I am now calling on the services of all you parents out there. Do you, or did you ever do the middle of the night diaper change? I am constantly experimenting with my daughter's sleeping situation (as it's so bad) trying to find just the right balance. I'm embarrassed to admit I recently purchased a new swaddler for my 7 month old as she had outgrown every option we own. I believe that's because you're not supposed to swaddle babies at this age. The babe is an itchy scratchy kinda gal and would scratch her head off if her hands weren't tied down. She just really needs the swaddle to fall asleep and after a very bad night and hours of internet research, I found a new swaddler that looked to meet my requirements.
The Snug and Tug is a very cool swaddler that holds babies up to 28" and 22 pounds. So, we're safe for now, although the length will get dicey soon enough. The problem with this awesome swaddler is that you have to COMPLETELY remove the baby to do any kind of diaper maintenance. So, when I wrap her up all snugly at bed time, I really would like her to stay that way until at least 7:00 am. I left her wrapped up every night for about a week before we had a big 'oll leaking situation when I removed her from the swaddler in the morning. This meant the sheets had to be washed and we most likely got some pee on the mattress. Not the end of the world. But the start of some diaper rash was another development associated with the all-night diaper wearing. We don't want that.
So this week I've been trying to take her out and change the diaper when she wakes to eat in the middle of the night (that's another issue altogether). This jostling appears to wake her up and make it difficult for me to get her back to sleep which has made for some unpleasant waking periods for my husband and I. Luckily I can nap in the morning, but I can't say the same thing for my poor hubby.
Last night we added some theatrics to the middle of the night waking period when the toilet managed to overflow after one of my bathroom trips. I swear I didn't do anything in there that would warrant an all out floor flood, but alas. The baby knew there was something exciting going on and stared at the door in anticipation (of what, I'm not sure). All this ended up costing a total of 2 hours of sleep (3:15 to 5:15 am). If I hadn't tried to maneuver a stealth diaper change, perhaps I wouldn't have been awake enough to go to the bathroom and flood it.
So, if you have any middle of the night diaper changing advice, please feel free to post your thoughts. I know it's a decision only I can make as her Mother, but I'm just not sure how many more nights of experimenting I'm willing to go through before we find a solution.
3 comments:
Hey you:) It's me, the bad mother that doesn't change her kid's diaper in the middle of the night (your sister-in-law). Yes, I worry about diaper rash, but our little one has not had any issues YET. Hopefully, we won't need to swaddle her by the time issues do arise. Anyhow, we've had leaky diapers too, but I just got savvy and put a towel under her sheet. So if she does get a little leaky, then at least all I have to worry about washing are the sheet, towel and swaddle. I worry not about getting peepee in her mattress. It's a hard call, but that's what's working here:)
I just love your blog! Do you do the diaper change before or after feeding her? As you may know, I didn't use to do a diaper change in the middle of the night, but now I'm finding that I can not stand the pee stink right next to me, when I finally surrender and bring Baby S into our bed! So I'm back at doing diaper changes in the middle of the nigh, but I do them before I feed her. It means that she cries a little longer since she wants the boob or bottle right away, but she tends to fall asleep okay after the feeding! When are these babies going to start sleeping longer????
I stopped changing her diaper in the wee hours (hee hee) when she started sleeping through the night. I think. Actually, I have very little recollection of those hazy nights. But I do remember that the nighttime feedings, and thus the nighttime changings, did not last much past the second half of her first year.
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