At my wits end - nappy soaked and leaking by the morning!

[Ambergold9752]

Any tips from anyone who’s experienced this? My 21 month DS reliably sleeps 10-11 hours overnight and more and more we are finding he wakes in the morning having leaked wee all over his clothes and sleeping bag. Thankfully it doesn’t seem to upset him, but the endless washing every day is ridiculous and it’s not nice for him, obviously!

I’m at my wits end! We’ve tried several brands/sizes - we’ve tried size 5 pampers premium, pull ups, size 6 pampers baby dry, I’ve started using Peachies size 5 as I felt they fitted better around DS middle and a better shape for him overall but we’ve even had leaks with them now. I think he’s about 11kg so around size 5 generally.

The nappies are full to bursting and so heavy so I think it’s the volume of liquid rather than the nappy not fitting properly?

We have no leaks in the day so I’m not concerned he wees too much or anything like that. He has a normal amount of water/cup of milk with dinner, occasionally drinks bath water (!) and has about a 30 second breastfeed before bed and a few sips of his water beaker. I don’t know if he’s drinking too much before bed? I don’t really want to restrict his water intake though as I’d be worried he’d be thirsty overnight.

any advice welcome!

The only nappies that worked for us overnight are called 'little rascals'. You can only get them in Tesco and they have the cocomelon logo on them. Pampers were rubbish ime. It doesn't sound like too much fluid before bed...unless he's taking on more bathwater than you realise. Is there much time between putting nighttime nappy on and going to sleep? Maybe worth putting a cheaper one on them changing right before you put him down. Or a good time to start trying for a potty wee before sleep?

I use Boots Little Stories for over night, anything else gives up and leaks.

His bladder must be bursting before he goes to sleep. Agree with pp, get him up for a night time wee maybe when you go to bed. He may be ready for potty training.

Have you tried changing the nappy when you go to bed? I didn’t find it woke my kids up.
I would wonder whether he’s drinking more bath water than you realise?

Just change it before you go to bed. It's what we do with our youngest.

Start toilet training; get him to wee before bed then wake to wee before you settle and first thing in the am.

Try the Pampers 5+ they hold alot more than the standard size 5

10 to 11 hours sleeping is way to long for any nappy to cope. He's going to have to be changed during that time. I had to get my DS up to be changed or pottied during that time. He was also a good sleeper.

Try an adult incontinence pad as a nappy liner.

Change it ? At your bed time or sometime during the night - that’s what I did

I had good sleepers too - regularly 10+ hours and nappies/pull ups coped. In fact my 5.5 year olds slept 12 hours last night and his nappy coped!

I find supermarket own brand pull ups best. Pull ups cope with wriggling better than nappy tabs. Supermarket brands seem to be more absorbent than pampers (and they don’t tend to split and spill manky crystal gel stuff everywhere if they get super soaked). Use the “+” variant of the correct size - the “+” means more absorbency not a half-way size.

My daughter used to wee alot at night. Have you considered trying a cloth nappy at night?

Motherless airflow wrap, motherease sandy nappy (they are very absorbent) plus a high absorbancy booster if needed as well, and a stay dry liner. My daughter didn't manage to leak through that lot!!

Could you get away with a stealthy change before you go to bed? I’d also thinking about starting potty training so you can get him to double void before bed and be sure he’s going to sleep with an empty bladder.

Have you tried going up a few sizes? My 21 month old has been in pampers size 8 for maybe 10 months, so from about 9-10kg, as he can go 13+h between changes. He's been 50-60th centile that whole time so it's not like he's huge, just needs room for all his wee and I think boys need bigger sizes for obvious reasons haha. Also make sure his penis is pointing down and not to the side and size up his pyjamas is another thing if they are getting tight they will squish the nappy, we've had less leaks after sizing up to 2-3y.

I've had 2 good sleepers who do 12h+ nights and always had to be in the bigger size nappies way before they hit the lower weight limit just to contain the wee.

This started happening to us (went through so many brands of overnight nappies!) just before our 2yo was diagnosed as Type 1 Diabetic. I really don’t want to worry you (sorry) but it is a really common early symptom of Type 1 that is often overlooked. Get him a doctor’s appointment asap to get his blood sugar checked - it isn’t something you can hang around on. Hopefully it’s nothing but much better safe than sorry as untreated it can be life threatening.

I used to do a stealth change at my bedtime too - unzip the sleeping bag, lift legs/bum up and new nappy underneath, whip old nappy off, fasten new nappy, zip sleeping bag bag up. I don't recall my DS ever waking during this.

I would be adding a nappy wrap (washable cover). We used washable nappies when at home but when we went away we'd use one of these over a disposable and they work very well.

Thanks for the responses! Have to say I am a bit shocked that people do a change when they go to bed etc - I suppose I’m scarred from waking in the night so much when DS was younger I feel like I don’t want to risk ANYTHING disturbing him and i’d be worried he wouldn’t go back to sleep. I think I am going to start trying a pre bedtime wee on the potty as I suppose every little helps.

This really alarmed me! Did your DC have any other symptoms? I assumed he’d be weeing loads in the day as well, but he’s not.

Pampers plus sizes as they are more absorbent. Nappy pants also help too as they are more secure around the waist

Really sorry! Decided it was better to say something than not. Our guy at the time also had a nappy rash (not a super common symptom), was very thirsty, had some weight loss (not hugely noticeable but there), and was moodier than usual. It was tricky because a lot of the symptoms I put down to him growing (he was a chunky toddler so thought he was just skinny-ing out) and being just a typical toddler, mood wise, haha. We only reached out to the doctor when he started leaking out of his nappies almost every night, which is why your post caught my attention.

I’d definitely get him checked, just to be safe. Hopefully it’s nothing :)

Yep! Came here to say this as well as my daughter is in Sandies.

I’d also suggest Motherease Bedwetters as we’ve switched to these at night and they’re fabulous.

Plus sizes aren’t half sizes, Theyre higher absorbency capacity. Generally aimed at night time.

Check pjs aren’t squashing the nappy when full. That reduces capacity.

If that doesn’t work, put a 5+ on with a 7 over the top.

I understand the feeling but IME once they sleep through the night they sleep through anything. If you start slow you can always retreat if they start stirring.

Just change his nappy when you go to bed. He probably won't even wake up if you do it in the dark. I did this for my eldest DS who was always a wet baby and nighttime nappies couldn't cope with all his wee.