Help - nappy leaking at sides during the night

[Lemondrop99]

Oh wise Mumsnet, font of all knowledge, please help!

My 5 month old DS started to sleep on his side about a month ago. Since then, he leaks through his nappy more often than not. It generally comes out by his waist/hip on the side he is lying on, although occasionally by the leg cuff.

Initially I thought it was a capacity/absorbency issue, but it’s not. Last night he leaked by 1am, and his nappy was barely wet. It seems to be doing with his position and the direction his urine runs in.

I have tried

1. Going up a size and using a higher absorbency

1. Acti-fit pants and Pampers Baby Dry

1. Other brands, such as Tesco

1. Putting a second nappy over the top

Nothing works! He’s waking up damp and I’m sick of washing his sleeping bag every single day.

Any tips??

Just to add, changing him in the night doesn’t really help as it’s not leaking because his nappy is full, and last night he leaked before his first feed. Also night nappy changed really upset him so I’d prefer to avoid.

Are you making sure his willy is pointing downwards? We got some wee leakage when willy was pointing up or sideways.

Are you pulling the frilly bits out around the legs? Never had too many leaking issues here but never realised them bits were leak guards

@escorpion I was going to say the same but wasn't sure how to word it I have a girl

Yep, pointing down and frills out. I can only assume it moves sideways due to gravity when he’s lying on his side and he’s peeing past the absorbent layer. We never had this problem when he slept on his back.

I used to buy a wad of gauze and cut a large rectangular piece to fit over DS willy at night. I found it soaked into that pretty quick without making him sore.
It should do the trick with your DS

Try a reusable? Might be less washing in the long run as ours never leak

Thanks all.

Right, he leaked during his short morning nap in a nappy that had been on less than an hour and was barely full. So now I’m confident that it’s not a capacity/absorbency issue.

It seems to be that urine is some how finding it’s way to the sides where the tabs (and no absorbent layer) are.

Thanks, I’ll look into the gauze.

I looked at a reusable yesterday but really couldn’t see how I wouldn’t have the same problem. Might be worth a try, though expensive if it doesn’t help.

I bought some maxi Tena lady yesterday and just wrapped one around his side for his lunch nap!!

Recommend pampers premium protection especially at night. We found other nappies leaked. Found these ones only leak when totally saturated. Worth a try?

He’s been in Pampers Premium since he was born. They were the first to leak on us before we started trying other things out

I'm place marking this thread as I've been having the same issues to since my 7mo been sleeping on his side he too uses pampers premium and it's just a nightmare, I would love to know if there's any solution!

We had this problem for a while. We use a reusable outer ie just the waterproof printed shell, over the top of the disposable. Velcro fastening is best so you can get it nice and snug. Ensure the disposable frills are poking outside the reusable edges. Never had another leak. You can buy Alva brand purses cheaply on Amazon if you want to try it.

*outers, not purses! Bloody autocorrect

We use reusables in the daytime but disposables at night as our DS pees a river

So girls here but i’d try going down, not up a size. It sounds like the nappy isn’t hugging his skin closely enough so when he moves it billows.
I’ve found that I have the least leaks keeping my 2 in nappies that are the smallest possible with adequate absorbency.

Just to add it’s a ruddy nightmare though isn’t it!

Thanks Cuppa, I wanted something like that but wasn’t sure what to get, I’ll look into that.

Thanks New, but he’s definitely outgrown the Size 2, so the Size 3 he’s in are the smallest we can get away with.

This is getting silly, for some reason he’s started leaking most day naps too over the last few days! I don’t have enough sleep sacks for this! Using a giant Tena Lady worked overnight but then he just leaked during his morning nap. So frustrating.

@Cuppaqueen do you have a link please? I’m a bit confused which ones you mean. Is it the Swim nappies?

Hi OP. I have a little boy and we had this issue when he started to roll onto his side or front to sleep. It was very frustrating and took a while for us to find a solution that worked consistently. He also seemed to wee a LOT so we did seem to have a volume issue too so things were slightly different.

We now use a Pampers baby dry nappy in the plus size (for extra absorbancy) - 4+ fits him (at 12 months). We put Pampers baby dry size 5 over the top and pull them well up. Haven't had a leak in ages. Previously it was pretty much every night.

We did have some success with using a reuseable nappy over the top of a baby dry but for some reason the baby dry pants are working better.

I'm not sure that you can get size 3 in a plus size in Pampers though.

Good luck.

Just read it back and realised I didn't say - the size 5 over the top is a baby dry pants nappy. The size 4+ is a standard baby dry.

We had this too, all solved now by going up a size and to plus size nappies which are extra absorbent and then putting a pair of Huggies pull ups over the nappy to keep everything in its place as it were. Another thing that was revolutionary for us was to ensure the nappy was fitted below our DS belly button rather than over it. And ensure it’s very fitted. They are elasticated anyway so ensure a snug fit below the belly button, willy down, frills out around the legs then put a Huggies pull up over it all. Sorted it for us, hope it works for you too.

We also changed nappies to Pampers Active Fit as they were the only ones that seemed to have the absorbency that DS ended as well as the extra elastic as DS is also a wriggler at night.

I'd use one of these nappy covers

I used cloth nappies and those nappy covers and absolutely nothing leaked.

You easily could use them over the top of disposables.

I was also about to suggest a Mothercare Airflow wrap over a disposable but Captain Pugwash got there first... They really are bomb/tsunami proof!

Thank you everyone! Much appreciated as this is starting to drive me potty!!!

We’ve tried going up a size and to s plus absorbency and pants over the top. Still didn’t work, I suspect because there’s still no absorbent layer on the hip area even with two nappies. Pampers have discontinued their 3+! I know because I was sad enough to email them about it.

I’m going to try the wrap over the top. Thanks for the link.

His size 3 currently come over his belly button, but the tabs are getting to the end of the coloured panel at the front so he might be getting a bit wide for them. Annoyingly the 4’s aren’t any better. I think he might be between sizes. I’ll play with how I’m putting on the 3s and see if I can improve it.

I worked in a nursery in the baby room and used to change 20 nappies in a row. Always thought I had this pretty sussed. Turns out this nappy malarkey is more complicated than I thought!!