Diapers Leaking at Night

Updated on November 15, 2007
C.A. asks from Petaluma, CA
31 answers

Hello everyone,
I have a 4 month old whose diapers keep leaking up her back at night. Last night I changed her at 3am and by 8am it had leaked. I've tried using a size larger diaper as well as different brands of diapers and that doesn't seem to work. I'm not sure how to stop this from happening; I know I would not like waking up with pee up my back, not to mention I have enough laundry without having to changer her sheets everyday.
Thank you so much (in advance) for all your wonderful advice,
C.

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So What Happened?

Thank you everyone for all the great ideas. I looked at many places for the diaper doublers, but can not find them. So we went up a size and bought the Huggies night time diapers, and that seems to do the trick so far!
Thank you,
C.

Featured Answers

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J.E.

answers from Yuba City on

I remember we had the same problem.

Diaper Doublers or maxi pad does the trick!

If it still continues to be a problem, then the diaper cover.

Ditto on bed liner (preferably full bed liner), then sheet, and repeat so make bed wetting situations easier.

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K.M.

answers from San Francisco on

Im having the same problem at night right now, we just switched diapers because he is growing out of the swadlers and now when he sleeps through the night he not only pee's through his diaper but the diaper explodes and the "beading" inside is everywhere! It is such a mess to clean up!

As for not wanting to change the beding in the middle of the night someone told me to layer the sheets, put down a pad and a sheet and another pad and sheet so in the middle of the night you just pull off the top wet sheet and the pad protected the one under it so you have a clean, made bed in seconds!

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N.S.

answers from Los Angeles on

I am having the same problem with my 10 month old son. He usually goes down with an 8oz bottle and I cut him back to 4oz and he hasn't woken up went for the past few nites since I cut back on his liquid right before bed. Good luck

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D.B.

answers from Los Angeles on

When my son was a newborn and the pee went up the back of the diaper it meant the diaper was too small. I also had problems with Pampers leaking and Huggies not staying closed. I started using Loves (Target sells Loves) and didn't have any more problems. Once my son was wearing size 3 diapers I tried Costco brand (Kirkland). I went back and forth between Loves and Costco diapers and started using Costco diapers all the time.

I had a problem with Costco diapers leaking at night (size 4). I switched to size 5 and was still having a problem. I switched back to Loves and still had a problem with diapers leaking. My son was not quit the min. weight for size 5. I started putting two diapers on at night. A size 4 diaper with a size 5 diaper over the size 4, which was working. And then one night that didn't work. I talk to the Dr. about it she suggested overnights or liners (which they don't make). I tried Huggies overnights size 5 which didn't hold either. I don't know if the size 5 were too big or if the size 4 was too small. Then my son became the min. weight for the size 5 (went back to the Costco brand) and the problem went away. I was also about to try "g diapers" which come with washable pants (like rubber pants) and flushable diapers (like a liner). I bought them at Wild Oat store but never used them because the Costco diapers were working again. I have g diapers and Loves size 5 sitting here doing nothing.

A friend said if I feed my son extra milk or formula within 2 hours of him going to sleep for the night that I should change his diaper be for putting him down for the night. This rule works. Our route at night is a bath then new diaper then bottle then sleep for the night. If he doesn’t go to sleep after the bottle and requires more milk or formula to go to sleep if I don't change the diaper then the diaper will not hold until morning.

I hope this helps
D.

1 mom found this helpful
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R.W.

answers from San Francisco on

HI C.,

We had the same issue when our son was tiny. We switched to Pampers Swaddlers and then to Cruisers and have not had that issue since. When he got bigger, hes 2 1/2 now, we would have leaking at night just from sheer volume! So I started looking around and found this awesome product called "Diaper Doubler". It looks like a feminine pad without the sticky stuff. Just lay it in the diaper and its holds plenty of extra liquid. We are now up to using two every night in his diaper but it works like a charm. We get them at Babies R Us and they are pretty cheap at $3 for a pack of 30. Good luck and I hope this healps.

1 mom found this helpful
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K.F.

answers from Los Angeles on

Hi C.. I had this same problem with my son. I tried all kinds of different diapers, sizes, etc... The way I fixed the problem was going to Target (or any other store) and bought those plastic underwear diaper cover things. Even if the pee leaked through the diaper it stayed in the plastic one (most of the time). It didn't always work 100% but I'd say it did work about 99% of the time. It was sure a life saver for me and allowed him to sleep through the night. Which meant mommy got to sleep through the night. It was an easy and really cheap solution. Hope this helps.

1 mom found this helpful
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M.M.

answers from San Francisco on

Hello C., not sure what kind of diapers you are using but at first I was using disposable diapers at night and they would do that very thing you described. So I continued using cloth not just for the day but also at night and the best combination I have found (after trying many brands) was to use the "bum genious" cover and diaper in one with an organic hemp insert to absorb even more. you can find them online or also from the nurture center on valencia at 24th in sf. I'm sure there must be somewhere here in the east bay too but i am new over here. Oh, also I still lay one of the large pre-folds out flat underneath him just incase one did leak.
good luck

meghan

1 mom found this helpful
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K.V.

answers from San Francisco on

Like the other moms, I suggest you limit her fluid intake closer to bed time but when I had this problem w/our first son, I found these diaper liners at Long's or Walgreen's. Essentially, they look just like a maxi pad & you line the diaper w/them. I never found them at Babies R Us or Target but at drugstores. If not, you could also try just putting a maxi in her diaper.

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M.R.

answers from San Francisco on

In addition to using plastic panties over her diaper, we used a diaper insert as well. It looks like a sanitary napkin (which btw you could also use, esp. a very absorbent brand like Always), and you can get them at Safeway in the diaper section. Good luck!

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B.G.

answers from San Francisco on

Same problem here with my son starting at about 3 months. Still pee pee's a lot at night and he's over 1 year old now. We put two diapers on him at night. One of his and one of my daughters (who is 3). So he wears a size 4 diaper normally, and at night we add a size 6 diaper over the 4. Works like a charm. As soon as we did that he started sleeping all night and haven't had a leak through since. And he doesn't notice a difference.

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K.H.

answers from Los Angeles on

I know you've tried different brands but did you try Huggies Overnights? They are great! I use them at night and Pampers during the day.... You may have to order a smaller size on-line as I haven't seen smaller sizes in the stores... only a size 4 and sometimes a 3...

Good luck,
K.

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L.A.

answers from San Francisco on

This was happening with our son until we switched to the "overnight" diapers- have you tried those yet?

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L.J.

answers from Los Angeles on

Two words: Diaper Doublers! They are like Kotex pads. Fabulous. I used them with both my kids. You can get them just about anywhere. =)

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K.B.

answers from Sacramento on

I had the same issue I started using pampers baby dry at night time only. And it seemed to help. You might want to try to fold the back in to catch the pee.

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L.S.

answers from San Francisco on

Hi I'd go with cloth and use two folded dipes-it is so much more absorbant-it will only get to be more peepee as she grows-good luck-Liza

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M.T.

answers from San Luis Obispo on

One friend told me that if this happened, double-layer your diapers - The regular size closest to the baby, and a size bigger over that. She even said to put a whole in the one closest to the baby so leaks can go through. Never tried it, but perhaps something you can try?

M.

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K.B.

answers from San Francisco on

You are still probably feeding her a few times a night at this point, so my suggestion would be to change her before each feeding, admitedly a pain in the wee hours of the morning.

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M.C.

answers from Los Angeles on

I remember this happening to me, especially if I forgot to change them (twins) right before they went to bed. I also tried to give them a night time bottle 45 minutes before they went to bed to allow them to pee in their diapers before I put them to sleep.

Try putting her in a diaper and layer a training panty, the kind that have a plastic outer layer and are washable and reusable.

Hope this helps.

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K.H.

answers from San Francisco on

Hello C.,

Just wondering if you resloved your leaky diaper situations??

I myself had the same problem with my son. The problems was that the diaper was too small. We got him the next size up. My son was a little butter ball when he was about your daughters age. We used Pampers then went to Pampers Crusiers as he got older. They seemed to work and never had a problem with them.

Good Luck!

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T.M.

answers from Los Angeles on

DIAPER DOUBLERS! They are little pads that you can buy for overnight. They go inside the diaper and are made of the same materials. They look like a maxi pad without the sticky side. They are a few cents each and are sold in your diaper section.

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T.R.

answers from San Diego on

My friend told me about Huggies goodnights or overnights - something like that. I was using the Huggies regular diapers for night time and they were leaking, I even tried 2 diapers and they still leaked. Since I have been using these overnights, they have not leaked once and my son has been comfy all night long.

Good luck!

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T.B.

answers from Fresno on

I use pampers on my little girl. I had a similiar problem for a while. I was talking to someone about it and he told me that just because my little girl wants to nurse (I breastfeed) at night, doesn't mean she needs to eat.

I've been getting up once or twice a night and pumping my milk out, then I let her nurse on pretty much empty breasts. She actually sleeps better and hardly pees at night. Plus I have lots of milk in the freezer for that night I actually might get to go to a movie or something. :)

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D.B.

answers from Sacramento on

I had the same problem when my son was that age and I used diaper liners I found in the baby section at the store...hey are similar to a woman's "monthly" pad but absorb alot and saved me from having to change sheets everyday. I also used cheap "pads" when I couldn't find the others. Just use the store brand because they're cheaper unless skin is sensitive.

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K.T.

answers from Los Angeles on

See if you can find diapers with an elastic back. Also, it may be that the diapers are too big or that you aren't putting them on tight enough. If all else fails, one trick I used to do was put gauze tape (a bandage tape that you use with gauze for large wounds) along the back of the diaper. That should hold it in without hurting her skin.

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S.D.

answers from Los Angeles on

Have you tried Huggies Overnights? They are specifically made for sleeping. I'm not sure if she weighs enough for the sizes they make, but look around for specific nighttime diapers. If you don't want to change her sheets in the middle of the night when she's sleeping-just put one of her blankets in between her and the wet spot and move her to another section of the crib. You can deal with changing sheets when you're awake in the morning. Also, I think they make some pads you can lay on top of the crib sheet that would soak up the urine and not allow it to get on the actual sheet. You could get some of those disposable type pads and just throw that away and put another one on in the night. Make sure it's a kind that actually straps to the corners of the mattress through, I don't think you would want something "loose" around the baby's face if she's still little and may or may not be able to lift her head. You probably can't limit the amount of food but obviously, the more she eats during the night, the more she will void. If she gets up in the night to eat, she will outgrow that in the next few months, if you're lucky.

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A.G.

answers from San Francisco on

We cover her diaper with a diaper cover. (we use LiteWraps by Basic Connection). We've also used a diaper insert made by Tushies (but I don't think they make them anymore). Good luck.

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E.M.

answers from Los Angeles on

Hi C.,
I've had my fair share of similar experiences. I changed the amount of liquids I was giving my daughter. In other words in stead of giving her a full bottle right before bedtime I would give it to her 30 mins - 1 hour before her bedtime - she'd be full and satisfied and had enough time to eliminate before bedtime. You could also buy one of those protection pads/sheets to put under her so it doesn't leak on to the sheet. Good luck,
E.

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B.Z.

answers from San Francisco on

C.,
Yep. It's all about no sleep and changing lots of diapers. Try using 2 diapers and putting one of those waterproof pads under her to protect the bedding. They're fuzzy on one or both sides but with a waterproof barrier, smaller than bedding and cheaper too. Places like Babies R Us have them. Good luck.

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V.W.

answers from San Francisco on

Try the Huggies Supreme the actual size that fits - going larger makes it worse. If they are too expensive just use them at night only and use the cheaper ones during the day. Try some cornstarch/talc in the night time diaper.

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M.K.

answers from San Francisco on

I had the same problem of diaper leaking at night with my second son. I finally found Huggies night time diapers. They are very thick and absorbant. They don't sell them everywhere but I think I was able to find them at Walmart.

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P.S.

answers from San Francisco on

Hi C.!

You might want to try putting 2 diapers on your daughter, we have found that helpful. Good luck!

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