Hacks for leaking night-time nappies
Sleepless nights are part of the parenthood journey. But there’s nothing more frustrating than being woken up because of a leaking nappy.
A wet baby is an uncomfortable baby, and an uncomfortable baby means a sleepless night. If your baby is waking up in a puddle every night, try following these 10 tried and tested hacks for keeping your baby dry until morning.
Get a bigger nappy size
If your baby’s nappy is leaking, the first thing you need to try is increasing his nappy size. Ignore the nappy’s recommended kilogram weight guideline – just go up a size and you may be pleasantly surprised!
Switch nappy brand
Not all nappies are created equal – the various brands differ in fit and shape. So you may need to do some brand switching to find a make that best fits your child’s body shape. In addition to the market giants, some moms swear by the Clicks house brand (purple packet) and Lovies (Shoprite or Checkers).
Change baby just before bed
Before you go to bed, sneak in and change your baby’s nappy. This might wake sensitive sleepers, so only attempt this if you are certain your child will sleep through the change.
Old-school waterproof nappy pants
Remember those old school waterproof nappy “covers”? They look like plastic granny panties and were used by our parent’s generation over towelling nappies. You can still get them at Pep, and they may offer the solution to your problems.
Double up with a pull-up nappy
Put your baby to bed wearing two nappies (one pull-up nappy over the regular nappy). You may want to use one size bigger for the additional nappy so that it’s not too uncomfortable for your baby. Pull-up nappy pants work best as the second layer.
Cloth nappy
Go green and join the cloth nappy revolution. This follows the same concept as the waterproof covers from Pep, but are a bit fancier. You don’t need to change to cloth nappies. You can just use the cloth nappy over your regular disposable nappy at night. It’s like using an absorbent, modern-day waterproof nappy cover.
Decrease fluids
If possible, cut back on the bedtime or night-time feeds (age-dependent). If you’re bottle-feeding, halve the quantity of liquid in the bottle, and if you can, do away with night-time bottles altogether.
Use a liner
Sounds bizarre but line the nappy with a pad – this will aid absorption. Nappy liners can be bought from Baby City, but if you can’t find them, use a maternity pad. Some moms swear by using a thick wad of cotton wool.
Position the nappy correctly
Boys tend to leak more than girls. Always make sure that your little boy’s penis is pointing downwards when you put the nappy on. Otherwise, he will just wee straight out of the top of the nappy. Been there, done that #boymom.
Invest in waterproof sheets
If all else fails and your little one is still waking up wet, then the only thing left to do is to make the 4am change as quick and effortless as possible. Use two waterproof sheets on your little one’s cot mattress – so that you can strip down the bed quickly, without having to still apply a new sheet. Toss the wet one, and the dry one will be ready and waiting. You can also line the mattress with linen savers. You’ll find these at Baby City or Dis-Chem (in the aisle with the adult nappies).
