A co-sleeping question that I often get is “do you get up to change the baby’s diaper in the middle of the night”.
This is a great question that has 2 main considerations in order to answer it thoroughly. The first factor has to do with the baby’s age and the other is whether you are using cloth or disposable diapers.
I’d like to preface this video with the caveat that this is part of a series of videos that I’ve made on co-sleeping safely and comfortably. Please refer to my previous videos for safe co-sleeping protocol. While I show my toddler in this video sleeping near pillow and blankets, please make sure that you keep any loose bedding that could obstruct their breathing away from a sleeping baby.
1. First of all, newborns generally tend to be more sensitive to wet diapers than older babies. A wet diaper is one of my 5 checklist items when a new baby is upset, and I’ve mentioned in previous videos. When babies cry they are letting you know the only way that they know how, that they are either hungry, cold, wet, tired, or feel alone. New babies aren’t used to that feeling of a wet diaper and they are very efficient at voicing their displeasure. When my newborn stirs at night, I first nurse them, and if they don’t fall back to sleep, then I know it’s the diaper that is keeping them awake.
I always recommend that you learn to really listen to your baby. Be intuitive and open to hearing past the cry… to the message that they are trying to convey. I have found from experience that it is usually one of the 5 checklist items, but once you’ve turned on your intuitive mothering ears, you can usually hear what your baby needs.
So if my newborn is still stirring or upset after being nursed in the middle of the night, I will very quietly and quickly change them at a close, makeshift changing staton next to the bed. To keep the night time disruptions at a minimum, I recommend having a spare diaper next to the bed so you can quickly change them without actually needing to get up, and I also recommend sleeping with a nightlight or a small lamp close to the bed. This will not only help you keep from needing to turn on another light to further wake your baby at night changings, but it will also help keep the baby in your sight to ensure that there’s no loose bedding or pillows to obstruct their breathing through the night… and to help you latch the baby on to nurse. You always want to be able to clearly see your co-sleeping baby in order to keep them safe.
2. When my babies hit about 1 month old, they very rarely need a night changing thereafter – they are able to sleep through the night just fine only being nursed. The only time I’ve had to get up to change an older baby is when they have a diaper rash caused by the weird stools that they get from teething or a cold. Otherwise, not changing them through the night has never caused a diaper rash on any of my 6 kids.
I have had a couple super soaker babies who always needed a bit more absorbency to make the diaper last through the night. I have cloth diapered all 6 of my babies so I’m only able to speak from my experience with cloth diapers, though I’m sure disposables are very efficient at keeping babies from leaking through the night.
I exclusively use cotton prefold diapers and almost all of my babies have been just fine with just a normal prefold through the night, however with my 2 nighttime super soakers, I used an extra inset, called a doubler, made out of hemp, worn between the prefold and the diaper cover, to keep the diaper from leaking. Hemp doublers are great because they absorb more liquid and they absorb slower than the cotton prefold so they actually wick the moisture away from the prefold and away from the baby’s bottom. I have never had leaks, even with my biggest super soaker babies, while using a hemp doubler.
I hope this helps if you are a co-sleeping mama trying to figure out your own nighttime diaper plan. Usually, whether you diaper with disposables or cloth like me, after the newborn stage, you probably won’t need to change your baby’s diaper in the middle of the night. I do just want to mention, however, that every baby is different and it’s important to listen to their needs as some may be more sensitive to a wet diaper than others. Thank you for watching, and until next time, be well.
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