How Long Can a Baby Wear a Diaper At Night

On: August 25, 2019

When your bundle of joy arrives, most of your routines will revolve around your baby. You will do everything perfectly to ensure that your baby is comfortable. As your baby grows, so does his feeding which in turn translate to more urination and pooping. This means your night and day time will be busy. You will check him from time to ensure he is dry and change wet and soiled diapers.

The sweetest thing in the world is sleep. It is sweet to both adults and babies.

That is why many parents have the question: do I need to change my baby’s diaper at night? Changing diapers during the day is no problem. But during the night, it is a complicated thing for many parents. Not changing your baby’s diaper at night means that you and your baby get uninterrupted sleep.

However, on one hand, it means your baby’s skin will remain in contact with urine all night long which results in diaper rashes. The diaper rashes will make your baby’s bottom to become itchy, red and painful. On the other hand, you change your baby’s diaper and he doesn’t get the diaper rashes but gets the interrupted sleep as well.

Therefore, you need to consider the pros and cons and then make your decision. However, if your baby urinates, you can leave him to sleep if the diaper is not too wet. But if he poops, then you need to change the diaper as soon as possible. This is because poop can cause serious skin irritation or sometimes in worse cases cause bladder infection more especially for girls.

If you are using super absorbent diapers, leaving it on throughout the night especially if the baby is sound asleep is not bad. These are very general answers, there is no specific answer from a doctor because no one knows your child’s skin type or the food you gave him. The food the mother eats, for breastfeeding babies, determine the acidity of your child’s urine which lead to rash development.

However, to reduce the chances of rash development for your baby, you can leave him without a diaper during the day. You can check your baby from time to time during the day so that you wash him immediately. The advantage of not putting a diaper on your baby is that it will help him to learn how to use a toilet sooner. When he feels his poop or urine against his skin will make him aware of the outcome of wetting himself.

A diaper comes into contact with your baby’s skin directly, therefore, before you use it, take the following precautions:

You can opt for disposable diapers for the night
Check your child’s skin often to ensure there are no rashes. Some skin types are very sensitive hence regular checks can help you plan accordingly
After removing the diapers, clean your baby’s skin either with a wet cloth or baby wipes. After cleaning, ensure that that you apply some baby lotion or coconut oil, baby powder or moisturizer. This will go a long way in ensuring your baby’s skin is well protected.
After removing a diaper, don’t make your baby wear another diaper immediately. Allow him to get some fresh air so that the skin can breathe.
During the day, don’t put heavy diapers on your baby. Instead, use a gel diaper or a diaper with skin cream.
Change your baby’s diaper after 3 hours to avoid rashes development. But if your baby poops, ensure you change the diaper immediately.

While diapers were designed to make motherhood simple, leaving your baby’s diaper on for a long time can generate heat which will lead to rashes development. So, to ensure that your baby is comfortable, dry and healthy, change the diapers as often as you can.

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Changing Diapers at Night

Changing diapers at night is not the same as the day time. Diaper changing time is the best time to bond with your baby. You make eye contact and talk to your baby. Sometimes you might sing a song for him or do some simple massage just to make the experience good. But changing the diaper at night is different.

First of all, if you wake your baby at night to change the diaper, it means your baby might take longer to go back to sleep. This means that you as well spend more time sleepless. The following are some helpful tips on how to change your baby’s diaper at night:

1. Change Diapers at Bedtime

Changing your baby’s diaper when you are going to bed increases the chance of you not changing your baby’s diaper again. If your baby has sensitive skin, ensure that before you apply some lotion or powder before putting on the diaper. This is likely to help your baby sleep comfortably through the night without having to change his diaper at night.

2. Change Before Feeding

Does your baby wake up at night to feed? If so, you have two options of changing his diapers. You can change him before you finish feeding him, this will ensure that your baby is wide awake for feeding. Alternatively, change the diaper before you start feeding him. If you change the diaper after feeding the baby, there are high chances that your baby’s sleep will break away and he will take long before sleeping again.

3. Change Only When He Poops

If your baby poops, whether at night or during the day, the diaper should be changed immediately. This is because poop can cause serious skin irritation. Also, if it’s a girl, it increases the chances of your baby contracting some bladder infections.

When you are changing your baby at night, do not turn the headlights on. The room should have minimum light to prevent your baby from losing sleep. Use dimmers instead. Ensure that you change the diaper as gently and quietly as possible. Also, avoid eye contact with your baby. Having eye contact with your baby will excite him and he is likely to start playing.

The reason as to why you should not have eye contact with your baby at night is to let him know that it is not playing time. Once you have finished changing the diaper, but your baby back to bed immediately.

Most importantly, when you are wiping your child, ensure you use warm wipers. A cold wiper is likely to awaken your baby as compared to warm wipes.

4. Use Dedicated Night Diapers

It is advisable to use highly absorbent diapers at night. These dedicated diapers ensure that it absorbs much of the wetness. It ensures that your baby stays dry longer and you and your baby can sleep through the night without a diaper change.

5. Have a Routine

The best way to train your baby on the change of diapers is to have a routine. A routine is very comfortable with most babies. A routine will also help you as a parent to set foundations not only about diaper change but other things that you want your child to follow. Having a routine will help your baby know the bedtime and it will help both you have uninterrupted sleep.

The diaper routine for day time should be different from the night time. During the day you may maintain eye and play some games but not so at night. If you follow the same routine for day time, you will spend more time awake during the night. Having a regular night time diaper change will help your baby go back to sleep more easily.

6. Ensure the Diaper Fits Well

It is paramount that your baby’s diaper fits well more especially during the night. Ensure you know the right size so that when you put it on your baby, there are no leaks. A well fitting and highly absorbent diaper make your baby comfortable and dry for long.

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Is Diaper Safe for a Baby Boy?

There are many myths surrounding the use of diapers by boys. However, there is no evidence that diapers have any effect on boys and their reproduction later in life. This is because as a baby, the boy’s testicles are not yet active.

It is scientifically explained that testicles need a lower body temperature than the rest of the body. Many parents are afraid that if they put a diaper on a boy it will alter the temperature of the testicles hence affects the sperm production. Well, according to a study that was conducted, the temperature of the testicles remains low even when the diaper is put on. Secondly, the child’s testicles have not started producing sperm yet so it will not have an effect. Sperm production begins when the boy reaches puberty.

Therefore, there is no scientific proof as to why a baby boy should not wear a diaper. It is perfectly safe and it will not affect the sperm production later in life.

At What Age Do Babies Stop Wearing Diapers?

The age at which babies stop wearing diapers varies from one baby to another. Psychologically speaking, some babies are not able to recognize the urge to urinate or empty his bowers until he reaches two and a half years. Some children can be able to control their bladder during the day but wet the bed at night.

Some children can go up the age of 5 or 6 years before they can stop using diapers. A child will stop wetting or soiling his pants once he is able to recognize he is wet. When you train him to use the potty, some may still wet the bed. Patience is key and your child might make mistakes on the way but he will stop someday.

For a child to stop wetting the bed, the bladder must have developed enough to hold urine throughout the night. Generally speaking, boys take longer to be able to remain dry the whole night as compared to girls.

Why Cloth Diapers are Bad

The following are some of the reasons as to why cloth diapers are not good for your baby:

• Rashes – the cloth diapers retain a lot of moisture for a long time. The dumpiness in the cloth diaper leads to rashes development. Once the rashes develop, they are hard to contain because dampness makes the rashes bad.

• Leaking – most diapers leak but the cloth diapers are worse. They come with elastic around the leg. After continued use, the elastic fails and leaves a space between the leg and the diaper. Leaks happen through this space.

• Adds to laundry – diapers cannot be washed with machines. You have to wash them with your hands. Besides that, they have special needs for washing them. The part that comes in contact with your child’s skin needs to be washed thoroughly.

Disadvantages of Using Diapers on Babies

It is no brainer that diapers make motherhood easy. They are convenient to use, they are easily available, do not require washing and most importantly they don’t leak. However, everything has its other side of the coin.

But since it is your duty as a parent to take care of your child’s health, you need to know the dark side of diapers. The following are some of the disadvantages of using diapers on your baby:

• Rashes – diaper rashes are a common occurrence in children. If you leave your baby with a wet baby for long, it results in rashes development. Also, if the poop is left in the diaper for long, it can act as the breeding ground for bacteria which can cause infection to your baby.

• Allergic reaction – the baby’s skin is usually very sensitive. The materials used for the manufacture of diapers can be too strong for the baby’s skin and cause a reaction. The fiber and dyes used in diaper making can be too strong your child’s skin.

• Difficulty in toilet training – if you let your child wear diapers for long, it can pose a problem to train your child to use the toilet. This is because the child gets used to pooping and urinating in the diaper hence transitioning can be hard for your child.

• Toxicity – diapers are made from very strong chemicals. The child’s skin, on the other hand, is very delicate. When the diapers are left on for a long time more especially during the night can cause the chemicals to penetrate into your child’s body and thereby cause toxicity.

• Not environment-friendly – diapers are not friendly to the environment. Most of the diapers are made of synthetic fiber, plastics and other chemicals. These materials are not biodegradable hence they can cause environmental pollution.

• Increases chances of infection – the materials used for the manufacture of diapers help to absorb the child’s urine. But it does not allow for the free circulation of air. This creates a breeding ground for most bacteria which can make your child sick.

Benefits of Wearing Diapers

When you hear diapers, what comes into your mind? A happy and playful child, right? Well, that is absolutely correct and they are good for the following reasons:

Reduces embarrassment – better be safe than sorry, as parents the last thing you want is to be embarrassed if your child pee on your relative´s brand new sofa or the expensive rug

Avoid bed-wetting – Many a children urinates during night while sleeping and this could cause urinary infection or rashes. To avoid this and sleep uninterrupted, they can use diapers.

Conclusion

It can be hard to monitor your child at night so as know when he/she has urinated and it is time to change the diaper. Thanks to technology and of-course common sense of the manufacturing companies. With the help of a good and high-quality diapers, you are able to make your baby sleep at night uninterrupted. There are many good brands in the market today, and personally we prefer Pampers premium and Libero. Search for your brand that will fit your child well and use it to get that priceless sleep for your baby and for you as well.