The answer is –you should change a poopy diaper soon even if your baby is sleeping- but not immediately. How soon you should change- it depends on several circumstances- such as whether your baby is breast-fed or formula-fed, whether he/she has something like diarrhea or diaper rash. Baby's age is another factor that determine how soon you should change a poopy diaper.
In this write-up, I’m going to explain the situations and give you some guidelines.
When Should You Wake Up a Sleeping Baby to Change Their Diaper?- Explained
It can be tricky deciding when to wake up a sleeping baby to change their diaper. On one hand, you want to take care of your child and make sure they are comfortable and safe. However, on the other hand, you don’t want them waking up too early or disturbing their sleep cycle unnecessarily.
It’s common that newborn to 4 months of age a baby frequently poops. At this early phase of life, a baby poops at ANYTIME- at naptime, early in the morning or overnight.
Check to Make Sure Baby Actually Pooped
If baby is soundly snoozing, no matter it is during naptime or at night, before changing nappy it’s important to make sure they actually did poop.
Checking for poop can be done in a few different ways – watch the child during the day or night, listen for bowel sounds, or feel around their bottom. If it’s possible take a peek to see if there’s poop in the nappy.
Sometimes it might sound like your baby pooped, but it could be gas. So, it’s not worth waking him up to check soiled diaper. If you don’t smell or see stool, let him/her sleep.
Some babies wake up on their own when they feel wet diaper or have pooped.
As mentioned above, when you should wake up a sleeping baby to change their diaper depend on the individual and the specific circumstances.
- If you find soiled diaper and think your little one will wake up soon, then it’s okay to let some time pass.
Now the question is how long can you wait to change a poopy diaper?
-It depends. If you suspect, your bay has just pooped, it is recommended to wait maximum 10 minutes. Meantime, he/she may have more stool to go. After 10 minutes you should change the nappy. Leaving your sweetie for a long time in a soiled diaper might not be safe for his delicate skin.
- If your baby is only breastfed, there’s no need to wake him up to change his diaper as quickly as he poops. You can leave him for a little while (but not more than 30 minutes) in a soiled diaper. As soon as your baby wakes up for a feed, change the nappy. However, if you find him uncomfortable for a poopy or very wet diaper, change and put a new one immediately.
- In case of a formula-fed baby or when your baby grows out of the newborn stage, you should change the diaper as soon as you noticed he has pooped. Stool of a formula-fed child may contain a lot of chemicals and germs in it. It also contains a great deal of water content. All of these content may damage the delicate skin of your child.
- In extreme cases – such as diarrhea- changing the diaper immediately is necessary. Because bacteria can grow rapidly in these conditions which can cause pain and a rash. So, he/she requires more prompt changing for potentially wet or dirty diaper.
- If you baby has serious nappy rash or open sore, you should not wait a longer for a change. Change the diaper as soon as possible he poops.
What May Happen If Baby Stays In a Soiled Diaper Too Long
According to PubMed sturdy, too much delaying the nappy change can be detrimental to the delicate skin of your little one.
If your baby’s sensitive skin come into contact with pee and poo for a prolonged time, it may develop diaper rash or dermatitis.
When mixed, the combination of urine and stool may produce ammonia over time. This can cause mild chemical burn on your baby’s skin.
Your baby even can get skin breakdown, yeast infections of the skin or urinary tract infection from an infrequent dirty nappy change.
How to Change a Very Wet or Poopy Diaper So Baby Doesn’t Wake Up
There are several ways to change the nappy without disrupting his sleep. Here I’ll share some tips that I’ve found very useful while changing nappy of my little one during his sleeping time.
- First of all, check your little one is in deeper sleep or not. To check lift one of his leg. If you find no reactions from him, chances are that he is in deeper sleep. If not, wait 10 minutes to let him fall deep sleep.
- Change them in their crib if possible. There is no reason to shift your baby to the nursery change table or diaper change pad unless he soiled his sheets, too.
- Keep the light of the room low and make sure that the room is quiet. Avoid turning on the overhead light. Using a night-light or dimmer is good for nighttime diaper change. I’ve found wipe warmer with built-in light vary convenient for nighttime changing.
- Before start changing, keep everything ready (such as diaper wipe, extra diaper, diaper cream etc.). I’ve found diaper caddy is one of the best organizer to keep diapering essentials close at hand.
- Change the nappy as gently as possible.
- If your baby wake up, don’t look into his eyes. Because, this will excite him.
- Cold baby wipes are more likely to wake your baby up. So, it’s a good idea to use a wipe warmer to keep the wipes warm.
** If you have an older baby or toddler, consider giving him a last feeding earlier. May be, this will help him to get his pooping done before falling asleep and stop him pooping after going asleep.
The Takeaway
So, what do you think? Do you change a poopy diaper right away when your baby is sleeping? If not, then how long can you go without changing the nappy?
As I have mentioned earlier, it all depends on various factors.
It’s best to just change a poopy diaper soon after you notice it. In case, your baby is not feeling well and needs extra care, then also change the diaper right away.
By taking this into consideration, you can ensure that your little one stays clean and healthy!