# Do you change newborn's diaper at night?



## Galatea (Jun 28, 2004)

If your newborn is sleeping a nice stretch at night, do you wake them to change their diaper? Dd sleeps well already (YAY!) but then in the morning, she smells awful and has a soggy diaper. So should I have woken her to change her? She nurses at night, but totally in her sleep, and I'm mostly asleep, too. Or should I just get some really absorbent diapers? She still freaks out when we change her bum. I don't remember this stage with my boys.


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## alegna (Jan 14, 2003)

With dd we always changed when we found a wet diaper- day or night. She usually slept through it.

-Angela


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## wholewheatmama (Oct 22, 2005)

During that newborn, still pooping at night stage, yes. After that, for just pee, no way! I just put my LO in a really absorbent diaper and wait til morning. I do her last diaper change for the night when I go to bed (usually 3-4 hours after her), when she usually is ready to nurse anyway. I can generally get the diaper change done without her waking all the way. Then she's good for 7-8 hours till morning.

ETA: Just make sure you use something that wicks the moisture away from the skin. And of course change even wet diapers if you're having any rash issues.


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## thismama (Mar 3, 2004)

noooooooooooooooooo.


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## PassionateWriter (Feb 27, 2008)

i used to change when wet...after a month or so usually only once a night i think (seems sooo long ago i have a hard time remembering). at 24 months i ddont change at night. lol!


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## mrspineau (Jan 15, 2008)

for me, it depends. I wouldn't leave him for a very long stretch, like say, over three hours, but he hasn't slept that long yet so sometimes if the diaper is just a little wet I don't. I always change if it's poopy or soaked though. He doesn't sleep through a diaper change, but he doesnt freak out either, so I guess it would depend on the baby too.


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## sunkist33 (Sep 19, 2007)

Nope.
We use a Fuzzi Bunz or Bum Genius at night, never had any leaks


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## becoming (Apr 11, 2003)

No way. Only if there's major poo. None of my babies would ever have slept through a diaper change.


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## Mere (Oct 1, 2002)

Never never never (unless there is poop or a leak involved). Like the pps said, just use a liner or a pocket diaper so they're not sitting in soggy wetness all night.


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## veganf (Dec 12, 2005)

I've always had to change my guys at night during the first month or so, no matter what kind of diapers I was using. They peed a metric ton at night.

However, something I've never tried...my midwife said she heard the trick...cut a slit through the middle of one disposable diaper, put in on baby, then put on another diaper in the next size up...voila.


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## california_mom (Sep 30, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *veganf* 
However, something I've never tried...my midwife said she heard the trick...cut a slit through the middle of one disposable diaper, put in on baby, then put on another diaper in the next size up...voila.


Brilliant!


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## To-Fu (May 23, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *becoming* 
No way. Only if there's major poo. None of my babies would ever have slept through a diaper change.

Agreed!


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## kirstenb (Oct 4, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *wholewheatmama* 
During that newborn, still pooping at night stage, yes. After that, for just pee, no way! I just put my LO in a really absorbent diaper and wait til morning.









:


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## nighten (Oct 18, 2005)

Don't wake a sleeping baby.









If a diaper change wakes the baby, then I wouldn't. But if it's nasty poop and messy and there's a good chance it won't fully wake the baby, then yes.

But if it's just wet and the baby isn't bothered by it enough to wake, then I'd leave it be.

We often changed her in our bed though (having a small lamp with a nightlight bulb on top of the bookshelf gave enough light), specifically so as to not wake her.


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## The Harpy (Apr 1, 2008)

I changed it if it was really wet or there was a poopy bum in there but other than that I didn't wake the sleeping beast.


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## sarahmck (Feb 11, 2005)

I don't change DS at night any more. He's 6 weeks old. I changed him once per night at first, but it was too hard on me and woke him up too much. I've finally found a nighttime diaper configuration that stands up to all the pee (DS doesn't poop at night). I put on a prefold with a hemp doubler in it and Snappi it and then I put another prefold over that (no Snappi) and then a wool soaker. The outer prefold gets wet, but not soaking and the bed stays dry.

I also use a piece of waterproof flannelette under DS. Then a towel over that where DS and I sleep. That way, I don't have anything waterproof beneath me but I catch milk leaks in the towel and DS doesn't trash the bed even when his diaper does leak. I'm still trying some new covers so my method isn't always foolproof yet.


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## yasinsmama (Mar 9, 2008)

My LO is 3 weeks old. He wakes up every 2-4 hours at night to nurse (wel, eat, i'm feeding him EBM right now). So I go put the bottle in the warmer, comeback to change him, then by the time i'm finished, the bottle is ready. I don't like to let him go more than a couple of hours without changing his diaper, so that's usually with every feeding.
I am having BF'ing/boobie issues, so I really don't want to add diaper rash on top of all of that.


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## wombatclay (Sep 4, 2005)

I change all poo dipes as soon as possible... so for the first couple weeks where a dipe is more or less part of the nursing session yes, I changed dipes at night (usually nurse one side, change dipe, nurse other side back to sleep). As they get a bit bigger and don't poo every time they nurse then I generally leave the dipe alone unless they are having difficulty settling back into sleep despite the nursing. I think the last night dipe I changed was when dd2 was around 4 months.

(not counting icky dipes when they have a cold of course... those get changed as soon as they happen!)


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## VOBetz (Mar 10, 2007)

I wouldn't even consider waking up my kids to change their wet diapers. If they are asleep. They are fine.

I changed poopy ones in the night of course. But as soon as those stopped. Um yeah - not changing a wet diaper on a sleeping kid. Both my kids would have woken up the neighborhood if I woke them to change them.

A benefit of cosleeping is that you don't have to wake up fully to feed/nurse your baby. Its sorta negated when you wake up fully to change their diaper.


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## acp (Apr 15, 2007)

I changed my newborn's diaper at night when/if she woke up, but I NEVER woke her up just to change a diaper. When she started sleeping longer stretches, I made sure I used something that wicked moisture away from her skin, and often double stuffed with a hemp insert.
Even when she got a bit older I changed her diaper as little as possible at night, since it would wake her fully up. REcently, when she started sometimes sleeping much longer stretches (10-11 hours), and was starting to get a bit of a rash even with double-stuffed hemp diaper, I started using a sposie at night for just this reason.


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## acp (Apr 15, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *alegna* 
With dd we always changed when we found a wet diaper- day or night. She usually slept through it.

I'm amazed. Just shows how different every baby is, I suppose. No way would DD ever - as a newborn or an older babe - have slept through a diaper change. And it's one way guaranteed to wake her up fully, even if she was in a drowsy, semi-sleep state before.


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## Demeter_shima (May 16, 2007)

I have only changed the diaper in hte middle of the night a few times...if he is awake anyway. Otherwise, I wait until mornig...since he doens't get irritated and only pees at night it works fine. I do have to use the most absorbant diaper possible though or it leaks through.


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## CherryBomb (Feb 13, 2005)

It depends. If I can smell that she's dirty I'll change her even if it means waking up. If she's in a dispoable (we use them at night and when we're out of the house if we have extra money) and it's just wet, I leave it. If she's in cloth and it's wet, I change it. She nurses a few times at night (almost 9 weeks old) but doesn't normally wake up.


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## Blucactus (Nov 20, 2006)

I would never wake up a sleeping baby to change them. With my baby who is now <8 mo, I wouldn't change him unless I knew it was affecting his sleep--wiggling around, grunting, whining. But if I changed him, he would be awake for 1-3 hours, that was it, yikes!


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## DasMaedchen (May 10, 2008)

Only if she wakes up.
If she poops, she WILL wake up and then I change her. otherwise, I change her once before she falls asleep. but she still wakes up in the night to have a bottle most nights, so I am normally changing her once per night still.


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## veganone (May 10, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *acp* 
I'm amazed. Just shows how different every baby is, I suppose. No way would DD ever - as a newborn or an older babe - have slept through a diaper change. And it's one way guaranteed to wake her up fully, even if she was in a drowsy, semi-sleep state before.

Me too! DD would have never slept through a diaper change - as soon as she stopped pooping at night we stopped changing her at night. I only do now if she gets so wet that she actually leaks a bit (which happens once in a while) and even then only when she wakes up to eat.


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## pixiepunk (Mar 11, 2003)

yes, i do. i wouldn't want to sit in my own urine and i imagine she probably doesn't either.


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## sophi4ka (Jun 28, 2007)

DD stopped pooping at night at around 1.5 mo, so we stopped changing her. I put a double diaper at night. I change her first thing in the morning


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## BigMama2008 (Dec 27, 2007)

I've always changed DD at night.








We use Gdiapers and she rarely leaks. She's not a super soaker but I don't like to leave in wet dipes. She cries/fusses a bit but then falls asleep and guzzles her bottle. Once sated, she's OUT!  Or at least that's how it works now..


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## RockStarMom (Sep 11, 2005)

I would usually check her diaper when she would nurse during the night, and if it was wet I'd change her. But I wouldn't wake her up, I'd do it while she was sleeping and while I was nursing her.


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## Novella (Nov 8, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *thismama* 
noooooooooooooooooo.









I concur!


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## ollineeba (Apr 12, 2005)

No. My 3.5 month old doesn't poop at night, otherwise I definitely would. She nurses in her sleep and I don't dare risk changing her for fear of waking her up completely. I change her first thing in the morning.


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## lollie2357 (Feb 18, 2008)

This is a great question, because I remember being torn about it in those early months. I felt so bad about her wearing a wet diaper (we use cloth, so wet is really wet), but I didn't want to wake her up to change her.

I did usually change her when she woke to nurse, but she was already awake. As she started to sleep better I changed her less often. Around 5 months maybe, I just started using a good thick diaper at night and waited till morning.


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## lollie2357 (Feb 18, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *RockStarMom* 
I would usually check her diaper when she would nurse during the night, and if it was wet I'd change her. But I wouldn't wake her up, I'd do it while she was sleeping and while I was nursing her.

I'm wondering how you change a diaper while nursing. Now that takes skill.


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## matey (Sep 15, 2006)

at first yes, now no. Unless poop, I am always afraid it will sneak out, but usually he doesnt poop at night.


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## leosmommy (May 11, 2008)

I do change my LO's diaper at night. He tends to be a soaker and feeds for a long time halfway through the night and needs burped halfway through eating...and I'm still kinda sore from the birth so I get up and walk to burp him instead of sitting up in bed...and change him while I'm up. He usually sleeps right through a diaper change. And is fussy if he wakes up and is wet. Before my DH went back to work he was my nighttime burper/diaper changer...that was the best!


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## mama_ani (Aug 2, 2007)

Only if she is up to nurse and is poopy. We use a FB with an extra hemp insert and never have leaks.


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## tatermom (Jun 11, 2005)

Poopy, yes, Just wet, no. Yes, I've left the kids in wet pjs rather than wake them up to change them.







: I figure if it bothered them they'd wake up.







(Obviously I'd change a baby who's prone to rashes or who is wearing wet jammies in winter-- but otherwise, let him sleep!)


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## Francie (Jul 8, 2005)

We cd so I changed in the beginning about 3 times a night when they stirred to nurse but weren't fully awake...Change them and then nurse them back to sleep- I never did it the other way. IT would wake them more...In the beginning we were pooping after every nursing so I had to change them as they were waking to eat again-
My husband said it was good inventory control


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## Ironica (Sep 11, 2005)

DS2 (just like DS1) wakes up to pee, poop, and nurse... usually he doesn't fully wake up, as in his eyes do stay closed, but he starts tapping at me and rooting. (Humans don't actually eliminate in their sleep.... they have to wake up at least a *little* bit to do it.)

If he's wet and poopy, I try to rouse DH to change him while I nurse him (if that doesn't work, I change him myself, but he gets pretty angry about there being NOTHING in his mouth). If it's only pee or poop, or he's clean, I potty him while nursing him. He wakes during the transition parts, but if I don't change/potty him, he does *not* go soundly back to sleep; instead, he keeps popping off the breast and rooting again immediately, over and over, for however many HOURS I will let him (and this means I get no real sleep either). Sometimes when I'm REALLY tired, I try to just nurse him without checking his diaper or pottying him, but eventually I have to give up because I do want to fall back asleep!


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## 2 Potato Tots (May 12, 2008)

I'm on the no way, never side. A diaper change would not only wake the baby but the screaming would wake the three year old. Not chancing that one!

I use Fuzzi Bunz and they are great at night. No leaks.


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