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Would you wake your baby to change their nappy?

Since weaning (and teething - 1st one broke through today image), my LO has taken to pooing a LOT more than she used to! We went from 1 a day pre-weaning to anything up to 7 times a day at the moment image

With this, she also wakes up most mornings with a pooey nappy and I feel bad for leaving her in it all night, but I just don't know it's there and it clearly hasn't bothered her sleep.

But the other night I was randomly awake at like 4am and heard her poo. She didn't even stir let alone wake and so I spent ages trying to decide if I should go wake her up to change her. As it is, I must have dozed off and she woke me by grizzling at 5am so I took the opportunity to get her up and change her.

If you know during the night that you LOs have pooed, do you wake them up to change them or do you leave them be if it's clearly not bothering them? I'm particularly worried at the moment as she's got a bit of thrush so I'm trying to do all I can to keep her clean and dry - and clearly laying in poo for part of the night is not a good thing.

What are your thoughts?
xxx

Replies

  • If I knew she'd poo'd in the night I would definitely change her - it's certainly a dilemma when it happens as she might be soundly asleep but I can't bear the thought of her lying there in it so I just have to lol x
  • Oh...now that's a toughie...part of me is tempted to say no if it's not bothering her, but my gut says yes as it's the mix of wee and poo that causes nappy rash, and the one and only time DS has had nappy rash was because he pooed during the night and his grandparents didn't change him...

    Sorry, that's not much help I know!!!
  • Thankfully, she hasn't had any nappy rash for months, which is quite surprising given the number of mornings I get her up with poo in her nappy. (P.S. no nappy rash since I started using Weleda Calendula cream so would highly recommend it to any babies but that's by the by).
    But it's the fact this thrush appeared last week that I'm now really paranoid as she looks so sore. Not sure what I can do when most of the time I don't know she's done it, apart from set my alarm for 4am and check her bum! image But the time I heard it I was in a real dilemma...even woke hubby up to discuss at 4am image
    It's a hard one isn't it?
    xxx
  • I had this dilemma when my ds was younger. He never gets nappy rash (he's 2 now and has only had it once when he had diarrhea) so I was sooo tempted just to leave him in it (it was about 11pm and back then he slept through) but I would've felt bad if he had got a rash so I changed him. Sometimes they dont wake up xx
  • i dont think i would wake my DS as i think if he was in any discomfort he would wake up. I always put on a barrier cream at bedtime to prevent nappy rash and sometimes when my LO wakes up he has done a poo although im not sure at what point in the night he does it? it certainly doesnt wake him up and he has never had nappy rash, probably because of the barrier cream?

  • I personally couldn't leave her in a dirty nappy if I knew it was there! A lot of the time if I change her at night gently and don't talk to her it makes no difference anyway, she hardly wakes up. I always think that if it was me how uncomfortable would I be and work from there!!
    xxx
  • I really couldn't leave my lo with a dirty nappy if I knew. Hubby said he thought she'd pooh'd the other day, but she didn't smell like she had so I didn't check. I felt really guilty an hour later when I checked and she had done a small amount. She's also teething at the moment, so it can be toxic at times. Even with a good barrier cream, she can still get a bit of a rash. Plus, sometimes (tmi) it's all in her lady bits & this itself can cause urine infections. thrush etc. xx
  • I'm having the same dilema at the moment MummyJ - Benjamin is teething (only 5mnths so not weaned though) & is pooing lots. Sometimes I know, other times not. The way I see it (rightly or wrongly) is that if it bothers him then it bothers me - but it really doesn't cause him any fuss. He's never had any sort of nappy rash & as he is BF, his poo is liquidy anyway & is absorbed, leaving only a few stringy bits, which gross as they are, don't cause him any bother. I'd rather leave him to have an uninterupted sleep than wake him to change his nappy when it's contents aren't causing him any discomfort. The second he gets any sort of nappy rash I would definitely start changing him through the night.

  • I just think would I like to sleep with a poo in my knickers? The answer is no! They often don't even wake up and sometimes with a lot of pee I have just changed the nappy and not done a lot of wiping with wet wipes and then he stays asleep, a sort of midway solution between not doing it and doing it.
  • Thanks ladies,
    Nice to know I'm not the only one who finds it a dilemma.
    I think if I hear her go again in the night I'll wake her up while she's got her sore bum.
    I'm keeping everything crossed that now one tooth has sprouted and the other isn't far behind it, it'd be nice if she went back to one or two poos a day only. We're going through nappies like there's no tomorrow!
    xxx
  • Adam went through a stage of waking up with a poo in his nappy every day! I never knew when he'd done it, and I was not going to stand by his cot all night waiting :lol: (before you all call the Mummy Police, I did check him before I went to bed and he was always clean!)

    He has never had nappy rash and never seemed bothered by it!

    Luckily he seems to have stopped, so I don't have to worry about it any more!

    xx
  • If you both sleep through it and have no idea it's there until morning then I wouldn't worry, there is not much you can do, but if you know it's there then I would change her. Does she go back to sleep well if she is disturbed? If she is anything like my LO she would sleep on a bed of thorns, something as insignificant as a poo won't wake them image
  • Cath, it's good to know there's hope that it is a passing phase image
    Miss I, when I changed her the other night, she was wide awake during and I was dreading the next few hours thinking she'd either think it was time to start the day and be wide awake and want me up - or alternatively just keep crying. However I put her down wide awake and after a bit of fidgeting I didn't hear another peep. I am so pleased that self settling is one of the things my girl is good at...most of the time, she definitely has her moments (like yesterday when it took me 45 minutes to get her to nap for 20 mins...not a happy mummy!) and I was sure that 5am was gonna be one of them. So I wouldn't fancy trying my luck too often.
    xxx
  • Definitely think it is a passing phase as Niamh did the same about a month ago (she was also pooing about 7 or 8 times a day lol). If I heard her fill her nappy at night I would go and change it (lights as low as possible and no talking). I would also check her as I was going to bed. However whatever pooing problem was going on meant that even if I changed her when she pooed during the night the odds were I would be faced with another poo in the morning!

  • If I knew ds had pooped I would definitely change him...it has been done without waking him in the past if he's in a deep enough sleep. But I wouldn't disturb him to check x
  • I just think would I like to sleep with a poo in my knickers? The answer is no! They often don't even wake up and sometimes with a lot of pee I have just changed the nappy and not done a lot of wiping with wet wipes and then he stays asleep, a sort of midway solution between not doing it and doing it.
    Yeah similar here when my lo has done this, I did change him but did it in the dark and didnt use too many wipes to avoid waking him, you can do a proper clean in the morning, its just to make sure they're dry/comfortable
  • I would change if knew had pooed. To be honest though, I don't get much of an option anyway with DD she screams blue murder if poo nappy not changed quickly enough. Thankfully she hardly ever goes overnight.

    I would just do quick change not necessarily that thorough to ensure that they don't feel all cold and wet. x
  • We always have a poo nappy in the morning, but I never know when she does it, and it doesn't seem to bother her...so no I wouldn't wake her to change unless I heard her going or she woke up because of it.



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