Newborn waking from dirty nappies

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Hello folks, my 5 week old keeps waking up at some point after filling her nappy ( either a wee or poo) and has done so since she was about 3 weeks old. She doesn't appear to have any infections and her skin looks ok - it's as though she just doesn't like sitting/ sleeping with a soiled nappy. Her nappy is changed before any her naps but we're often finding that she wakes up after an hour and every time it seems to be because of a dirty nappy. As it wakes her up by changing her I often feel like I have to start again with getting her back to sleep. Has anyone else experienced anything similar?

I think once they are a bit older they do sleep through pees if the nappy isn't too wet, modern nappys wick the wetness away quick. Never known a baby to sleep through a poo though. We had allergy issues and ds would poo up to 12 times a day at that age.

If there waking when they poo that's probably a good thing, better that then doing a 3am feed to find shit everywhere and basically having to hose your screaming bundle of joy down. If it's because it's a wee try using a higher absorbency nappy.
My son is happy to sleep in his own shit, problem being it goes everywhere, all over him, leaks out the sides, all over his sleeping bag. So as soon as I hear the grunting from the corner I whip him downstairs for a quick clean before it turns into a deep clean.

It's normal to wake for poo and a good thing - poo left on the skin will make it sore. Nappies should wick away wee though. Maybe try another brand?

Babies learn to sit in a soiled nappy. The premise of elimination communication is watching for the signs and holding them out over a potty so they can poo/pee there. A bit of a faff but less dirty nappies and no need to actually potty train as they are born to it. I don't know whether it is a South African thing but my family have been doing it for generations - it's only recently it has been given a name and promoted. The HV told my mum that I would 'revert' - but how could a baby revert to something it has never done? I was nappy free during the day at 6 months and at night at 11 months. As soon as I could pull my own pants down I was potty trained, so just after 12 months old.

Love that the poor OP just wanted to know whether it's normal for her baby to be waking from naps prematurely with a wet/dirty nappy and now she's being made to feel like a failure if the baby's not potty trained by 6 months

Reusable nappies always feel wetter, hence many train quicker also as never learn to tolerate wetness

New-born babies usually wake up every 2-3 hours. But when they awake, they seem asleep

Congratulations op. Enjoy this stage. My grown up 4 month old (no idea where the 4 months have gone) used to do that as a new born till 3 months and still does if napping during the day wakes. Strangely she doesnt wake with a wet nappy during the night which im grateful for. Im sure she will as i hear sleep patterns change around now. Ive tempted fate so will probably be up 2-3 times tonight. 😕 So to answer your question yes very normal. X

Hiya, my baby does this too, thankfully only for poo's and she only does those during the day, but she will get very shouty until she knows your going to change her

Poo irritates their skin and thats what causes nappy rash, so its best to change them asap. When they are newborn though, it doesnt smell like it does when they are weaned (and it does STINK!) so you dont always know that they have done it.

Regarding wees, they have such tiny bladders that every feed pretty much equals a wee. The time to worry is when you change them after (or before) a feed and there is a dry nappy.

Ignore the know it alls, no one is born knowing how to care for a baby!

Mine would happily sleep in their own mess luckily they only ever seem(ed) to poo before we went to bed, I use a head torch and now DH and I have stealth changing down to a fine art. It's like a formula 1 pit stop, we are in and out within a minuet and usually manage to keep them asleep.

Wet nappies shouldn't be too much of a problem as modern nappies are designed to wick the wee away and keep their bottom dry.

An hour is a good sleep for a 3 week old! She'd probably wake about then anyway. I wouldn't stress out trying to solve this problem - just change her and get on with things. Trying to change their behaviour st this age is more stress inducing than just rolling with it, in my experience

Mine never seems bothered by a dirty nappy, so I can see why the OP asked. I agree with not wanting to sleep in your own shit but I would still think it was odd for a baby to wake (purely because in my limited experience they don't!)

I had to do stealth sniff tests to check for poo so I know to change them.

I would try just doing as you would if she woke in the night- quick nappy change, darkened room, no eye contact, back in her crib. If she's still tired she will doze back off, or you may find that an hour is enough for her as that it's actually her stirring that's causing the poo not the other way round. My ds poos every morning without fail within about 3 minutes of waking, it's as if his body just 'gets moving' -- in more ways than 1!

Never ask another mummy for advice because you'll just get told off :-/. I felt rubbish with a tiny baby who fed every two hours when 'friends' babies supped gallons of milk and slept for 53 hours. Go wi h it, it works itself out at some point

Ignore people being so mean. It's a shame there's so little support for new mums, and you have to ask on an internet forum to be treated like this.

Anyway, as above, it's lucky if your baby wakes up, you can change immediately and avoid nappy rash. They go through stages as well, you can change nappies without waking them up when you are lucky. Never forget that babies are all different, some do sleep for hours - some don't, some wake up, but some don't. No one has the only right answer (even if many posters on MN believe they do).

Good luck, I hope the nasty replies haven't put you off asking questions.

Totally normal and an hour long nap is a good nap anyway.

Is this what Mumsnet has become now? Bashing & rudeness when a parent asks other parents for advice or opinions?? I know AIBU is known for it's brashness & 'honesty' but some responses are just plain nasty - & not just on this thread. I can guarantee everyone has asked a question that might appear daft, stupid or obvious to someone else at some point in our lives because we are all just human & everyone needs that reassurance sometimes.

Congratulations by the way OP on your new baby

Thanks for the comments all, I know I need to change nappies for all the obvious reasons, it was more that her nappies would be changed but then within an hour her naps would appear to be curtailed by another dirty nappy (and she wears pampers). I thought I would ask on here only because I'd been told that newborns don't notice their nappies - while this is good for her bum as she has no rashes etc, it honestly seems to be disturbing her sleep/naps. She sleeps 3-4 hours a time at night which is a blessing though. At least other people appear to have experienced the same thing which as a first time mum is reassuring to hear. Thanks again all.

My DD 17 months wakes in the morning with a pooey nappy most mornings.

It will get better and she will start to poo less and sleep more.

Both my 2 DDs LOVED pooing in a clean nappy. Can have a wet one on for a few hours, change it then within 10 minutes there's a poo. Hugely frustrating but totally normal. DD 17 months now gets a clean bum before her nap. I let her toddle around for 5-10 minutes while she does her poo then she goes to the nappy drawer and hands me a clean nappy. I just laugh now at the little routine she's got herself into.

I think its probably more likely that her waking is causing the poo rather than the other way around, there is a reason adults dont poo the bed!

Dont worry, you and she will soon learn to read each other and work out your own routine.

I don't think my dc ever pood in their sleep. Is this a thing these younguns are at these days?

I agree with Bogeyface. You are associating poo and waking in the wrong order.

Many newborns do not follow the advice in the baby manuals. If you have expectations of long, regular naps, maybe re-evaluate.

I think if you're getting hour-long naps and 3 hour stretches at night you are doing really well for sleep. It may be that the urge to poo is what wakes her. Either way, an hour is great napping at this stage!