A Simple Question for Mom's Everywhere

If it's wet I will skip the change. But with poop... change it. Ugh. How annoying! I used to encounter this with my son - I generally counteracted it by doing the diaper change between boobs (he was breastfed). Didn't always work, though...

My opinion is if he's asleep, let him sleep!! That's what I did with my daughter. Unless he has a bad rash, I would let it go. Put some diaper rash ointment on him at bedtime to prevent any rashes.

K., think about it, would you like to go to sleep with a diaper full? The little one will have a bad rash by morning, and you will have a devil of a time cleaning his little behind. Change that diaper, make him comfortable, and both get a good nights sleep. From: Mother of three, grandmother of ten, great-gerandmother of three.

Change his diaper. You don't want the waste sitting against his butt until the next morning. He'll get a sore from it! I know, one of the banes of parenthood... Our babies are asleep, they mess their diaper, and now we have to wake them, change them, and try to get them back asleep. But it's better than trying to explain the nasty sore to the doctor!

Oh that's SO aggravating! Expecially if you've really been working on getting him to sleep.
Change the diaper. No doubt about it. So what if you are up for another half hour or so trying to get him back to sleep. Would you want to lay in your own poop?? No, and neither do our little ones. But it sure can be tempting!!
Take care!

I come from the changing and deal with what happenns school. I try to treat my daughter like I would to betreated. Ask yourself, would you want to hang out in a dirty diaper?

Of course, there is always diaper rash you have to be concerned about. Balamx is great. It only comes off with a wipe. I've been very fortunate not to experience diaper rash. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

No never let a child sleep in urine or feces if you know he we wet or poop that can break down the child's skin and cause diaper rash

My advice would be to change him quick and with as little light as possible. Diaper rash can bring on it's own set of problems the next day and I can't think of anything better than a full tummy and a nice, warm, dry diaper to put your little guy back to sleep. He will appreciate it and you will too when you're not trying to scrape poopies off the next morning.

I would wait until he goes into a deep sleep and then change the diaper. Since it's the middle of the night and probably dark in the room, you could change his diaper right then, while talking softly to him.

Change the diaper! When my little guy was smaller, I would just try to do it as gentle as possible and not in direct light. Usually on his changing table with just the hall light shining in. That way he didn't wake up completely.

I've done both - it depends on how the baby is doing that evening(also how stinky the poop is). If she was happy & content - I may have decided to change her - if crabby and fussyI put her in bed. Logically - she could have pooped 2 minutes after going to bed anyway - and I wouldn't have known it. Sometimes I would go back an hour later - and sneak in a quick change - and she would never know it...

The best practice I followed - was - rubbing a little vaseline petroleum jelly on her - at every diape change. She almost never had a rash - and the doctor liked the product and this advise worked my sisters babies too.

I would definitely change his diaper. Only from the stand point that I would be concerned with a diaper rash or such.

What I would be more concerned about actually is the fact that he is falling asleep with a bottle in his mouth for a couple reasons. One this means he doesn't have the time to digest at all prior to going to sleep at night. And two, if he has an association of bottle and sleep, then as he gets older, it will be more and more difficult to get him down to sleep if he has that association.

If he has different ways to get to sleep not bottle dependant, than you wouldn't have to worry about changing the diaper. Although, it does wake up the child a bit more to change the diaper, he would have the skills to re-settle as it is bed time. Further, eating helps in elimination. If he's not eating right before bed, then the likelihood of him pooping before bed time diminishes as well.

That being said, my daughter does have a bottle before bed, but I always make sure she has at least 15 minutes between feeding and bed time to help digest as well as change her diaper so she has a clean one for the night.

HTH!

Oh, sadly you have to change him. If he somehow sleeps the whole night that way, he'll wake up with one nasty diaper rash!

Change him. You don't want to deal with the potential horrible rash that could occur by leaving the feces against his tender bottom all night long. Especially if this has not happened before, it could be a sign that he is coming down with something and needs you to pay closer attention to the bowel movements. I never recommend laying a baby down with a bottle anyway. God's design of nursing them connected the nurture with the food and looking at mom's face while nursing. Putting them down with a bottle is a bad habit that is hard to break that will potentially ruin their teeth later not to mention making them depend on the solace of food to help them sleep. You don't want to start the habits of a future eating disorder either!

Hi K.,
Despite what all other moms say I would not change him, sounds dirty but my baby girl does this often en 9 out of 10 times she did nothing and is awake..for that 1 time she does, I put on a thick layer of Destin before she goes to sleep do she doesn't get a rash.
Mirjam

You will need to change him or his little bottom will get sore sitting in that all night. I know it's frustrating and a bit irritating because you are ready to wind down, but he will get a little red bottom for sure.

It happens to us almost every night ! We always change the diaper. It would be uncomfortable for them to stay in it and it causes diaper rash.

Well,I would change him because the mess will frustrate you more in the morning and then risk him being raw or getting infectiom

Change the diaper! When #2 mixes with #1 it creates ammonia which leads to diaper rash. A diaper rash has a stronger potential to disrupt sleep than a one-time waking.
Good luck!

I only change my 2 month old boy overnight if he has diaper rash. If your son isn't battling diaper rash, and doesn't seem to be upset buy sitting in a dirty diaper, I'd leave him be.

I would change him for a couple of reasons...

1. Feces are very bad for the skin. They can (and will) cause some serious diaper rash and NO ONE wants to deal with a cranky baby if it can be prevented. A couple of more minutes spent getting him back to sleep vs a couple of days of him screaming because his butt hurts...you be the judge on that one.

2. It may help later with potty training (operative word being may). If he is used to being clean and dry then he may potty train earlier because he doesn't like to be wet or poopy.

3. I would feel really badly if I didn't. I would rather go through the extra effort than feel like I wasn't doing my job as a Mom.

Just my 2 cents,
J.

definately change him. As much as you want him to sleep he will wake you up just about the time when you personally are ready to fall asleep. Give him a fresh diaper and then he can rest soundly and so can you knowing that he doesn't have poopy diaper.

I would go ahead and change him so that his skin would not be exposed for a long period of time to the bowel movement material.
It could cause severe irritation.
Better to be safe than sorry.

Change him. First, it's not worth the cleanup later on if he rolls around and it gets on the sheets. Furthermore, he'll be more prone to diaper rash. Last, he may sleep better without poop in his diaper. However, if it were just pee pee I'd probably lay him down to sleep. I only change poop diapers in the middle of the night.

Absolutely, without a doubt, change him!! You don't want him to get irritated skin from leaving him in a dirty diaper. If he's that tired he'll fall back asleep.

I would change him; otherwise he could end up with a nasty diaper rash! I would try to do it as quietly as possible of course!

You have to change him or he will get a rash from the dirty diaper. I would definitely not put him to bed with a dirty diaper.

if he is prone at all to diaper rash, I would change him.

If its poop..chnag it..you dont want him to have diaper rash.

What would you prefer a few more minutes trying to put him back to sleep or a red bottom in the morning? I

change him right away - no one likes to sleep in poop. It will give him a bad diaper rash, too.

Change him or he will end up with a bad case of diaper rash!

DEFINITELY change his diaper. He's much more likely to get a rash sleeping in a dirty diaper...he'll fall asleep again;) Enjoy your cutie pie...time flies too quickly!!

No Need to Wake him, but CHANGE HIM RIGHT AWAY? You don't want no Diaper Rashes! He'll sleep longer too with no Poopie Diaper. and when he does fall asleep make sure you take the bottle away, you don't want him falling asleep with the bottle in his mouth. I hope this helps.

Change him of course! Otherwise he will be waking you up in the middle of the night to do it. No one can sleep for very long with a poop in their diaper.

Well, yes, although it would be great to just lay him down for fear he may not go back to sleep, but you do have to change him!

Leaving poo on him will cause much more pain in the long run. You don't want him to get a killer diaper rash or wake in the middle of the night with poo everywhere else besides in his diaper either.

The biggest concern is diaper rash though, it really is unhealthy to keep poo on a baby's bottom longer than necessary!

I'd say go ahead and change his diaper. It might awaken him, but otherwise he might get a diaper rash.

You have to Change that diaper. If you don't you are opening yourself up to a whole new world of Diaper Rash! Like a horrible one, especially if the baby is JUST falling asleep. Gotta wake him up, he'll go back down. Sometimes my girls would even sleep thru the diaper change, depending on how tired or comfy they were.

Oh, I hear you. Babies find the "best" times to poop.

Yea, you gotta change him. If your little one hasn't had diaper rash yet, then you haven't witnessed the screaming and pain that they experience. It's heart breaking. My older son gets it very easily and we are anal about changing him. We now put ointment on after every change.

I would def change him. He should not sit in poop all night. Try to do it as quick as possible, in the dark and warm up the wipe first. Hopefully then he should require minimal soothing to get back to sleep quickly.

I would change him because you don't want him to get diaper rash from sitting in his poop. Sitting in poop too long always gave my children rashes.

K.,
My oldest daughter did this all the time. I always changed her, but w/o alot of talking or light. Take care of the diaper change, then right to bed! It is better than letting them sleep for an hour or all night then feeling bad about the diaper rash. Best of luck!

Though I know it's tempting to put the baby down to sleep, I would certainly change the diaper, as gently and quietly as possible, of course. But the thought of leaving the bm next to his skin for what may be hours of sleep is just too uncomfortable for me. With babies' sensitive skin, the irritation to the whole area could be so sore for him, and it could last a few days.

Hi K.,
Ugh, I know what you mean! If you leave it he'll probably wake up cranky with a diaper rash, or the diaper will leak and you'll have a huge mess to clean up. Even if it means starting the whole sleep routine over again, I think it's worth changing the diaper.
Good Luck,
S.

I think it b est to change him. It's 50/50 that you will disrupt his sleep. I think you will both appreciate this in the morning.

If you let it set for a few hours, it's not gonna be fun to clean up. Also he will probably sleep better with a clean diaper.

I would definitely change the diaper. If you don't, you could have a much bigger problem with diaper rash. And, I would think he would sleep better (more sound, longer) if he has a clean diaper.

I think that you should change his diaper-- a rash could develop quickly if he sleeps with it on, or he may not sleep well when you lay him back down. Something that I have done in the past is to prop them up on a pillow lay his head on it and prop the bottle with a blanket and change the diaper while he is still drinking the bottle -- so that he may remain relaxed. Best wishes to you -- I know that is the worst feeling, especially when all you want to do is go back to bed.

Always change the child. He will be more comfortable clean and easier to sleep thru the night...no bacteria to burn him all night. Hold him or rock him, he'll grow up knowing you love him. I wish mine were still babies. They grow so quickly. Jeanne, Elk grove Village, Il

As much as it sucked to do it, I always did when that happened. Look at it as one night of having a harder time putting down, compared to several nights of diaper rash.

but man did I hate having to wake them up at that point for a diaper change lol

Be very gentle and you may be able to change him without waking him. I have 3 boys and if they pooped when they were sleeping or almost sleeping I would be very quiet and gentle and change them and they would rarely wake up and if they did they usually went right back to sleep. You do want to change him for sure otherwise he'll get a sore bottom.

K.,

Quietly with the lights still low, change him. Don't talk or play with him. You should never leave him in a soiled diaper especially overnight. Poop is exactly what causes yeast and fungal infections and boys do get them. That is a rash you don't want your sone to have as it is red and painful. Since it seems your son likes to poopp at this time is it possible for him to have his bottle 30 minutes earlier. The bottle doesn't need to be a part of bedtime routine. A little rocking and light music and then let him put himself to sleep.

yup, just change him, keep it quiet, lights low and continue with routine, and remember the story for later---;-) I love telling those kind of stories to my elementary age children now--I had one that would poop every time I put him in a tub.

I hate to say it but most of the time i just leave him IF he is in a disposable diaper( we use disposables at night still) instead of cloth and he currently doesnt have a rash..I compinsate in the morning with a little "nakey" time to air it all out if possible

In my opinion change his diaper. His little butt should not sit in a dirty diaper.

You'll have to change him. His little butt will get raw if you don't clean him up. Maybe his tummy was upset. Poop has acid in it and will make him cry when he wets and you'll have to use Balmex or someother ointment on his skin.

Ick! Change him! Do it quietly without turning up the lights and go back to the rest of your routine, but don't leave him in his own poop for a night :(

I would definitely change him. If you leave him in the diaper for too long, he could get a nasty diaper rash.
If he's that tired, he should go to sleep right away afterwards.
I've ALWAYS changed my daughters the second they were done going.

sorry to say but you need to change his diaper, otherwise you will have a screaming baby because his butt is red and sore from a pooh rash. I would try to do it with the lights low.

That's a bummer! We've had the same thing happen, but you HAVE to change poopy diapers right away. The poop is just so harsh on his skin that otherwise you'll have a huge diaper rash problem to deal with instead! Better to have to put him back to sleep than have diaper rash to deal with. And, who knows, maybe he'll sleep through it! My kids did if they were tired enough!