Diaper Issues

Updated on June 18, 2008
A.R. asks from Hermiston, OR
33 answers

Hi Ladies - I have a question for all of you. I have a 2 year old son (26 months) who has peed through his diapers at night since he was a few months old. We used to be able to double diaper him but he is now in a size 6 diaper and there aren't size 7's around to double diaper with. We are currently using Huggies Overnights size 6 and they have helped most nights. But for the past 3 weeks he has peed through everynight. He is now in a big boy bed so washing laundry has even gotten more tiresome (full sized bed). I am looking for any suggestion to try. He is not ready to potty train yet and we cut off liquid after dinner. I am using waterproof bed liners, but he stil manages to pee on the sheets/pillows or whatever his is laying on that isn't bedding. I am going to try using feminine pads tonight as extra padding but other than that - we are stumped. Thanks!

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D.M.

answers from Anchorage on

What about swim diapers?

I used the waterproof pad and a towel for my middle but the others moved around to much at night. They only leaked through for a couple months though.

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S.L.

answers from Seattle on

What about buying some of those plastic/vinyl underwear covers for toddlers to put over his diaper? I bought some Gerber ones at Wal-mart not to long ago. Good luck.

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A.W.

answers from Anchorage on

How about them swimmers? For when kids go swimming.

I would try a cloth diaper then a regular diaper. If nothing works then there is an invention for us moms to come up with!!

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J.H.

answers from Portland on

I buy Diaper Doublers through diapersite.com. Some Babies R Us stores also carry them. You can layer as many as you need in his diaper to provide extra absorbency, and place them right up front, where a boy needs extra help. I also fold the top of the diaper over the end of the doubler to keep moisture from wicking up and out onto PJs.

Feminine pads generally have a plastic backing that keeps moisture from getting to your underwear. I would imagine it would also keep moisture from getting to the diaper, which sort of defeats the purpose of the diaper. The Diaper Doublers have no such backing, so they allow the diaper to catch any excess that the doublers don't.

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A.W.

answers from Yakima on

Hi. It's been years since my kids were in diapers, but I remember those days of constant laundering - and I used cloth diapers.

I finally had to stop giving anything to drink after dinner. Maybe a small drink of water or milk before bed - 2-4 oz at most. Mine were off bottles by then.

The reduction of after dinner liquids helped a lot.

Good luck.

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C.F.

answers from Seattle on

Hi A.,

I have tried every solution to excessive night time wetting. One of my kids is disabled and has a neurogenic bladder - basically he can hold over 1 liter of urine and show no distress. He really can't empty his bladder fully until totally relaxed (asleep) so whatever has been stored up during the day comes out then. He's 14 now and I have just come to the conlcusion that I will be doing laundry forever.

Anyhow, one solution that seemed to work the best was to buy pull-ups and open up the side seam and then use that inside a diaper for doubling up at night. The pull-ups are much more absorbant than diapers. I was able to us these for a long time even though he was too big for them. He uses adult diapers now and discovered he didn't like the extra padding so wouldn't tolerate the pull-up anymore so we are back to doing the best we can - we have the most absorbant diaper made for adults and it's still not enough 6 out of 7 nights.

Good luck,

C.

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L.S.

answers from Seattle on

Dear A.,
This is going to sound kind of funny but worked for us.
I have taken my daughter to a chiropractor since she was born. A couple of months ago, my daughter started peeing through her diaper. I mentioned it to our chiropractor on our next visit (about a week later). He adjusted her and she hasn't peed through her diaper since.
I wish you the best of luck in whatever you decide! God Bless.

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L.T.

answers from Seattle on

My son wasn't as bad as that but most nights he would pee through. We switched to the huggies pull up overnighters in 2-3t and those seem to work most nights unless he had a drink really late.

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K.W.

answers from Seattle on

Hi A.,

What about those Goodnites, or whatever they're called? They're the training pants that are like diapers, but resemble underwear.

I didn't use them when I was potty training my kids because people said that they'd confuse the kids(I guess they felt/feel like diapers), but if you're wanting to double up on diapers, then this might work for you.

Good luck! I *do* remember loaded diapers are no fun. My son was a whizzer lol. ;o)

K. W

J.S.

answers from Seattle on

Hi A. - I didn't have this problem with my girls, but I just wanted to say that my friend's daughter wets heavily and she uses those square liners that they put under you at the hospital when you have a baby. I can't think of what they're called, but you probably remember. They are about 18-24 inches square, white on the one side and blue absorbent material on the other. You can get them at drugstores and Costco.

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C.J.

answers from Richland on

Wow, sounds like you have tried all the things that usually work!!! My one suggestion is about the diapers. I found the chlorine free Seventh Generation diapers- found at Fred Meyer in the nutrition area, or at New Seasons, or Amazon.com (cheaper there!!!)- seem to be extremely absorbent.

I definitely think no liquids after dinner is a great choice. Maybe try putting him on the potty before bed for a few minutes. It will help introduce him to the potty and if he goes, that will get a routine started for going potty before bed as well and get the whole potty training thing going.

Good luck!

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D.R.

answers from Portland on

I would eliminate liquids at least an hour or so before bedtime. You can also buy diaper liners that might help.

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C.P.

answers from Seattle on

Diaper doublers!! My first had to wear two with his diaper for months and months. He soaked through everything before that. They are like mini pads for diapers. You can get them at Babies R Us or Toys R Us or online.

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L.S.

answers from Seattle on

there are size 7 diapers in pampers brand at Target -

get cheap maxi pads and use them as doublers or triplers.... works great and cheaper than more and bigger diapers. limit drinks for the 3 hours before bedtime.

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B.C.

answers from Portland on

WE use Diaper Doublers. I used to be able to get them at Safeway but they don't seem to be there any more. Now I order them online. The ones we use aren't the reusable ones. They are basically like mentrual pads but intended for babies and they're not that expensive. They've solved our problem.

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K.M.

answers from Seattle on

We have the same issues with my 22 month old. I have been checking his diaper before I go to bed. It works most nights.

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L.Z.

answers from Anchorage on

What about cloth diapers for night? I would also suggest that it is never too early to start potty training. They are born ready! :-) We have been doing Elimination Communication since our 7 month old was born and she wakes at night to eliminate and has recently become ready for training pants.

I would definitely recommend looking at this website and consider it for baby #2 and as siblings, they can both go and reinforce the practice.

http://www.diaperfreebaby.org/index.php?module=article&am...

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A.G.

answers from Seattle on

Huggies makes Goodnights which are like pull-ups for older kids who wet the bed. There are also store brand versions. My 7 year old pees a ton in the middle of the night and the Safeway brand never leaks. Also, there are diapers designed for overnight use.

One more thing - my daughter has been fully potty trained for 3 years now and it hasn't had decreased her pee at night a single bit. So don't feel like you have to potty train your two year old to take care of the problem.

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K.W.

answers from Portland on

Are you familiar with G-Diapers? You might try the G-diaper inserts. We used to use Gs and I have a bunch of the inserts left over. Occasionally we run out of Nighttime Huggies and I just fold an insert in half and place it inside a regular diaper (making sure none of the insert pokes out of the diaper -- that's important). They work so well that usually the regular diaper doesn't even get wet.

I would think they would work better than a feminine pad since they are designed to hold urine.

You can get the inserts online and at Whole Foods.

Good luck!

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M.C.

answers from Seattle on

My friend had to resort to putting a maxi pad or other brand in her sons diaper also at night

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M.P.

answers from Portland on

You could try using Gdiapers flushable inserts to "double" them. They would fit easily inside your regular disposables. You can buy them at New Seasons, Whole Foods, Fred Myer or at Gdiapers.com.

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B.H.

answers from Seattle on

We went through this issue with my older son. We found diaper doubles, resembled a maxi pad that you put in diaper which helped tremendoulsy. We found them at the grocery store mixed in the diaper section. Also I got a couple of cloth diapers and used double the doublers wiht plastic pant over and that helepd too.

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S.M.

answers from Seattle on

the blue pad (chucks pads) work great for this. i have a reuseable one that we put under my son. i have an extra. also rubberised flannel would keep the sheets dry and you would only ave one thing to wash. best of luck.

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N.D.

answers from Portland on

if you can't contain the pee with diapers, how about having him sleep on a piddle pad? i am thinking of the absorbent/disposable type that they have in hospitals or the ones they have for dogs. then at least you could just swap out the pad and not have to extra laundry. good luck!

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L.H.

answers from Spokane on

A. the other day I was at babyrus and saw that they have liners to stick in diapers now. I thought that was a great idea. I know how tiring that can be. Stop him from drinking a whole lot, just put enough in a cup that he wont be thirsy anymore. It sounds like he's getting way to much to drink before bed. Good Luck..

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K.K.

answers from Seattle on

Diaper Doublers! We found them at Safeway, under a differnt name...but they are in the diaper section. Best invention ever!

Also try different brands. We always have gone with a cheaper brand, rather than spend the extra on Huggies or Pampers. Obviously those are better quality. However, we also shop at the Navy Exchange since my husbnad is in the military, and have found their generic diapers to be excellent quality. I like them better than Huggies or Pampers, and they are by far cheaper! If you can find someone to buy them for you there in large quantities, by all means do so!

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A.D.

answers from Portland on

A.,
We used to use the Huggies overnights too. After a while they didn't work. Since he is potty trained now, we use the Pull-Ups overnights and they work pretty good. You can get them at Walgreens. With him, no matter if he uses the toilet before bed or drinks water at bed time or 5 hrs before, he still fills the pull-up every night and sometimes they leak. Some kids are just like that.
My suggestion is to try to get him to go potty before bed. If he won't then I would change him in the middle of the night.

Not to be mean or discourteous, but I find it ridiculous that you have him in such a huge bed. No wonder you hate changing it. Also, with that big of a bed, your son must be all over the place. That is probably why everything gets soaked.

Our boys each have a twin. With a twin, you can wash the mattress pad and sheet all in one pot. We also have the rubber mattress cover on the beds too. When his pull-up leaks, I just throw the bedding in the wash and wipe off the rubber liner with a Clorox wipe. We also started our boys with their mattress on the floor without a boxspring. We lined the perimeter with body pillows so that if they fell out, they landed on pillows and wouldn't get hurt. This also trained their body on the size of the bed. Now they both stay in bed and have boxsprings too.

I think that size of bed is a big mistake. Store it, sell it, do whatever you need to do but switch him to a twin. you're going to get physically tired and unable to take care of such a huge bed the further along you get in your pregnancy. Give yourself a break from excessive laundry.
I wish you the best of luck.

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S.B.

answers from Seattle on

Pampers size 7 found at Safeway and Babies r Us. I have a 22 month old that is not circumsized and he has been wearing these diapers for months. They are great. I also use a onesie so they hold the diaper in place and there is less chance of finding a gap.

Good luck

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J.W.

answers from Seattle on

Two is old enough to start potty training, sorry. Night time 'accidents' will decrease in frequency and amount if you do. Make sure that you're not providing liquids after 7 pm at night. Make sure he goes potty before putting him down for the night. Emptying his bladder will decrease the amount he has available for his diaper during the evening. Make it fun, and read a book. Make it a natural occurance, Mom does it, Daddy does it. When Dad goes to the bathroom, after he's seated, take your son in and sit him on his potty chair and let him do his 'job' while Dad does his. This was the method my Mom used with me and my 3 brothers, and I used it with my 3 kids, and my brothers with theirs. My daughter was potty trained by the time her brother came and she was 22 months old. My oldest son was out of diapers by 2 yrs old and no night time accidents by the time #3 came when he was 2 and half. Use pull-ups during the day and pants with elastic waist bands, sweat pants work well. So he can run to the bathroom and use his potty, with assistance in the begining. And he will still need to get up during the night, so he needs to be successful when he awakens to urinate, make sure he has overnight pullups on and pj's that he's able to pull up and down. With #2 coming in September, having him potty trained should be your goal by then. He's your big boy now and you have to make that transition in your mind before he can.

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C.T.

answers from Seattle on

My son did the same thing. We found extra liners that are made to go inside the diaper/pull-ups at night. We found them at Albertsons. The did the trick for us. I can't remember the brand but they were with the diapers.
God bless you and yours.

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C.K.

answers from Seattle on

Maybe you should concider no liquids a couple of hours before bed time.

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K.M.

answers from Portland on

Hi A.,
have you tried pampers? I know they are more expencive but with my girls they seem to work better. Plus have you asked your MD about diabetes? Excessive peeing is one symptom. I'm not trying to worry you too much, but my girlfriend's daughter ended up being diagnosed after she also repeatedly peed through her diapers.
I hope you find a diaper that fits :)

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V.G.

answers from Portland on

A.,
Have you tried those bed liners like what you get at a hospital? You can put them under your boy and maybe even look for the adult version like depends of diapers. When I use to do elder care I had a lady that I would diaper and I had blue flat sheet like pads that went under her. You might try finding them at a local pharmecy like Walgreens or something. Just a thought, or get up and change him more in the night.

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