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Is your baby peeing through diapers at night? As parents, we’re all familiar with the standard reasons for a baby’s nighttime waking or toddler’s nighttime waking. Newborns and young infants often wake at night out of hunger. Many babies wake out of habit, because they’ve formed sleep associations. But, when your baby is peeing through their diaper at night, it’s so frustrating because maybe they would sleep if it weren’t for the diaper, right?! Sometimes, one leaky diaper is all it takes to turn a peaceful night of sleep into a chaotic mess!
First, how often should you change your baby’s diaper at night? When they are newborns, you will likely change their diaper at each feeding time. By the time they are 3-4 months old, you will likely only change it once a night. And, by 6-8 months old, you most likely won’t need to change their diaper unless they are pooping at night. If your baby is sleeping through the night, no need to wake them to change their diaper.
Every child is different but most babies will sleep through the night without a diaper change at night from a young age. That is…unless they are peeing through diapers. So, what’s a parent to do? How do you stop baby from peeing out of their diaper at night?
Today, we’re spotlighting 7 tips that’ll help you banish those leaky diapers and keep your little one sleeping peacefully.
1. Do a Diaper Change Right Before Your Baby or Toddler’s Bedtime.
This one seems obvious, but not all parents take this step. If your baby or toddler is routinely waking up with a wet, leaking diaper, be sure to do a fresh diaper change right before your baby’s bedtime. If your bedtime routine includes a diaper change as most do, make sure it’s one of the last steps especially if you’ve noticed your baby pees after their last feeding, for example. In addition, bedtime routines get fairly long for some toddlers so that means 30-45 minutes might have passed by the time you’re tucking them into bed.
2. Do a Diaper Change Right Before Your Bedtime.
This won’t work for all babies and toddlers but if you think your child may sleep through (or at least wake only slightly during) a late-night diaper change, then consider sneaking in a diaper change right before you go to bed yourself. Similar to a “dream feed”, you can do a “dream diaper change.” If your baby is a light sleeper and/or has difficulty going back to sleep then skip this, obviously.
3. If Baby is Peeing Through Diapers, Use a Bigger Diaper at Night.
Once your baby or toddler starts approaching the upper end of a diaper’s size limit, the leaks will probably start. If your little one is waking regularly because of a leaky diaper, consider moving up a size (at least at night). Some parents find that this solves the problem completely.
4. Invest in Good Overnight Diapers for Baby Peeing Out of Diapers.
If none of the above tips make a difference in the leaks, consider purchasing separate overnight diapers. Huggies Overnites are a great solution; Pampers Extra Protection Nighttime Diapers are also a good choice. These overnight diapers are thicker and more absorbent than regular diapers, making them a good choice for nights. They’re also more expensive than regular diapers, but since you only need to use them at night, a large box will last longer.
One other option is to use these Bamboo diapers that have double the absorbency than regular diapers. They are also ink-free and hypoallergenic!
5. Consider Using Diaper Booster Pads.
Some parents swear by diaper booster pads as THE solution for their baby peeing through diapers. These booster pads look a bit like feminine pads, and they’re designed to fit inside a regular (or overnight) diaper. The booster pad acts as a first line of defense — it absorbs up to 8 oz. of liquid. Once the pad is full, the diaper absorbs the excess. These might make a good last resort option for those parents who find that even overnight diapers aren’t doing the trick.
Using cloth diapers? They have cloth diaper insert pads, too! GroVia also makes soaker pads and boosters for cloth diapers.
6. No drinks before bed (for toddlers).
Ignore this tip if you have an infant; babies need to nurse or take in formula frequently, and you should never withhold a feeding from your baby in order to prevent diaper leaks. If you have a toddler, however, it’s a different story. If your toddler routinely has something to drink right before bed, this could be part of the leaky diaper problem. Change your routine, and make sure that your toddler’s last drink of the night happens an hour (or more) before bedtime. And, if your toddler is taking off their diaper at night, it might be time to start potty training.
7. Keep Sleep Training
Although inconvenient, if you are sleep training and baby is peeing through diapers at night, you will of course want to clean your baby up, change the sheets, redo a mini routine, and still have your baby try to settle herself. You don’t want to let something like a leaky diaper lead to inconsistency in your behavior and undermine your progress.
When baby is peeing out of diapers at night, it can be very frustrating! Hopefully, these tips can help you fix that problem. Of course, if you need help in your sleep training – look no further! That’s what we are here for. Sleep training can be tough, and hundreds of parents turn to us for sleep coaching help every month. We can help you, too!
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Emily DeJeu says
@ Jen — great tip! Thanks for sharing it. 🙂
Jen says
We have occasional periods of overnight leaks with our daughter (now 26 months), but the greatest problem was when she was about 4mths old and started to roll. As she likes to sleep on her tummy I found the nappies leaked out the top of the front. My solution? I changed her into Huggies Boy nappies (as they have more absorbancy in the front than the girls ones) for nighttime only and they worked a treat!
Emily DeJeu says
@ Ben — thanks for this input! We love it when dads chime in. 🙂 Agreed; babies can’t be expected to sleep through the night if they end up soaking wet halfway through it! My husband and I are big fans of the Huggies overnights, too. They were lifesavers with both of our boys, and we’re using them now with our 18 month old daughter. I’m a major cheapskate, but even I’m willing to pay the extra money for overnight diapers, since I’ve found that they work so well.
Thanks again for commenting, Ben!
Ben says
My wife and I are a huge fan of the overnight diapers, one size larger than he wears during the day. We believe that was a key element in our son learning to sleep through the night when we started sleep training him.
Emily DeJeu says
@ Jamie — Probably, yes. You could either try buying booster pads and putting them in his regular diapers, or you could opt for overnight diapers (like Huggies) and see if those help. Let us know what ends up working for your little guy, Jamie!
And thanks for commenting. 🙂
Jamie says
My son is 4 months old and his size 2 diapers don’t hold it all in for an overnight so he leaks so I went up to a size 3 and he leaks out the side of those almost everynight they are still 2 big(he likes to sleep on his side. Will these pads and all this stuff help with leaking out the sides of his diaper?
Emily DeJeu says
@ Sarah — agreed on the wool! Makes a nice (and natural) moisture barrier.
Thanks for commenting!
Emily DeJeu says
@ Becky — fantastic insight about heavy bedwetting possibly being something developmental. I personally don’t have any knowledge about that, but as you say, it wouldn’t surprise me at all. The changes come so fast and furious in our babies’ and toddlers’ early years that it wouldn’t be surprising if that had some kind of impact on their bladders. 😉
Thanks, too, for the tip about the Goodnight mattress liners! You’re definitely right — the wet diaper isn’t the only issue you have to deal with in the middle of the night!
Thanks for commenting, Becky 🙂
Emily DeJeu says
@ michelle — we definitely don’t want to deprive our little ones of fluid if they’re thirsty, of course. No one’s suggesting that. But it is good to keep an eye on when they’re drinking lots of fluid. I know I’ve found that my kids will go through spells when they really won’t drink much during the day, but then later, between dinner and bedtime, they’re drinking 4 or 5 glasses of water. Not good — that doesn’t make for a dry bed! So I’ve learned to be proactive — I ask my kids to sit down throughout the day and drink small glasses of water/juice/milk. I’ve found that it they stay hydrated throughout the day, they’re less likely to load up on fluids before bed, or to wake during the night and ask for something to drink.
Just my experience, though — different for every family, of course! Thanks for commenting, Michelle! 🙂
Emily DeJeu says
@ Dale — another vote for the booster pads! I feel like I’ve been living under a rock or something; so many parents are chiming in about how awesome diaper booster pads are, and I’d never heard of them until I started writing this article!
Thanks for commenting, Dale 🙂
@ Meg — thanks for sharing your experience with us! Glad to hear that hemp ended up working out well for your little one. 🙂