Waking Up The Baby To Change His Diaper?
Baby’s skin is very sensitive to irritants such as pee, feces or hygiene products. Changing nappies frequently is essential to avoid irritation or dermatitis. Deciding to wake the baby up to change his diaper depends on various circumstances.
A mother who has a hard time putting her baby to sleep will surely think twice before waking him up. Have you ever tried to calm a baby who cries annoyed because he has been disturbed during sleep?
However, it is advisable to wake the baby if he tends to suffer from diaper rash.
Waking up the baby to change the diaper: is it advisable?
As we always say, every child is different and what’s right for one doesn’t necessarily work for another. Even between siblings the same formula does not apply.
It is therefore up to you to understand the particularities of your children.
Let’s analyze the factors that affect the decision to wake the baby or not to change his diaper.
What is the priority: rest or hygiene?
Leaving the nappy wet or dirty for a long time is a risk to the delicate skin of the newborn. At the same time, it is essential for its development not to interrupt its sleep.
When the baby is awake, of course, the change is no problem, but what if he is sleeping? Choosing what priority for your children, rest or hygiene, is the key to making the right decision.
Usually as soon as the food reaches the baby’s stomach, it is evacuated. This is due to the gastro-colic reflex, and it is the perfect time to change the diaper. A regularly fed baby wakes up every 3 hours: he wakes up alone, you breastfeed him and you change him. It follows, therefore, that it is not necessary to wake him up.
If the baby takes breast milk, it is normal for him to pee and poo more frequently and breastfeeding is more irregular. The awakenings will be more numerous and this is the ideal time to change the diaper.
But my son sleeps 6 hours straight and more! What do I do?
This is one of the questions that pediatricians are asked the most. Indecision increases when the child already sleeps 6 – 7 consecutive hours. Waking him up for a diaper change becomes a cause for concern for a parent.
Diapers are increasingly absorbent and those for the night are specially designed to ensure the baby’s sleep. If your child sleeps 6 or 7 hours at a time, there is no reason to wake them up. The diaper should be able to absorb the liquid and remain dry enough until you wake up.
If the baby wakes up from the night feed, he usually falls asleep at the breast, so waking him up to change is completely counterproductive. The diaper should remain dry until the next morning and should be changed as soon as he wakes up.
When should the baby be woken up to change the diaper?
When the only option is the cloth diaper, because the normal one causes allergy, it is best to change the baby as soon as he defecates or if the fabric has become too wet. It will be inevitable to wake him up.
A sleeper or towel between the mattress and the sheet will help insulate the baby from moisture and, in this way, avoid interrupting his sleep.
When the baby has diarrhea, it must be changed right away, even if the disposable diaper has a high absorbency; the feces, in fact, tend to become acidic and are much more irritating on his delicate skin.
