# Honestly - changing poopy diapers in middle of the night??



## YinYang (Apr 3, 2006)

OK, so the thought of my DD sitting in a dirty diaper is so disgusting that I go through about 15 diapers during the day. But the kick is this...

She tends to have a BM about 5am. IF I let it go, she falls back asleep and life is fine till she has another one at about 6:30am (more or less). IF I change her diaper when she has her BM, she wakes up no matter how calm I do it and it takes a long while to get her back to sleep.

Do you really change them all the time if they have a BM in the middle of the night???

I'm torn between how much I hate her being in a dirty diaper but also how precious sleep is for her....

Any advice??


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## kalirush (Jun 14, 2005)

I was in _exactly_ the same situation with my daughter when she was little little. And I stopped changing her.









I figured, I'd take a happy, well-rested poopy-butted baby over a mad, tired, clean-butted baby any day.

I should add, though, that my daughter NEVER had any rash issues, and also I was religious about putting a liberal helping of diaper cream on her before bed (we don't use it otherwise). But, yeah- we don't change diapers at night. You'll find, too, that it won't be that much longer that she poops at night anyhow- most babies stop that at some point.

Good luck!

Julia


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## AnneNic (Sep 13, 2005)

I change her diapers when before she eats usually. Even with the cloth diapers, poopy diapers make her red due to sensitive skin issues.


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## CNutty (Apr 18, 2006)

Yup, we dont change at night either, unless it seems to be bothering him, or its a MONSTER one and it leeks out! It just seems to get him all woken up, and unable to go back to sleep...so for us its just nurse and back to sleep!
I do think it would be a differant story though if he had ever had a problem with diaper rash...


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## la mamita (Apr 10, 2005)

yeah, I always changed poopy diapers, even in the middle of the night. eventually, most babies stop pooping in the middle of the night once they get older, so it's just something you'll have to do regularly for the first few months. i haven't changed a poopy diaper since around 8 months, and it hasn't been a regularity since about 5 months.


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## Daffodil (Aug 30, 2003)

Under those circumstances, I wouldn't change the poopy diaper. When my DS was little, he pooped a lot, and often it seemed to be just as he was falling asleep. I soon realized that if I tried to change him every time I knew there was poop in his diaper, neither one of us would ever get any sleep. Fortunately, the nighttime pooping stops after a few months.


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## phroggies (Sep 13, 2004)

I could have posted kalirush's post, word for word. No, we did not change in the middle of the night, but he never had even a hint of diaper rash, or we might have done things differently.


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## wryknowlicious (Apr 19, 2006)

wow. I did not realize it untill just now.. I was searching my brain for how I could contribute to this post.... niether one of my DD's has ever pooped at night.







:

Man, now I think thats kinda strange! LOL! that not one time have they pooped at night! gesh... I'm gonna be thinking about this all day.


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## Ape94 (Apr 5, 2004)

We've always changed poopy diapers at night, even at the risk of sleep. Both of my boys would/will end up with a rash if they sit in a poopy diaper too long. And even if they didn't, i just can't leave them in a poopy diaper....it's just too gross. I don't change we diapers at night though...


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## loudmama (Mar 12, 2005)

Only really do it when they are newborns. That, & DS is dealing with some diaper rash. Otherwise, I just slathered DD in desitin & changed it in the morning.

L


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## primjillie (May 4, 2004)

I always changed a poopy diaper at night. I couldn't stand the thought of my little baby laying there with poop with all over! I also changed wet diapers if I could tell they were really swimming in it or if their clothes were wet. Luckily, they weren't too hard to get back to sleep.


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## mcamy (Aug 23, 2004)

We always changed the poopy ones. I can't imagine leaving DD sitting in feces while she slept. It seems like the right thing to do even if it means you don't get as much sleep.


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## mightymoo (Dec 6, 2003)

I think I would probably just leave it unless her skin started to get irritated by that. Generally we changed poopy diapers in the middle of the night, neither of my kids were that regular - so I couldn't be sure it would only be an hour or so, kwim? They stopped pooping at night pretty quickly.


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## Incubator (May 11, 2006)

DS hasn't had any rash issues, so I only change his diaper at night if he is up and screaming anyway. I always change it just to see if maybe that's why he's upset. But if he's not crying, and it's not leaking or stinking, heck no, he can stay in it until the next time he wakes me up and starts crying.


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## winonamom2be (Nov 7, 2005)

we always changed poopy diapers immediately. it is very caustic on their skin. we hsve been ec'ing since she was 2.5 months old (now 6mo) though and as of today we haven't changed a poopy diaper in about six weeks. she has them all in the potty.

but no, i would not advise leaving it on a baby, even to the detriment of sleep. but then we have always gotten up at five to feed, change, get mom a drink of water and a pee, etc. so it's no big deal for us to be awke for a while then and go back to sleep later.


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## GooeyRN (Apr 24, 2006)

My dd quit pooping at night somewhere around 2 months old. I did change her at night then, since I was still waking her every 2 hours to eat anyway. (she was/is a tiny baby) So as long as she was awake, why not change her? I do not wake my dd overnight to change a wet diaper. We use disposable diapers, and even when very heavy the part that comes into contact w/ her skin feels dry to the touch. I also put a very thick layer of barrier cream on her. (at night only) I can't leave my dd in a poopy diaper, but then I am a nurse and see what poopy pants can do to the elderly's skin. I know ulcers usually do not occur on babies though, so I don't think them being in a poopy diaper for an hour or so will be such a terrible thing if they aren't protesting. Happy Mommy=Happy baby. Sometimes mommies need a little sleep too. So if baby isn't protesting or getting skin breakdown... Enjoy a little sleep.


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## kalirush (Jun 14, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *mcamy*
We always changed the poopy ones. I can't imagine leaving DD sitting in feces while she slept. It seems like the right thing to do even if it means you don't get as much sleep.

Just wanted to point out- I (and I'm sure other mamas in this position) didn't stop changing because *I* wanted more sleep. It was because my baby (who never cared about having a poopy butt, and never got rashy) wanted more sleep. And I should add, my daughter never had to wake up to eat. So it's not like we were already up, or anything.

It sounds gross, but given that it doesn't cause rash problems for your child, I think it's much better than waking the baby up unnecessarily. Certainly, it was for my child. She was much happier when I quit trying to change her in the middle of the night.

Julia


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## YinYang (Apr 3, 2006)

Thanks everyone!!

Julia/Kalirush - that is exactly what I meant. I'm not worried AT ALL about MY sleep but rather hers. I've learned that she needs a lot of sleep. When she is awakened (ugh, am I having grammar issues???







), it's a bad time for all. Mcamy, for SURE, I'd give up my sleep (what sleep?







) in a heartbeat for her! Thanks for adding that though!

I'm going to take it night by night but will continue to load her up on a barrier cream (I'm just switching to CDs now so posted over there for advice on what kinds I can use!) just in case.

This thread has pointed out the two conflicting sides I'm faced with - I'm glad I'm not the only one trying to sort it out!!!!!


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## ryleeee (Feb 9, 2005)

we always change haye in the middle of the night.
actually, i change him like 4 times a night, he pees a lot!








he stopped pooping in the middle of the night though, but i couldn't let him sleep in crap. i try and keep him as dry as possible, regardless of how much sleep it means for me.


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## rmzbm (Jul 8, 2005)

:
I change dirty (wet or poopy) dipes immediatly regardless of what time it is. Mostly she doesn't poop at night though - lucky me







- but when she does it comes right off!


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## wednesday (Apr 26, 2004)

I wouldn't wake her for a change if it's not bothering her, and her skin seems to be okay. She will probably stop with the 5 am pooping pretty soon. My son rarely pooped while sleeping after 3 months old.


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## orangebird (Jun 30, 2002)

Yeah, at night I always change the poopy ones, but not the wet ones unless the baby is awake.

I got such a bonus with my third baby, my 10 month old has never poo'd at night.


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## mothragirl (Sep 10, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *mcamy*
We always changed the poopy ones. I can't imagine leaving DD sitting in feces while she slept. It seems like the right thing to do even if it means you don't get as much sleep.

same here.


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## katies_mama (Jun 9, 2005)

There is no problem leaving a baby to sleep with a poopy diaper if they are not going to get a rash.

Waking them does harm. Letting them sleep does no harm (if they are not prone to diaper rash) unless the mother has a mental issue with the idea of poop and NEEDS her baby to be clean--and really, that's not the baby's problem, is it?

Katie went through a stage quite recently where she pooped in the middle of the night (probably because she was nursing nonstop). I responded to this develoment by slathering her with butt paste before bed, and then I didn't worry about it and changed it in the morning. Yeah, it bothered me that she had pooped--the idea of it bothered me. But I did what was best for her, not what made me feel better, and that was to let her sleep.


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## hottmama (Dec 27, 2004)

When my little guy was a newborn, he pooped at night and we changed him immediately. We also changed wet diapers at night for the first 4-5 mos. but now we use fuzzi bunz so they can wait.


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## RedOakMomma (Sep 30, 2004)

We change poopy ones right away. After a little bit of being kinda awake, he'd always settle back down. Now he sleeps right through it. Didn't and doesn't seem to bother him.


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## MamaPam (Oct 8, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *kalirush*
I figured, I'd take a happy, well-rested poopy-butted baby over a mad, tired, clean-butted baby any day.

Julia









:
We never had rash issues either.

Pam


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## ryleeee (Feb 9, 2005)

wow, i think it's pretty rude of you to say i have a "mental issue" because i don't want my son to have to sleep in feces. just because you don't have a problem with it and your baby doesn't mind it doesn't mean i don't, or that my son doesn't. and who said i wake him up? i change him in bed, and he sleeps through all diaper changes. i'm not being judgemental of you, so why don't you stop being judgemental of me, and the other moms that (OH NO!) change their babies in the middle of the night? seriously.


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## kalirush (Jun 14, 2005)

I don't think she was being judgemental of you, so much as being defensive of herself. Some of the stuff that's been said on this thread has felt pretty judgemental of us non-changing moms. Your statement, for one, implies that we are 'letting our babes sleep in crap' out of a desire to get more sleep for ourselves:

Quote:

he stopped pooping in the middle of the night though, but i couldn't let him sleep in crap. i try and keep him as dry as possible, regardless of how much sleep it means for me.
I think she was just trying to point out that a squick about a baby sleeping in poop is not a good enough reason to wake a sleeping baby, necessarily. If you can change your baby without waking, more power to you. My daughter woke every time no matter what I tried.

Julia


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## cjuniverse (Sep 22, 2005)

Change the poops but not the pees.

I wish I had the time/energy/patience to try EC, I first read about it years ago and was fascinated. Beats changing diapers, it would seem.


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## katies_mama (Jun 9, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ryleeee*
wow, i think it's pretty rude of you to say i have a "mental issue" because i don't want my son to have to sleep in feces. just because you don't have a problem with it and your baby doesn't mind it doesn't mean i don't, or that my son doesn't. and who said i wake him up? i change him in bed, and he sleeps through all diaper changes. i'm not being judgemental of you, so why don't you stop being judgemental of me, and the other moms that (OH NO!) change their babies in the middle of the night? seriously.

You're totally right, I should have been much more specific. I changed my daughter when she didn't wake up, too, as an infant. Now she does wake up, so I don't.

The OP's real question was "should I change her poopy diaper even though it wakes her up and she's not prone to rashes." Some of the responses indicated that they thought yes, she should, and I disagree. Of course you'd change a poopy diaper if baby goes right back to sleep--there's really no question of that, right? It's not even that relevant to this specific discussion.


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## mcamy (Aug 23, 2004)

Sorry, ladies, no matter how you try to spin it, I still think if they poop in the middle of the night, they need to be changed. For me, there was never the question in my mind about what to do.

To each her own I guess...


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## Daffodil (Aug 30, 2003)

I suspect the people who are so adamant about always changing a poopy diaper are mostly people whose babies don't poop much at night. When DS was little, he pooped small amounts really often - practically every diaper had at least a little skid mark in it. And a lot of times, he'd wake up, I'd change him, he'd nurse and start to fall asleep, then wake up just enough to poop a bit and immediately fall back to sleep. If I had changed him every time that happened, we would have been stuck in an endless cycle - change diaper, wake up baby, nurse baby, baby starts to fall asleep, baby poops, change diaper, wake up baby . . .

Just because you don't like the idea of a baby sleeping in a poopy diaper, that doesn't mean the baby is upset about it. If the baby is upset about it, or gets a rash, that's one thing, but if the baby doesn't care then I don't think it's a big deal. And I'll go out on a limb and say I (gasp!) even think it's okay for mothers to take their own sleep needs into account. I don't mean it's okay to let your baby lie there squirming and unhappy in a dirty diaper for hours because you don't want to get up. I just mean that it's okay to decide not to change a content baby's poopy diaper just because it would cut into your own sleep, even if the baby would sleep through the diaper change. (I'm amazed at the idea that babies can sleep through diaper changes - mine sure never have!)


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## la mamita (Apr 10, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Daffodil*
I suspect the people who are so adamant about always changing a poopy diaper are mostly people whose babies don't poop much at night. When DS was little, he pooped small amounts really often - practically every diaper had at least a little skid mark in it. And a lot of times, he'd wake up, I'd change him, he'd nurse and start to fall asleep, then wake up just enough to poop a bit and immediately fall back to sleep. If I had changed him every time that happened, we would have been stuck in an endless cycle - change diaper, wake up baby, nurse baby, baby starts to fall asleep, baby poops, change diaper, wake up baby . . .

Just because you don't like the idea of a baby sleeping in a poopy diaper, that doesn't mean the baby is upset about it. If the baby is upset about it, or gets a rash, that's one thing, but if the baby doesn't care then I don't think it's a big deal. And I'll go out on a limb and say I (gasp!) even think it's okay for mothers to take their own sleep needs into account. I don't mean it's okay to let your baby lie there squirming and unhappy in a dirty diaper for hours because you don't want to get up. I just mean that it's okay to decide not to change a content baby's poopy diaper just because it would cut into your own sleep, even if the baby would sleep through the diaper change. (I'm amazed at the idea that babies can sleep through diaper changes - mine sure never have!)

My DS pooped a lot at night, especially when he was littler. I always changed him. Yeah, it cut back on my sleep. No, we never dealt with rashes (probably because I changed him so often). Yeah, sometimes he'd wake up for good and that would suck. It did end after about 8 months, which was good. The REAL frequent poops ended around 3-4 months, if I remember correctly. I can see the other side and I don't think there's one "right" answer. I personally just didn't like the idea of leaving him sleeping in poop, because he might get a rash. Again, we never had problems with rashes, but I wanted to be pro-active and avoid the situation. Just saying that I do understand what it's like to have a baby that poops a lot, that wakes up during diaper changes, etc.


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## s_kristina (Aug 9, 2004)

Am I the only mama that has gone to change a diaper and found a mystery poop. As in "wait where did the poop in this diaper come form?" When he was tiny my ds was great at pooping without me noticing! I thought all babies were noisy when they poop, but he did and still does poop silently. Back then most of the time they didn't have any smell to them either! I know there were times when he slept in a diaper he pooped in simply because he did it in his sleep and I had no idea it was in there! I certainly don't feel bad about not knowing every time he pooped so if it helps baby to get more sleep I don't see a problem with letting them sleep with it on.


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## starparticle (Jun 30, 2005)

We too EC'd at night during that time - and found that one trip to the potty around 4 AM got all the poop out of the baby. If we didn't take him, then he would poop in his diaper over the course of the early morning and we had the same delima. Maybe give it a shot? Then you only have to get up once - and ECing over the toilet is way faster than changing a poopy diaper.

What we would do is wait for him to naturally awaken around 3 - 4 AM for nursing, take him potty right after he finished eating, then nurse him back to sleep for the morning section. No more poopy diapers! In fact, I've only changed around 5 poopy diapers in his whole life using this method. I know every baby is different...


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## winonamom2be (Nov 7, 2005)

another vote for ec. if you know when your baby is pooping, why just sit there and go, 'oh look, he's pooping, how cute!'? why not hold him over the toilet so that he doesn't have to use his clothes for a toilet?

i understand that some babes poop silently and don't give a signal but many do, and you save your baby the ickiness of having to soil his clothes and yourself the trouble of changing a poopy diaper if you just hold him over the toilet while he does it.

within weeks it is likely he will learn to 'hold' his poo and wait for you to toilet him because essentially babies don't like to sit in their own waste. we train them to accept it but it doesn't have to be this way.

before everyone starts assuming that i am some mean nasty judgemental person who thinks everyone who doesn't ec is a terrible, terrible mama, please know that before i started ec i thought ec'ers were OFF THEIR NUT. i know ec is not for everyone, and that is fine, but i talk it up because some of you out there might just be waiting for that small bit of encouragement to just try it one day and see for yourself how great it can be. and if not, that's cool too.


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## YinYang (Apr 3, 2006)

Just had to add that wouldn't you know it, DD hasn't pooped at night for the past 2 nights







Naturally, as soon as I post..... Will keep an eye out for it.

Whew, winonamom2be, I'm glad you added the last paragraph to your post. I am interested in EC and actually just posted over there for info... but up until now, haven't done it. And, no, I don't always know that she is going to poop. If/when I do (or think I do), I have taken her to the toilet... I've just never been right yet









Well now I know where to get some more info on EC and we'll see where it goes.

Thanks to everyone - started a nice healthy debate....


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## ~Megan~ (Nov 7, 2002)

You really do need to change the diaper. It will set her up for some nasty rashes if you don't.

Sorry, wish there was a better solution. Perhaps her pooping time will change soon. ds' has over time.


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## kalirush (Jun 14, 2005)

My babe has never had even a hint of rash from not changing at night, given that we always use diaper cream. I think rashiness varies alot from baby to baby.

Julia


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## huggerwocky (Jun 21, 2004)

If it is just that morning diaper I would not change and just give the bum some more air time in the morning. Elsewise I'd change if it's in the night and poo.


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