Diaper change while asleep

amother

Thu, Oct 23 2008, 3:21 am

What would you do?? Very often when my newborn wakes up at night to be fed he'll fall back asleep while I'm nursing him. This happens before I have a chance to change his diaper. I know if I do change him he'll wake up and might very well stay up! So he goes back to sleep sometimes with a well needed change. I don't change him before I start feeding him because he's the type of child who makes after each feeding. Would you wake your child just to change him with the chance of staying up the rest of the night? or would you put him to sleep?

amother

Thu, Oct 23 2008, 3:26 am

Just to add, DH tells me to leave him alone-he'll let me know if he's uncomfortable or not but I feel bad-yet to I wake him up with the "risk" of him staying up?

mandksima

Thu, Oct 23 2008, 3:28 am

I would think your newborn would still need to sleep a lot and if really tired, would stay sleeping through a diaper change or fall back asleep after changing. Sometimes, I stop near the end of a feeding, change the diaper, then resume the last few moments so the baby will sleep again. If he makes right after each feeding, there's not much you can do but at least if the diaper starts out dry, it will stay that much drier. Try a few different things and see which works best for you.

If you do choose to let him sleep in the diaper, make sure it is a top quality diaper so the baby won't soak through his clothes. We changed brands for this reason. If the baby is prone to diaper rash, then you'll have no choice but to change him.

Zus

Thu, Oct 23 2008, 8:56 am

Changing a newborn's diaper can be a great tool to wake him up if he needs to be woken up for a feed.

That said, my golden rule is NO diaper changes at night at all, unless it's a poopy diaper. Babies need to learn to sleep at night and they need to know when night time is, dark, quiet etc and no extra activities including diaper changes.

mom2bsn

Thu, Oct 23 2008, 11:26 am

my dr told me not to change diapers in middle of the night cuz it wakes them up. They can last through the night without being changed.

Isramom8

Thu, Oct 23 2008, 3:52 pm

If your baby is a boy, you can double diaper him for the night by folding a second diaper in half, with the absorpant part towards his skin, and tucking it firmly into the regular diaper. In the middle of the night gently remove the liner diaper and he will be left with a clean regular diaper on. If he poops then you have to change to a new diaper, though.

chanagital

Thu, Oct 23 2008, 4:46 pm

I always changed my kids when they woke to eat... they just had to wait a little while longer...but once they got in the rotean then it worked. They came to expect me pulling out the diaper ment food.... and they were more relaxed during the day when I had to change them. I got them to sleep through the night another time... when they were old enough to do so...I would let them wake up and I would turn off the baby moniter..so it wasn't crying with staryio vision. I just made they were fed and clean when they went to bed and changed and fed them first thing in the morning. But it happened when both me and my baby were ready not before it.

cubbie

Thu, Oct 23 2008, 5:03 pm

I agree with Zus, if your baby hasn't pooped (or isn't soaked) you don't change them, the idea of the night feed is to fill their little tummies, but at the same time giving the message that it's night and time for sleeping, not stimulation.

octopus

Thu, Oct 23 2008, 5:07 pm

My kids have very sensitive skin, so I HAVE to change them during the night. Anyway- I change the diaper first, even if the kid is crying, and then I feed them. They go back to sleep one two three.

HappyFamily

Sat, Oct 25 2008, 8:56 pm

I usually change them after every feeding till the 3-4 months. After that I stop changing diapers during the night.

pinkbubbles

Wed, Nov 12 2008, 10:45 am

I change DS halfway through a feed in dim lighting. If I leave him overnight he ends up leaking - always! Then I give him the bottle again so hes content and ready to fall asleep when he is full, with a clean diaper!

raizy

Sat, Nov 15 2008, 11:50 pm

I change before I start to feed my baby otherwise I leave her alone. but when she was younger I always changed her when I was burping her in middle of the feed.

goodheart

Sun, Nov 16 2008, 12:04 am

I always changed my baby before feeding them.and
if they made while eating I changed them again
I never left them in dirty diapers.