Small babies often like to have their nappy changed while they are lying on their side. This can make it more difficult but it can help your baby to cope. Nappies should usually be changed with cares (every 3-6 hours), or when your baby has done a poo.
As a general rule of thumb, night time nappy changes are necessary if your baby has soiled the nappy, or it is completely full. A little bit of urine in the nappy is fine, and you can usually wait a bit longer before changing them again.
2-3 hours in the day sure, but unless it's super wet or there is nappy rash/skin conditions I might even let it go longer.
By age four years, most children are reliably dry in the day. It's normal for night-time potty training to take longer. Most children learn how to stay dry at night when they are between three and five years old.
Unless your baby is sleeping peacefully, always change a wet or dirty nappy and change your baby before or after each feed.
Each baby is different, and babies will often dirty themselves during or just after a feed. 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.
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.
Not every diaper change may require a wipe. If your baby has only urinated, then you can probably skip wiping to avoid unnecessary irritation. However, always wipe after every poopy diaper, and always wipe front to back to help prevent the spread of bacteria.
Do you need to wipe a baby girl after peeing? No. Even with a baby girl, you don't need to worry about wiping after they pee. This is because urine doesn't normally irritate the skin and most nappies easily absorb it anyway .
If the room temperature is very warm, it is fine for baby to sleep wearing just a nappy. If the room is very cold, avoid over-wrapping as overheating is associated with an increased risk of SIDS.
Changing your baby's nappy as soon as possible after they've done a wee or poo will help prevent nappy rash. Young babies may need changing as many as 10 or 12 times a day, while older babies need to be changed around 6 to 8 times.
You should aim to change him/her every 2 to 3 hours. That being said, it is not necessary to wake a baby to change a wet nappy. However, the acid content of a bowel movement may irritate your child's skin and should be changed as soon as possible once your baby is awake.
There's no need to give your newborn baby a bath every day. Three times a week might be enough until your baby becomes more mobile. Bathing your baby too much can dry out your baby's skin.
It's common for newborns to sleep in short bursts of 2-3 hours between feeds, both night and day. Also, newborns need to feed every 2-4 hours. And they need your attention during the day and night. Newborn play might just be a quiet cuddle or some time stretching out and kicking on a blanket.
Put your baby to bed wearing two nappies (one pull-up nappy over the regular nappy). You may want to use one size bigger for the additional nappy so that it's not too uncomfortable for your baby. Pull-up nappy pants work best as the second layer.
In such cases, you can use baby wipes or wet wipes that are gentler on the skin. Try to avoid overuse of these, as they can worsen irritation over time. Or, wet toilet paper or a wet washcloth can usually do the trick.
Vernix caseosa is a white, creamy, naturally occurring biofilm covering the skin of the fetus during the last trimester of pregnancy. Vernix coating on the neonatal skin protects the newborn skin and facilitates extra-uterine adaptation of skin in the first postnatal week if not washed away after birth.
There's no real need to wipe your boy down after a wee. Modern nappies are highly absorbent to quickly soak up most of it, while urine rarely irritates their skin even if it does come into contact. Always wipe after a number two though. with a soft towel so they're dry and comfortable for the rest of the day.
While you might not be too keen on it, you can leave a wet diaper alone through the night, and simply change it in the morning. The only need to do otherwise is if your baby's diaper is soaked right through their PJs. If they have had the 'full' toilet experience in the night, you must change it.
There's no need to wake your baby at night for a nappy change. Instead, just check the nappy when they wake up for night-time feeds or in the morning after sleep.
Remove their nappy for 5-10 minutes, and, aim for some nappy free time at least once a day during playtime. You could also combine it with tummy time for an added benefit, and to allow for even more little bottom airing time. Make it a part of your daily routine.