Toddler Wakes up Soaking Wet!

Updated on May 31, 2007
M.E. asks from Glen Ellyn, IL
29 answers

I am really perplexed by this seemingly simple issue. From time to time, my son wakes up in the morning and the pant waistband or bottom of his PJ shirt is damp. Well, the last two nights he has woken up soaking wet. By soaking wet I mean that his pajama bottoms are soaked and his shirt is quite wet. His sheet is wet, his blanket is wet. He is just coming up on 2 years of age and he wear Pampers Stay Dry when he goes to bed. I bumped him up to size 6 at night thinking that a bigger size would help - but the problem is consistently getting worse. He finishes dinner around 6:30pm and goes to bed at 8:00pm. He doesn't drink a significant amount of liquids at dinner. Any suggestions to help stop this leakage would be greatly appreciated!!

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So What Happened?

Thank you to everyone for your sound advice! You came through for me and I so appreciate it. You had way more/better suggestions than my pediatrician!! I went with the cheapest and simplest suggestion first ... to make sure his penis was pointing down and to tuck the top of his diaper under in front before velcroing. Shazam - that did the trick!! We have dryer mornings in our house now, thanks to my Mamasource network!!!

Featured Answers

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V.

answers from Chicago on

Hi M.,

Try getting "Diaper Doublers". The only place you can get them is Dominicks, they are the Safeway brand. They are liners you insert in the diaper (basically they look like old fashioned maxipads). I have a 20 month old who has been soaking through everything at night since he was about 9 months old. I have been using the doublers and I switched to Huggies Nightime Diapers. I was using the Pampers Stay Dry at night and they just didn't work out...even with the diaper doubler. My son still leaks through on occasion but not every night like it once was. Good luck!!

V.

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A.K.

answers from Chicago on

When my boys were in the age of diapers (I have 3 boys) We always used huggies overnights. They are the best thing going. I never had a problem with them.

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B.G.

answers from Chicago on

My little guy had the same problem around that age! Huggies Overnights work really well!

Before we found those, though, we did change him before we went to bed. He usually went down between 7 - 8 and then my husband & I went to bed between 10-11. His diaper was always wet. He usually slept right through it but if you have a light sleeper, that could be tough.

Try the Huggies! Save some laundry! :) Good luck.

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C.D.

answers from Chicago on

We use Huggies Overnight diapers and they work really well for us. I also make sure that I put the overnight diaper on right before he goes to bed. Not an hour before, but 5 minutes before. They also have a thing called Diaper Doublers at Jewel and Dominicks that you can put in his regular diaper. You may want to use those and put it in the front part of the diaper since that is where he has the problem. Good luck!

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C.N.

answers from Chicago on

My non-expert experience has been this. He started soaking through for about a week. I dressed him warmer, I found he was soaking himself when he was wearing his spring pj's and maybe getting out from under the covers. I also bought overnight diapers- but I gave those up after he started routinely going to the bathroom on the potty before he went to bed. He would usually make one really good pee in the potty before bed and would at least not soak through. I don't know which of the three worked since I did them all together, but I would try dressing warmer or what we call "nigh nigh potty".

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A.

answers from Chicago on

Sounds like a problem many of us face - esp with boys. I agree with making the switch to Huggies Overnights for nighttime (we used Pampers Cruisers by day). We actually did that at around 12 mos when my son started having leaking issues at night.

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A.M.

answers from Chicago on

My daughter used to soak through every night, but not quite that bad. I started using Huggies Nighttime diapers, and they have been doing the trick.

Good luck.

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L.A.

answers from Chicago on

I read other responses that said to use Huggies Overnights. I suggest this too, the only bad thing is they don't make a size 6. My son was big for his age, when he started wetting through the size 5's I put him in one of those and a Goodnight for Boys size XS on top of that. I didn't have issues after that.

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K.Q.

answers from Chicago on

I had the same problem with my twins who will be 2 on Sunday. The Huggies Overnights work the best for night time. They don't come in bulk but you can get them almost anywhere.

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A.H.

answers from Chicago on

I know quite a few have already, but I'll cast my vote in for the Huggies Overnights. They seemed to be the only one that worked for my son to keep him dry after he reached a certain point, no matter how little liquid I let him have before bed.

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K.S.

answers from Chicago on

Have you tried huggies overnights? My daughter is 2 also and we wear pampers baby dry during the day, but I found they just couldn't keep her dry overnight. The huggies are the best that I have found they keep her dry most of the time. GOod luck!

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A.H.

answers from Chicago on

We tried the Diaper Doublers and they didn't work well for us. I don't think that my son was comfortable in them. Huggies Overnights were WONDERFUL! We started using those when he was an infant and continued until he was potty trained. He rarely had accidents in bed when he was wearing the overnights!

Good Luck!
A.

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J.S.

answers from Chicago on

I had the same thing happen with my now 4 year old son. The only diapers that worked for him thru the night were Huggies Over-Nites. Even on a regular basis Huggies were the only diapers that didn't leak for him. Its funny though..the only diaper that helps with leaks for my new baby girl is Pampers.
I guess it's kind of trial and error.
Good luck!!
J.

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D.

answers from Chicago on

Diaper Doublers, they look like a maxi pad.
You can get them at Dominicks or Babies R Us.
They worked wonders!

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D.C.

answers from Chicago on

This happened to my son, too! It lasted about two months (not every night, but close to it). I switched to Huggies Overnites, which helped some. Eventually, it just stopped. I didn't change anything. Now he's working on potty training, and believe it or not is wearing Pull-Ups to bed and keeps them dry almost every night. When I was going through what you're going through, I never thought I'd see him dry in the morning. So try Huggies Overnites if you want, but mostly just be reassured that it's just a phase!!

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J.P.

answers from Chicago on

My friend had this problem and found that the waist band from the pajama bottoms was pulling the diaper down and allowing the urine to come up through the diaper. She switched to one piece pajamas and it hasn't been an issue since. I would try this maybe before buying new diapers? Good luck...so annoying huh? :)

J.

answers from Chicago on

Plastic training pants over his diaper. I think we got ours at Target or some such place. Also, I don't know if the diapers you are using are those training diapers but I had little luck with them and much more with the standard style.

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G.M.

answers from Chicago on

I love Motherease cloth diapers and covers. I have never had a problem with leakage at all. and I have four children, the youngest is 3mos. They seem like they cost a lot, but think about how much you spend on something you just throw away!
Just a different perspective for you to think about.:)

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S.S.

answers from Chicago on

Hi M....

Both my son and daughter have had this problem. I use the pads that you buy at the store (generally for older people that have problems wetting their pants). I usually buy the medium flow one and stick it in the diaper at night before they go to bed. Works for me!

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M.M.

answers from Chicago on

We use Pampers during the day and Huggies Overnites at night.

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C.S.

answers from Chicago on

i think that you need to take him to the doctor, because it sound like he mayhave a small infection. he might need to be treated,for tuma, is his face changing,or do you see any thing different about him .if so you need to hurry and take him to hte doctor

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L.

answers from Chicago on

Hi M.,

We have had this problem with my son for awhile now, although it is inconsistent. He's not ready to potty train, but it seems as though sometimes he wet's so little during the day and waits to let it all out at night! I have found that old-fashioned plastic pants over the size 6 diaper have helped a lot. Many friends have suggested Huggies overnights, but Huggies have never fit my son well. Also, remember to point his privates down in the diaper and fold oiver the front waistband of the diaper inward before velcro-ing it. Hope this helps!

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M.P.

answers from Chicago on

I use Huggies overnights. They work well for my daughter.

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C.D.

answers from Houston on

I agree with the other responses. I used to use pampers but switched to Huggies when my son started experiencing the same problem. Huggies seem to have more absorbancy.

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J.C.

answers from Chicago on

M., some boys wet more over-night, especially if they tend to sleep hard at periods during the night. What you're going to have to do, is switch diaper brands for night-time. Go with the Huggies Overnights. Target should carry them, although sometimes they drop the largest size (which is size 5) and you have to move up to Huggies Night-time pull-ups. Either way, these diapers or pull-ups are so much stronger and more absorbant. With both of my boys, I use them. Regular diapers or pull-ups just don't have the durability to hold up to toddler boys at night.

Good luck.

Here's the link: http://www.huggieshappybaby.com/products/index.aspx?diapers

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M.K.

answers from Chicago on

We had this problem too. Huggies night time diapers work well. We also have used Pampers cruisers. They now come in a size 7! Just saw them at Target.

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L.G.

answers from Chicago on

I keep having this problem too! Moving him up to size 6 diapers didn't help at all and the Huggies Overnights help most of the time, but sometimes he is still wet in the morning. The Huggies Overnights smell awful like chemicals so I don't really like using them, but they haven't given my son a rash so I still use them until I can find a better option.

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M.W.

answers from Chicago on

My son had this problem too. However, it had nothing to do with his diaper. He became diabetic. (www.jdrf.org) Frequent urination is one of the many symptoms you will see. Is he wetting his diaper significantly during the day? Is he drinking fluids during the day as if he is so dehydrated he can't get it in quick enough? If so, it's worth calling your pediatrician. If not, it probably is a diaper related issue. Good Luck.

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P.P.

answers from Chicago on

Hi M.,
I'm a preschool teacher.. I just wanted to mention.. and not to cause alarm.. its just one of my students was just diagnosed with diabetes. He is 3 years old. She said he often would soak diapers at night but she said he was also a big drinker too. You had said your child doesn't drink that much. It just might be something to mention to your pediatrician. Maybe they might want to check him out for a urinary tract infection or diabetes or something.. I don't know.. I don't want to worry you as I don't have any medical sort of background.. just wanted to pass this info on to you.
Good luck and let me know how he is doing!!

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