Every adult knows how important good sleep is for health, because during this time the body has time to fully recover. Therefore, any caring mother strives to do everything so that her baby sleeps soundly at night and does not wake up, because this is a guarantee that both the child and his parents will wake up cheerful, in an excellent mood and full of energy.
However, one contradiction arises here, which is not so easy for many parents to resolve on their own. The thing is that some babies sleep for 10-12 hours at night and are half asleep even during night breastfeeding, and pediatricians recommend changing the diaper every 3-4 hours.
Based on simple arithmetic calculations, parents should get up at least three times at night and change their diaper. In addition, many mothers are faced with the fact that the diaper leaks at night, but are afraid to disturb the baby. Therefore, it is worth figuring out what to do in such situations.
Why is it important to change diapers on time?
If your baby stays in an overfilled diaper for a long time, irritation will appear on his bottom and in the groin folds. It will cause discomfort to the baby, and in the absence of proper hygiene it can become inflamed. It will not be possible to restore the skin instantly; you cannot do without the help of creams and ointments. It is much more difficult to cure diaper rash than to prevent its occurrence by promptly changing the baby into a clean diaper.
Note! If a child is in a diaper, this does not mean that within 12 hours, as manufacturers assure, he will remain clean and dry. Even if the diaper does not start to leak, there is no certainty that the child will be comfortable and pleasant in it. Therefore, it is imperative to monitor the condition of your skin: if it is wet, then the panties are not working well, and it’s time to replace them.
Should I change my newborn's diaper at night?
In order to accurately answer this question, you must first understand why it is necessary to change your child’s diaper so often. And there is only one answer - in order to avoid diaper dermatitis, which causes discomfort to children and is direct evidence that either parents do not carry out all the necessary hygiene procedures, or the selected diaper does not cope with its task.
How often to change diapers
How many diapers does a newborn need per day?
To prevent irritation on the baby's skin and diaper rash, the diaper should be changed as often as possible. Pediatricians recommend doing this every 2-3 hours. If your baby poops, you need to remove his dirty panties immediately. After this, you need to wash it, wipe the skin dry and, after lubricating it with cream, put on a new, clean diaper.
Age dependent
The smaller the baby, the more often he pees. A newborn baby can go to the toilet up to 25 times a day. Parents should be concerned if the number of pee breaks during the day does not reach 10. This means that the baby is not getting enough to eat, and the feeding regimen needs to be reconsidered.
A newborn's diaper needs to be changed immediately after he poops. In the first few days, parents will see meconium in the diaper. This is original feces, it is viscous and sticky, is difficult to wash off the skin, and has practically no smell, so you can only detect it by looking inside the diaper.
As the baby grows older, he begins to go to the toilet less and less often; he gradually learns to tolerate and manage the processes occurring in the body, including controlling urination:
- at 3-4 months, the diaper is filled in 4-5 hours;
- at 5-6 months – in 6 hours.
You should not wait for a certain time, focusing only on the age of the baby. He may need to change his diaper earlier. It is better to constantly monitor how full it is.
Mom checking baby's diaper
Before or after feeding
There is no point in putting a new diaper on your baby before eating. Babies usually always pee immediately after eating. Therefore, for example, in order to speed up the collection of urine from a baby, it is recommended to give him water or milk. If you consider that a newborn baby eats very often, you will just have to check the fullness of the diaper and put on a new one every 2-3 hours on average.
Changing a diaper during the day
During the day, you need to change your baby's diaper as it gets full. This can happen either within 2 hours or after 6. It depends on how much milk and formula the baby drinks. Naturally, if it is hot at home or outside, the baby will need more fluid. Up to six months, if the baby is breastfed, there is no need to give him anything other than milk to quench his thirst, because it is 80 percent water. A formula-fed baby needs to be supplemented at any age.
Note! Komarovsky emphasizes that the diaper needs to be changed before the mother is going to go out with the child for a walk or in any other case when such an opportunity will not arise in the near future. At the same time, they do not pay attention to how full it is.
Changing a diaper while sleeping
It is also necessary to change your child's clothes at night. A baby cannot sleep all night without waking up, especially if he is on guard duty. Therefore, parents will have to wake up several times.
Night awakenings
After feeding the baby, the mother can check how full the baby’s diaper is. To change it, it is not necessary to lift the child out of bed and carry him to the bath. It is enough to do the following:
- Carefully remove the diaper.
- Wipe the butt and all folds with wet wipes. They should always be at hand for a young mother. They are convenient to use on the street, at a party, in a clinic, when traveling by car or plane, when you need to change your baby’s diaper but there is no way to wash it.
- Raise the child by the legs, slip a new diaper under the back and bottom and fasten it.
If your child poops at night, you will have to wake him up to wash him thoroughly. In this case, you should not ignore the shower. Wet wipes are unlikely to completely remove dirt, which means there remains a risk of skin irritation.
Do I need to change a diaper if it is not full enough?
Not all babies pee a lot while sleeping. Therefore, pediatricians do not recommend waking up the baby at night if he sleeps peacefully and the inner surface of the diaper is dry.
How to teach a child to sleep without a diaper at night?
If the baby is fast asleep, but the diaper is wet and full, then parents will have to change the diaper in their sleep to avoid skin irritation and diaper rash.
Most mothers share the opinion of doctors. For example, Olya (25 years old) says: “For the first months of my son’s life, I changed diapers even at night, because they quickly filled up and the baby tossed and turned and cried. But by the time I was four months old, I stopped doing this, because Artemchik sleeps well, doesn’t cry, and the diaper is only filled in the morning.”
If you understand the logic of the mother’s actions, we can say that she acts exactly according to the instructions of the children’s doctors, because if her son does not have diaper rash, he sleeps well and nothing bothers him, then there is no need to disturb him in his sleep. But if you notice that the child pooped in his sleep, then you will have to act differently.
In cases where a child craps himself in his sleep, parents should not only change the diaper, but also thoroughly wash the baby with warm water (34-36 °C). It is recommended to use baby soap if it was not used during night bathing.
How to change a diaper correctly
Diapers for boys - can a newborn be worn?
When a mother changes her baby's diaper for the first time, it is natural that she is worried, worried that she might scratch the baby or injure him with an awkward movement. Gradually, women get used to it and carry out the procedure with their eyes closed. After all, until the baby learns to go to the potty, not a single month, perhaps even a year, will pass. All this time, diapers will help her out.
How to change a diaper for a newborn:
- Lay out a clean diaper on the changing table. Any other hard surface can be used;
- Prepare wet wipes, diaper cream, oil or powder and clean diaper;
- Place the baby on his back and remove his pants;
- Unfasten the diaper and, lifting the baby by the legs, pull it out from under the baby’s bottom;
- Roll up the diaper and throw away. If there is nowhere to put it yet, then simply put it aside. Usually there are Velcro on diapers that allow them to be fixed in a rolled form;
- Wipe the baby's bottom and folds. If you plan to take a shower, wash your child. This is definitely necessary if he craps himself. Even if there is little bowel movement, it is better to go to the bath;
- Dry the baby by patting the skin with a gentle towel or diaper. Don't forget to look into all the folds. There is no need to rub, just lightly touch the skin. Before you start caring for your baby, it is recommended to get rid of long nails;
- Use diaper cream. Some mothers prefer to buy oil or powder. You should not purchase a lot of products at once and take large tubes or packages. They may not be suitable for the baby, even if they have excellent reviews. Therefore, it is better to take a cream or oil for testing, observing the baby’s reaction. If there is no redness, blistering or rash on the skin, then you can continue using it.
How to change a baby's clothes
Before putting a diaper on your baby, it is recommended to leave him naked on the changing table or bed for at least 10-15 minutes. Such air baths will help to avoid diaper rash, and in addition, they will strengthen the baby. If his legs turn blue, it means he is cold and you need to dress him as soon as possible. For children, a temperature of about 20 degrees is considered comfortable. The main thing is that there is no draft. When the room is ventilated, the baby needs to be taken to another.
For your information. The temperature in the maternity hospital is usually maintained at around 24 degrees. A newborn baby still does not retain heat well, so it can freeze in a cool room.
When is it time to change a diaper?
Mom will understand how often to change a newborn's diaper within a few days. A small child may have frequent bowel movements, which requires constant changing of clothes. It is acceptable that a baby will poop after each feeding in the first month of life. This means that he always needs to put on a new diaper after eating.
Many diapers have an indicator strip, the color of which changes as it is filled. This is a kind of guide for parents. Still, it’s easier to unfasten the diaper and check if the baby’s bottom is dry. Even with the most modern and popular diaper, there is a chance that the liquid will not be completely absorbed. Then the child's skin will suffer.
Note! If your baby's bottom is wet, sticky, and especially red, then you need to immediately wash him and change him, not forgetting about air baths.
Air bath
Using a diaper in winter and summer
In winter, a newborn's diaper does not need to be changed as often as in summer. If it is warm or even hot outside and at home, the likelihood of diaper rash increases. When the room temperature rises above 24 degrees, you need to leave your baby without a diaper more often. Even if it is recognized as breathing, the baby sweats, which often leads to irritation.
Features of replacement for boys
When putting on a diaper, the boy does not need to touch his genitals, giving them a specific position that supposedly eliminates squeezing and prevents problems in the future. It will be convenient for the child if:
- the panties are the right size and do not rub anywhere or compress anything;
- they are fastened in the correct way when the baby’s movements are not constrained.
Features of replacement for girls
When changing a diaper, a girl does not need to follow any special rules. There is a small nuance regarding hygiene procedures, namely, you need to wash the baby only from front to back so that feces do not get into the genital area, which can lead to an inflammatory process. Boys can be washed in any direction. When using the cream, it is applied only to the groin folds; there is no need to lubricate anything inside.
Note! If the baby has discharge in the first weeks of life, it is also not worth removing it.
This may be a sign of an infantile crisis, which affects almost all children. As soon as the baby adapts to the new world, everything will return to normal and the discharge will disappear.
Rules for changing a diaper
Here we will outline the most important points related to changing diapers for children of any age and weight.
- It is not for nothing that diaper manufacturers indicate on all packs and packaging the weight and age of the children for whom these diapers are intended. This is for the convenience of parents so that you do not get confused about what diapers your baby needs. Try to buy diapers specifically for your baby. It’s better to start by buying one pack of each manufacturer and seeing which diapers will be most comfortable for your child and you, which ones absorb better, fit more comfortably, are easier to put on and take off, and just visually appeal to you even more. This is also important. There is a separate category - diapers for newborns. They are allocated in a separate line, since they are specially made with a slightly low waist so that the diaper does not reach the navel. In newborns, the navel has not yet healed. So that the diaper does not rub anything, it is made with a slightly low waist.
- It is mandatory to change the diaper before going for a walk. As a rule, all children fall asleep during a walk, that is, it turns out that if you changed the diaper on time, while still at home, you have done several things at once: the child will breathe air, sleep, and he will be comfortable and comfortable, dry and calm.
- Check the diaper every 30 to 45 minutes while your baby is awake. When he is sleeping, you should not disturb him, otherwise you risk waking him up. And an awakened, sleep-deprived child is guaranteed to have a bad mood, whims and tears.
- It is imperative to change the diaper if the baby poops. You can wash your baby’s butt in warm water (preferably without soap, as soap dries out the baby’s delicate skin), or you can, if the butt is not very dirty, just gently wipe it with a damp cloth. If the skin of the bottom is red and inflamed, then it is better to use a special baby diaper cream or powder.
- Girls should be washed and wiped with wet wipes from front to back (that is, from pussy to butt). It is important! If you do the opposite, you may get an infection.
- It’s very good to let your baby lie naked for 15-20 minutes every time you change a diaper. This is called "taking air baths." For a small child, this is a kind of hardening and at the same time has a very good effect on the child’s skin, through which he receives vitamin D.
- Before going to bed at night, it is better for your child to change his diaper so that he can sleep peacefully throughout the night. If your baby wakes up during the night to feed, be sure to check the diaper while you feed. If it is not full, then you can leave it until the next feeding and not change it. Change the diaper in the morning. Do not leave your baby in a night diaper. It is better to wipe the butt with a damp cloth. This will be such a hygienic morning procedure.
Selection of baby diapers
Is it possible for a newborn to sleep on his back - features and positions
When purchasing diapers, you need to pay attention to their size. It corresponds to the child's weight. For newborns, the smallest diapers are chosen. They have one feature - a low waist, which allows you not to injure the healing navel.
You should not immediately take a large package, because the baby grows very quickly, and the diapers become too small for him. In this case, they will squeeze and rub the skin, causing discomfort to the child. If parents use large panties, then most likely they will leak due to the fact that they do not fit tightly to the body.
There are reusable diapers that do not need to be thrown away after use. They may differ slightly:
- have removable inserts that are removed after the baby goes to the toilet;
- sewn from dense fabric that retains the baby’s bowel movements, that is, everything around him remains dry, and the baby feels discomfort.
Reusable nappies
Reusable panties are convenient to use during the day so that the baby’s skin can breathe; at night you can wear regular disposable diapers.
Diapers for newborns are the same. For older children, separate lines for girls and boys appear. In the first case, more absorbent material is in the center and back, for little guys - in the front of the diaper.
Do I need to change if the diaper is not very full?
Many children do not like to be put to bed. Mothers who have difficulty putting their child to bed try to tiptoe, fearing to disturb the baby's light sleep. Therefore, in cases where the diaper does not leak, the skin is dry and there are no odorous “surprises” inside, you should not touch it until the child wakes up. No matter how hard you try to do everything carefully, after washing and changing clothes, sleep can easily disappear.
To make the nightly replacement process a little easier or eliminate it altogether, we recommend the following:
- For sleep, choose clothing that allows easy access to the diaper. Bodysuits or pants with buttons between the legs work well. They are easy enough to remove without disturbing your sleep.
- Instead of a bodysuit, you can use a cocoon diaper. This option is the most ideal for newborns. Due to the fact that the zipper opens both at the top and bottom, getting to the diaper will be very easy.
- Wear special night diapers. They have a thicker absorbent layer and, if the child does not lose weight at night, you will not have to change them until the morning.
What to do if irritation occurs
If the child’s bottom is red, you need to think about whether the hygiene procedures being carried out are enough. It is necessary to leave the child without a diaper as often as possible. Perhaps he has become irritated due to constant contact with the surface of the panties, or the child is overheating.
You need to wash your baby with water and a small amount of product intended for babies. Regular soap cannot be used, it dries the skin too much. After washing the baby, wipe dry and lubricate the area under the diaper with cream. If the resulting irritation becomes wet, it is recommended to use products containing zinc oxide. It happens that a certain brand of diapers does not suit the baby, then they have to be replaced.
Note! If, after following all the recommendations, the redness does not disappear, cracks appear, which also begin to bleed, you need to consult a pediatrician or dermatologist. After the examination, the doctor will prescribe treatment.
Whatever diapers parents choose, reusable or regular, which need to be thrown away after use, they are obliged to monitor the condition of the baby’s skin. It should not be wet, sticky, much less red and cracked. If dryness and rash appear, you need to pay more attention to hygiene. When the damage does not disappear, the baby should be taken to the doctor.
