Newborn with wet back.. is it pee or sweat?

[Jane7]

First timer here so sorry if this is really obvious but my one and a half week year old often has a wet back when i feed him in the night. It doesn't smell of anything and at first I thought it was sweat so tried putting less bedding on him. But now I think it's pee...it makes his babygro and his swaddling blanket wet. Any ideas?
I'm probably being naughty and not changing him at night often enough as it wakes him up so much. Any ideas on that wld also be appreciated. Does anyone try to go most of night without a change or is that very bad?

Sounds like its pee - just change him when you feed him.

I stopped changing dd at night when she was sleeping through. Only used to change her about once a night or if she had a dirty nappy.

If he's deffo not too hot (maybe invest in a room thermometer to reassure yourself) then it will be down to the nappy. I too avoided night changes but usually did one before one of the night feeds - you'll become so darned swift at doing it he'll hardly notice. Also try a different brand of nappy - performance does vary a lot with the newborn ones IMO. You can also get nightdress type things (not girly) that have elasticated bottoms so rather than messing about with poppers you can just whip it up, change nappy, then whip it back down. I got some from a local shop but try searching on-line.

It is probably wee......

Check that the nappy is tight enough, and that his penis is pointing down when you tie it (the nappy!).
I change my DS3 (6 weeks) at least every time I feed him, so that's probably every 3 hours or so. Any longer than that and we too end up with a wet back.

Can congratulations by the way!!

I always changed my daughter when she woke for a feed in the night, otherwise she became soaked through and I didn't want her lying all night in a puddle of pee. I didn't wake her to change her though.

A different size or brand of nappy can help too.

It's probably wee... Is his nappy really full? I wouldn't worry about changing him loads in the night but if his nappy is getting really full perhaps do it once in the middle of the night with the lights really dim... You'll soon work out how to do it in seconds. I do my DD's in the bed by slipping clean nappy under the old one before removing it then slip it out... And I don't use wipes as that'd really wake her up (unless she's pooped).

Hope that helps

I bet it was wee. Mine used to be very good at weeing up their backs when htey were newborns. I used to change DS1 every time he had a feed but I think I was a bit more slack with DS2 and DS3!

Oh yes what nappies are you using? If you're using disposables I'd recommend pampers newborn, their babydry ones are rubbish!

thanks for all this everyone. verdict is that it must be pee. i better change him more often. think my problem might be that when i do a change, i go through this whole rigmorole of cleaning his bum really carefully with warm water and cotton wool which makes the change take ages. Maybe for nighttime changes, i should just be a bit quicker, replace the nappy and worry a bit less about cleaning his bum (unless it's filthy obviously!)
Is that what you guys do?
And by the way, i'm using naturecare nappies, i think, that's the name anyway, nature something

Yes - if you put on a good layer of barrier cream before he goes down for the night, then if he's only wet and not dirty, you should just be able to pop on a clean nappy without doing lots of cleaning too. IME as a Slack Mother!

If you were looking for environmentally friendly/natural disposables, I would recommend Bambo (that is the brand) nappies - very absorbant!

Yes, in the middle of the night, I try to keep nappy change fuss to a minimum. So I only change if nappy is v full and when I do change, I don't do the whole cleaning thing unless the nappy was pooey. Just whack another one on, whilst thinking "well, I nearly didn't change the nappy, so at least she's better off in a dry nappy".

And she's not had nappy rash yet in 6 months... touch wood, etc.

Congratulations on your lo x I change my dd's nappy before her feed at night that way she just drifts off to sleep after feeding instead of waking her to change her. She does cry a lot but I have found she goes to sleep sooooo much better then before.

Also - I would be naughty and use wipes at night. I used Pampers Sensitive on dd when she was about 3 weeks old at night and water in the day and she has never had nappy rash.

it'll be wee, especially as your LO is a boy.

Make sure his willy is pointing down into the nappy, rather then up against him IYSWIM because if its pointing up the nappy isn't absorbant enough to catch all the wee. Pointing down will solve it.

I have 4 boys, and have had to remind myself of that with each one

I find that when my LO is ready to move up to the next size nappy, she gets a lot of leaks. Just a thought.

I never change in the night and her nappy is HUGE (just wee though) in the morning. No leaks.

Also - this is child number 2 and I used wipes from about 4 weeks. No nappy rash. Think there is a little too much pressure on people to use cotton wool & water.

I don't get the whole cotton wool and water... Why are we such martyrs? I did it for the first month and that was enough for me... She's never had a rash I'm not exactly slapping on the barrier cream either.

we had leaky issues with the little sizes of the nature babycare nappies as well. Try changing brand. Would also recommend the bambo nature ones (buy in bulk online) as they are very thirsty, or else use a standard nappy at night rather than the eco ones (or better still swap to cloth ).

I would only clean his bottom if he had soiled the nappy at night....a wee-ey one I would just change with no wiping involved.

Rash on my 2 mouth old baby bum what is it I got go docters tomorrow about it just wondering if anyone know what is I change him every time he is wet and wash he bum with warm water and Cotton wall and bath him every night plz can anyone help going out my mind worrying