Woke up to my 4 day old newborn covered in what i think may be sweat.

[LayLay04]

Hi all, i’m a first time mom at 20 years old and i woke up to feed my son and when i picked him up one side of his sleepsuit/Vest was soaked i thought he may have had a leaked nappy but it wasn’t his bedding was all wet.

He went to sleep in a short sleeved vest and a long sleeved sleep suit with a thin blanket our room degrees is at 21 degrees i was wondering if anyone could offer advice on how to do things differently, should i just leave him without a blanket?

Please no hate i am really trying my best lol.

Does he have a temperature? Do you have a thermometer to check? I would dry him off and change him. Check him over in the light for any unusual rashes.
assuming no rashes / temperature and he generally seems ok in himself, I would redress him, put him back to bed and then keep an eye overnight. The outfit and bedding you describe sounds sounds fine, I wouldn't strip him off more during winter. Could he have perhaps been sick? If it's watery you may not be able to tell.

Why don’t you think it’s a leaked nappy, it sounds more like a leaked nappy. Sometimes if their penis is facing the wrong way (up rather than down!) the wee can come out of the top leaving the nappy dry but they’re soaked in it.

https://share.google/images/k92SVcfbJBsl2KrYl

This is a link to a safe sleep clothing chart. Do you have a room thermometer and does baby feel like he has a temperature?

I'd check their nappy as well, ds was always very leaky even though sometimes nappy felt dry and we had to try lots of different types of nappies until we found what worked for him and would have had to have sized up early.

If it was sweat I'd imagine you'd see it on their face/ hair /damp in other areas. Ds was always a really sweaty sleeper but you'd have seen it on his face and hair first. I agree to do a change and check for rashes etc and see how baby is presenting and maybe offer a drink if you think they really have been sweating as opposed to a sideways/ up the ways pee.

Newborns are super sweaty anyway! DD was born in January 24 and was constantly sweaty when I held her when I picked her up all the time. I mentioned it to HV and she said aslong as she doesn’t have a temperature she’s fine. DS (born in June) was also SUPER sweaty all of the time, like soaked even when I was feeding him (BF) he felt so hot. He never had a temperature. Also, a few times with DS he was soaked but only in a specific area. I had to swap his pampers for Sainsbury’s own brand as that was the only one that would stop the leaks. If it is contained to a certain area I would assume it is urine that has leaked

It definitely sounds like a leaky nappy rather than sweat if it was just one side.
As a PP said, you really need to make sure boys are pointed down the way or you’ll end up with a soaked child with a totally dry nappy.

Also I find if they’re outgrowing their vests they’ll squash their nappy and make it leak

That's defo a leaking nappy and if a boy you will be amazed how many times they can wee yet the nappy stays dry but goes in other directions lol

21 is a warm bedroom but he sounds appropriately dressed. It is almost certainly wee. When they’re tiny leaks seem to be fairly common, then they get bigger and nappies are more snug. Nappies are so absorbent these days you can sometimes think they’re dry.

Another who thinks you need to make sure to point his willy down...

Hi guys, thankyou for all the comments i really appreciate your advice and your help. I would like to say that im not a 100% certain that it’s not his nappy and i always do try to point his penis down. the vests that he’s leaking through and the bedding doesn’t smell like wee and he’s doing it every time i lay him down.

Could it be reflux?
If not wee...

I really think sweat is unlikely / impossible. They cant regulate body temperature at this age.

I often found both my kids "damp" from reflux especially ds who had cmpa and would sick up essentially water with a bit of "whey"

If it’s when he is later down I would say it’s the nappy. Maybe try a different brand or size. Sometimes the vest being a bit tight can push wee up.

Is his head wet or his body? If there's a big circle around his head and his head / face is wet, definitely consider reflux. Both my kids were very sicky babies.
These things are always easier in daytime though, try to speak with your health visitor if you want extra advice.

When my son was a few weeks he would leak enough to wet his vest but not enough to wet the sleeping bag or cot.

We had to drop him down to size 0 nappies even though he was well over the weight limit. He had a scrawny bottom and he was about 3 weeks before we could put him in size 1s

I had a sweaty baby, he's adult now and been sweaty all his life