Ensuring the Diaper Fits Well The waist is snug with the diaper just under the belly button. The leg cuffs wrap neatly around your baby's legs and bottom. After putting on the diaper, run your fingers around these edges to make sure the cuffs are pulled out. Cuffs being tucked inside are a common cause of leakage.
DIAPER TIP: The ruffles around the diaper leg holes aren't just for looks! They should always be visible on the outside and not tucked inside the diaper around the legs. They're specifically designed and engineered to prevent leakage.
Fold the dirty diaper in half under your baby, clean side up. (This provides a layer of protection between the clean diaper and your baby's unclean bottom.)
This is easily accomplished by gently holding the baby by the ankles with one hand, and sliding the back of the diaper (for those of you using disposable diapers, the back of the diaper is the side with the tabs and no decoration).
We found out that It is not necessary to use wipes to wipe your baby down during every nappy change. Urine rarely irritates the skin and disposable nappies are very absorbent limiting the amount of urine that comes into contact with your baby's skin.
The most common cause of leakage is fitting your baby with the wrong diaper size. So start by checking if the diaper size is right for your baby. Note also that the amount of pee increases as your baby grows. By the time your baby is 12 months old, the amount of pee discharged in a day will be twice that of a newborn.
You Don't Have to Change Every Wet Diaper
Newborns poop lots, and you don't want to have your baby's cute little tushy sitting in that. But for pee diapers, you don't have to change the baby every time they go.
If your baby is sleeping you do not need to change their diaper. A dirty diaper isn't bothering them and so it shouldn't bother you either! If your baby wakes overnight whether it be to eat or just a typical overnight waking try to limit stimulation and skip a diaper change when possible.
If you notice excessive gapping at the legs and waist, the diaper may be too large for your baby. Let your baby gain another pound or two and then try again.
First, use the front part of the diaper to help wipe your baby. Always wipe from front to back to prevent a urinary tract infection. Then use a mild wipe or wet washcloth to clean your baby, again wiping from front to back. For a newborn or a baby with diaper rash, use cotton balls or squares and warm water.
You do not want the diaper to cover the cord area as air helps the wound heal and dry, allowing it to fall off. It is important to keep the belly button dry and free from urine and fecal matter.
Diaper companies know this, so larger sizes are designed to hold more urine. By sizing up your diaper, you're basically increasing your absorbency. For example, a Huggies Size 6 diaper holds 7 to 13 more ounces than their Size 5 diaper.
Make sure that the diaper fits snugly around the waist and thighs by running your fingers around the edges and checking that there are no gaps. If you prefer to have a diaper that is loose-fitting, you may experience leakage as urine and poop comes out through the gaps before it can be absorbed.
If the tapes meet in the centre of 'the zone', or are still on the coloured part of the nappy, then you're spot on. Once they're moving towards, or are in the white area, it's time to move up a size and avoid - or at least reduce the chances of - those leaks.
If the closure tabs are closer to the hips than the stomach, then it is time to go up a size in diapers (1). The diaper tabs should close on the front of the stomach to prevent leaks and chafing. Some brands have a diaper size-up indicator on the front.
“There are very few circumstances where I'd recommend waking a sleeping baby to change their diaper,” says Mochoruk. Unless your baby has an open sore or serious diaper rash that requires monitoring, let them sleep, she says. You really needn't worry about a bit of pee in the diaper.
If your baby is often dirty after a feed, to avoid the disturbance of having to change their nappy twice, it would be better to change the nappy after the feed. If your baby has reflux, they may vomit if they are moved too much with a full tummy, so you might like to change them before a feed.
Change Before You Feed
This usually wakes babies up enough to get them to take a full feeding. If that wakes your baby too much, change their diaper first, and then feed them. If you change the diaper after you feed your baby, you risk completely waking them again.
With poopy diapers, it's pretty straightforward. You don't want to let babies sit in a soiled diaper for too long, so it's best to change them as soon as you get a whiff of what's happened (otherwise, poop can irritate your baby's skin or even lead to bladder infections, especially in girls).
Though diaper changes may be less frequent now, continue to check his diaper every few hours to ensure he's not too wet. Always change him after he's had a bowel movement. A diaper change is required with every soiled diaper to prevent skin irritation, especially when babies become more active and mobile.
Apply ointment liberally as often as necessary, with each diaper change, especially at bedtime or any time when exposure to wet diapers may be prolonged. Don't be concerned about using too much. You can apply as much DESITIN® Maximum Strength Original Paste or DESITIN® Rapid Relief Cream as often as needed.
If your child doesn't have a preference, you may have less leaks when they sleep on their backs. Put the diaper on backwards. When I asked for nighttime leak prevention tips on the Northing if Not Intentional facebook page, someone suggested this idea.
Do breastfed babies have blowouts more often? In general, breastfed babies tend to have more bowel movements than formula-fed babies, especially in the first few months before they start solids. This may lead to a few more baby diaper blowouts.
For the most part, diaper blowouts are a normal part of being a baby, especially in the early months. That said, there are a couple of signs that may warrant a call to your pediatrician. According to Dr. Jassey, if your baby is having 10 or more bowel movements a day, it's best to contact their primary provider.