I choose sleep as well. At night I also coat her bottom with diaper cream. It is also a screaming mess if I change her in the middle of the night. So I just make sure she's ok as far as has she pooped a lot and move on because it's not with it to me to make her that mad because she wants to sleep.

ladywolf1313 · July 2014

I actually did some reading about this and had been suffering with LO being awake at like 3am wanting to play after changing him.

It was recommened to put him in a bigger diaper and not change him. I've been doing this and LO sleeps now 10pm-6am without any waking up. Of course at 6am is when he tends to give me a bad smelly BM when I'm barely awake and totally forget to put my glasses on LOL

danagmauro · July 2014

I do w poop. I feel too bad for her w that mess in there plus she's very good about going back down. Pee I let go til morning even though it feels like it weighs 5 pounds. I once read a study where they injected one babies diaper w water in the middle of the night too see if they'd fuss or if would change the sleeping pattern and it didnt. Makes me feel better lol

momthatlifts · July 2014

It usually depends on how late I change her diaper. She doesn't go to sleep until late so if I do one right before bed time and she wakes up for a feeding and goes back to sleep. I leave her. Then I change her the next time she gets up

momthatlifts · July 2014

I will also change her if she's pooped no matter what

Hallil · July 2014

I change her. I am very slow and quiet, but the kicker is my wipes warmer. Nothing worse than a cold wipe to wake up baby, but warm? She doesn't even notice!

springbeduk2 · July 2014

Sleep. My LO hates diaper changes so much. I try to change her about half to 2/3 through a feeding session so that she isnt too hangry and so then there's still a good amount of nursing time after to comfort her. But if I've missed that and she dozes off and actually stays asleep - I definitely let her sleep.

sparklingdiamond · July 2014

If he poops, I will change him. If he is just wet I let him sleep.

FlemDance · July 2014

ladywolf1313 said:
I actually did some reading about this and had been suffering with LO being awake at like 3am wanting to play after changing him.

It was recommened to put him in a bigger diaper and not change him. I've been doing this and LO sleeps now 10pm-6am without any waking up. Of course at 6am is when he tends to give me a bad smelly BM when I'm barely awake and totally forget to put my glasses on LOL

Exactly this. MOTN feedings I would feed, unswaddle, change wet diaper, reswaddle, try to rock back to sleep, unswaddle and change poopy diaper if needed, reswaddle, and then finally try to rock back to sleep for good. With all that movement, LO would be wide awake and it would take over an hour to get back to sleep.

There was a thread on here last week where I read that usually at this age babies tend to not poop while sleeping, and are okay to continue to sleep in a wet diaper. Seriously, this was the best advice. LO is now getting up, eating, and back asleep all within 20 minutes for her MOTN feed.

Helmink0804 · July 2014

We let her sleep since it's always pee. She poops once a day and is usually gassy right before hand.

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