Help... My Daughter Keeps Soaking Through Her Diaper at Night!

Updated on December 03, 2010
K.P. asks from Manchester, NH
53 answers

Hi, my daughter just turned one and it seems that from the day she turned one we have been having an issue with wetting through her diaper at night. We never had any issues with this before, and have tried huggies, pampers, bj's brand, luvs etc. Nothing seems to contain the amount of urine that she has overnight. We try not to let her drink too much before bed... however she still has a little bit of her bottle before bed. The only thing that I can think of is that because she is getting older her body is holding her urine longer, and then it all comes out overnight! She sleeps about 10 hours at night. If anyone has any suggestions I am open to them. Changing her PJ's, onsie and bedding every night is getting old! Thanks so much.

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So What Happened?

Thanks everyone for your responses!!! I am going to go to the store after work today and get some huggies overnights.... I didnt even know that they made those. Depending on what happens there I will see if I can get some rubber pants. I appreciate everyones response, so glad that I posted!

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M.D.

answers from Boston on

I've had the same problem with my son, I've been using the Pampers Ultra Absorbancy since December and they have worked wonders. The only problem is that I can only find them at BJ's, but they are so worth it.

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J.B.

answers from Boston on

My daughter has done this for months. I bought "rubber pants", Gerber vinyl pants that go over cloth diapers, in a big size, and I put it over her diaper and under her undershirt. If I didn't, we'd be changing sheets every day! It works!

J.

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C.L.

answers from Hartford on

Try Huggies overnights - they really help. When she gets a bit older and weighs more, we used the pull-ups for overnight (can't remember the name all of sudden!) You really need an overnight diaper at this point because they are equipped to handle the "output".

C.

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J.M.

answers from Boston on

Try the huggies overnites one size larger than she normally wears during the day. There should be enough absorbency there!

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J.P.

answers from Portland on

Other than limiting fluids before bed, there are overnight diapers...perhaps they would help. She may even be ready for old-child diapers (they might be a little big for her, but they absorb better). Also, you might want to consider using high absorbency cloth diapers with the velcro/waterproof cover. They tend to absorb better than regular paper diapers if you can't find, or don't want to buy the overnight paper diapers. OR you can try the nighttime diapers and then put a cloth diaper waterproof cover over it to keep your daughter's clothes/bedding dry. Otherwise, you may have to change her again before you go to bed (I assume she goes to bed before you do...). Hope that helps!

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K.N.

answers from Boston on

have you tried the huggies overnites.they seemed to work for my son.

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L.O.

answers from Boston on

I know people will tell you there are "diaper doublers" - but I could never find those when my kids were little. What I did was buy cheap store-brand diapers - one size smaller than my child's current size - and I would cut out the middle section and put that inside the diaper at night. It was like wearing 2 diapers at once - almost never leaked. You just have to be careful cutting out the middle - if you cut the wrong part all the absorbent little beads will come pouring out. Also - One Step Ahead sells a pad that you put OVER the bedsheet that really does absorb a lot on those occasional times when there is a leak. They're expensive - but they work well. If you can afford it, buy 2 so you have one to throw back on the bed if one gets wet. At least you don't have to change the entire bed with these. Good luck!

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E.L.

answers from Providence on

I use Huggies Overnight Diapers which hold a lot more urine than regular diapers. I have had to use these diapers for my son since he was 5 mos old and now they keep him dry for 10 hours at night. Good luck!

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J.H.

answers from Burlington on

I have a 2 year old and a 9 month old and they have both gone thru phases like this. I don't know what causes all that extra pee! I have recently discovered that doubling up the diaper before bed solves the problem. It seems to work best when I use the regular size diaper first and then a diaper one size up top of that. Hope this helps. Good luck!

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A.H.

answers from Los Angeles on

First of all I just want to say how thankful I am for this site and the internet. :) My son was waking up soaked every morning when he was about 6 months old so I started using the Huggies overnights. They worked like a charm until my son turned 1 then he was waking up drenched every morning. I tried going up a diaper size but this did not work. So after reading these comments I went to Babies R Us and bought the diaper doublers 30 for $3.50 and I bought the Gerber vinyl pants and my son wakes up dry everyday now! I'm not even sure if he actually needs the vinyl pants. The diaper doubler seems to absorb the extra urine. I also stopped giving him a full bottle before bed. Now I give him half a bottle. So happy that this problem is gone now. Thank you to everybody who posted on here! So helpful :)

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T.M.

answers from Boston on

Hi K.,
Try the HUGGIES OVERNIGHT DIAPERS. My daughter used to do the same thing until a friend told me about these. We have not had one accident since using these diapers. They are GREAT!!! They are hard to find sometimes. They only start in size 3 and can be found in Stop n Shop (size 3 and up), Walmart (from size 4 up). I hope this helps you out.

T.

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J.M.

answers from Boston on

There is a great product called diaper doubler. It is kind of like putting a maxi-pad inside the diaper. It worked great for us when our son was soaking through. Good luck!

S.K.

answers from Boston on

what size diaper is she in, and is she a belly sleeper? my daughter had the same problem, we just bumped her up to the next size diaper for night time... also have you tried the huggies overnight?

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M.L.

answers from Burlington on

We had the same problem with my son, so we used the Huggies overnights, but that alone wasn't enough either. What did the trick for us was buying good old fashioned plastic pants to go over the diaper. We maybe had a minor wet-through once every week after that, but not enough to even have to change sheets.

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M.G.

answers from Boston on

HI. 2 things,.,.have you tried the over night diapers or "add ins". The nighttime by huggies i loved for my 2 kids.. also, a family friend suggested putting a plastic picnic table cloth under the sheets to help protect the mattress..good luck

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L.C.

answers from Springfield on

first check to see -- she may be ready for a bigger size diaper, thats what happened with my kids. Or, maybe try lining her diaper with a maxi pad at night??? why not try it?. good luck! L. C.

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B.J.

answers from Boston on

This was happening to my son too. I bought the huggies overnight diapers which helped at first but he stated peeing through those too. So now I change him (even though he is sleeping) before I go to bed. He usually sleeps through this if not he goes right back to sleep. My doctor also suggested to get a pair of rubber pants to put over his diaper but I can't seem to find them anywhere. Good luck.

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J.C.

answers from Hartford on

This may sounds kind of silly, but a maxi pad in her diaper should help a lot, if the overnights don't work.

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L.M.

answers from Boston on

K.,

Once I stopped changing my daughter during the night - I can't remember maybe she was 8 or 9 months old I went up a size in night diapers. So she is in a size 3 during the day and a size 4 at night. I have found that this helps contain the urine. It is still saturated but it hasn't leaked.

L. M

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S.G.

answers from Boston on

Hi K., I had the same problem with my oldest child. found that Goodnights worked the best. i think they are made by huggies BJ's carries them. They are designed for gender specid (i think) and are designed for nighttime urination. That did the trick!

Hope it helps

S. G Mom to two boys colin 6 and ryan 4

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R.T.

answers from Boston on

Have you tried going up a size in diapers, just for the overnight? I just did this with my daughter, and this has worked for some of my friends with diapered toddlers as well.

I have also seen Huggies Overnights, heard good things about them, but have not tried them myself.

You can also try changing her (yes, this does involve waking her) right before you go to bed. This would be a last resort, in my opinion!

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P.M.

answers from Boston on

Your problem is very common. Have you tried going up a size in the diaper? Sometimes that solves the problem. With my son the diaper still fit him but once I went up a size he didn't leak anymore.

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K.G.

answers from Burlington on

I used the next size diaper up, and started the last bottle etc a bit earlier. My sister put the next size diaper OVER the smaller diaper with success. Try a large pad on the bed to at least protect the bedding. Good luck.

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C.G.

answers from Boston on

When this happened to us my mother suggested that I buy one of those potties that sit on the floor beside the "big potty" that looks just like a regular toilet seat. I invited her to sit on hers when I sat on mine right before I put her to beside at night. We would sit there together having our mommy/daughter time and laughing and relaxing. When she got up in the morning sometimes her diaper would be dry and then we would have our mommy/dauther time again and soon she was potty trained! Wallah! Easy as pie and she is now almost thirty and intead of potty time we travel around the globe when we can and laugh just the same way! Its all about seeing the possibilities.

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S.G.

answers from Boston on

Take it from an experienced mom. Buy larger diapers for night use and long car rides.

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M.C.

answers from Boston on

We use cloth diapers - and they work so well at night. You can stuff more cloth in the pockets of them to absorb as much as you need and they wick the moisture away. Since most kids just pee at night, you don't have to think about washing the poop diapers (which isn't as bad as most people think anyway!) - message me if you want more info. You would just need to invest in 3 or 4 good quality night-time dipes and you would be all set! (rather than continually buying overnight disposables, for example).

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S.O.

answers from Providence on

my sister in law used a large maxi pad in the diaper, worked like a charm..... or go up a size in diapers and make sure it fits closely around her legs, when they roll over gaps occur, so make sure it's tucked up closely between those cute legs of hers....

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M.D.

answers from New London on

Hi K.,

There used to be a product called "Diaper Doublers" that helped a lot. Unfortunately they are no longer made- under that name anyway. If you do a search for diaper doublers though you will get a link to the company - they have been redesigned to absorb more. They do help - how much depends on how much your child wets. One drawback is that they are sold in bulk, something like 200 I think. When you get the box you will think they didn't ship the whole order, the pads are ultra thin. They work for my son though - he has one functioning kidney and needs to drink lots of fluids, he's always going to the bathroom! We also get him up around 11:00 to go to the bathroom(he's 5). Good Luck

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K.M.

answers from Boston on

Huggies overnights! My son has them on for over 13-hours and they work unbelievable!! However, they will weigh about 100lbs in the morning..haha. Good luck:)

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L.P.

answers from Boston on

What has always worked for my kids in this situation is to get a larger size for overnight. My 19 month old daughter wears a size 4 during the day and a size 6 at night. I pull them up higher on her torso so that they don't gape around the legs and voila! No more night time leaks. This worked well for my other heavy night-time wetter, too, so I'm pretty sure it's not just a fluke.

Good luck!

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H.Z.

answers from Boston on

Huggies overnights are great! You can get them at Walmart (not always), but you can definitely order them on Diapers.com. I did not find these until my 3rd child and they have been a BLESSING!!!

Good luck!

H. Z. (SAHM 5, 4, and 19 month old boys)

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R.K.

answers from Springfield on

Put her in a huggies overnight in a size bigger than what she wears and if she still soaks through babies r us carries diaper doublers that you can put in to make the diapers more absorbent.

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K.W.

answers from Boston on

i use the huggies overnights. most store shelves only sell size 5, which i am sure will be too big. i order the size 4. my daughter has been using them for just over a year because we were having the same problem with her soaking her diapers since she sleeps up to 12 hours. i work at cvs so i order then from our outside vendor so if you are interested, go to your local pharmacy and see if they can order the huggies overnights size 4. they come 4 bags to a case but they should be able to sell you just 1 bag then if they work for you you can go back and by another. any questions let me know. ~K.

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T.U.

answers from New London on

We have struggled with is problem too. I have found that if I use the Huggies overnight diapers and a cloth diaper insert called a "thirsty" that it works. The cloth insert wicks the urine to the back, my son pees so much in front and the back would be dry, so with this system now he can sleep the 12 hrs he likes and use the absorbency of the whole diaper. I found these absorbent liners (thirsties) at a natural children's store, not at Babies R Us. You could order them online too from Maine Cloth Diaper company http://www.maineclothdiaper.com/. I have seen rubber pants at Babies R Us, they are vinyl and about 6 for $5 or something like that, they would also help wick the urine, but I wonder how it would work outside the diaper to wick urine. I hope you find what works for you.

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R.S.

answers from New London on

Try Huggies overnites, they are great!!

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L.L.

answers from Boston on

I know you said you've tried Huggies, but we had the same problem with my son and we switched to Huggies Overnights and they worked for us! They are in a purple package, just make sure it says Overnight on it. They are thicker and hold more than a regular Pamper, Luv, or Huggie diaper. We still use them only at night and my son is now 2 1/4 years old. Good luck!

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H.B.

answers from Portland on

We had the same problem with our son. To solve the problem we put him in a diaper one size up from his daytime diapers. We have had dry nights since.

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J.J.

answers from Boston on

Frustrating...we went through the same thing with my son. We ended up going up a diaper size at night & it seemed to help. My sister had luck using Pampers Baby Dry at night...I didn't see much difference and had luck with the Pampers Cruisers. Good luck!

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C.B.

answers from Boston on

Hi K. - When my daughter was that age, I discovered these pads at Market Basket. In reality, they're like an old-fashioned "Modess" pad (if you're anywhere near my age, you know what I'm talking about!)

I would put one inside her diaper at night and that extra absorbancy worked wonders...

Unfortunately, I could only find them at the Market Basket at Exit 7 in Nashua, in the diaper section. If you are far from here, please let me know and I'll be happy to check for you - it's on the way to my office.

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C.S.

answers from New London on

Have you tried going up a size (or two) at night? That might help!

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S.M.

answers from Boston on

Hi K. - Have you tried putting her in a bigger size diaper at night? It might hold a little more.... I have two boys and my first son had a stretch of wetting himself so I tried a bigger size diaper and it helped.

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T.D.

answers from Boston on

We had the same problem and I found that if I used one size larger diaper at night, it worked much better. My son is 9 months and wears Pampers Cruisers size 3 during the day but size 4 at night and its been working great. Good luck!

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A.R.

answers from Boston on

Hi K.! I have also been told to put my son in the bigger size or Overnight diaper for this issue. I also recommend the Ultimate Crib Sheet from Babies R Us. I think it's fantastic, especially when you're groggy in the middle of the night and the last thing you want to do is change the sheets. Here is the product description, just go to Babies R Us or Toys R Us website and search for Ultimate Crib Sheet. I think it's worth the $20:

4 products in 1 - Quick Change Sheet, Mattress Pad, Super Absorbent Pad, and Waterproof Pad. Elastic straps that snap/unsnap easily without removal of bumper guards or having to completely strip the crib to change the sheet.
Features
No need to remove bumper guards

Fits standard 28" x 52" crib mattresses

Machine washable

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R.B.

answers from Boston on

That does sound like a lot of work. We found with our daughter - whenever her diapers never seemed to "hold" all the urine at night - if we moved her up to the next size diaper that it would work. My friends who all have children slightly older than mine gave me that advice and it worked! I had no idea that she was ready for the next size diaper because the current one appeared to fit just fine... but as soon as she started leaking through (whether through the night or during the day) that was the culprit. I hope your solution is as easy!

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K.C.

answers from Hartford on

I use Huggies Overnights. They absorb much more than a day time diaper.

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D.C.

answers from Hartford on

This idea won't solve your problem and you'll still have to change the bed and cloths, but just wanted to let you know that I just bought a pad for my daughters bed so her mattress doesn't get wet. It was about $10.00, soft cloth on one side and light weight vinyl on the other and easily washed. It's not as big as the twin size bed so I can just slip it into place under the fitted sheet.
Another thought.....have you tried rubber underwear/pants (wow! do they still make them?)

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A.D.

answers from Springfield on

Hi There!
I went through the same situation with my daughter. I found that switching to a larger diaper at night helped. It worked for us. I hope it works for you!

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S.B.

answers from Boston on

Hi, My son does this occasionally. I don't know that there is anything that you can do to stop this from happening, but I change my son in the middle of the night and he is fine in the morning.

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C.G.

answers from Burlington on

Have you tried overnites by Huggies?

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A.M.

answers from Boston on

If you have already gone up to the next size, then try Huggies Overnights.
Worked for us! FYI the overnight pullups do no twork as well...so when you get to pull ups (if you do them at all) the over nights are not all they are cracked up to be. They tend to leak like swimmies.

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J.P.

answers from Boston on

Try going up a diaper size, even if she doesn't need the larger size during the day. That has always worked for us.
Good luck,
J.

D.B.

answers from Boston on

Is there enough room in the diaper to put a bladder control pad? You can use Poise or the store brand - do "regular absorbency" which is "regular" for an adult. They are about the size of a maxi pad and they have adhesive. Whatever overflows will be caught by the diaper. Try going to a larger size diaper at night as long as it fits in the waist. It will be bulky but who cares if it's only for sleep?

As for the bedding, make the bed with a fited sheet, a waterproof crib sheet (just a large pad, no fitted corners) and then another fitted sheet on top. If the sheet gets wet, just strip it and the pad, and at least you will have a dry sheet underneath for the 2nd half of the night. You still have the issue of the pajamas but this will save you some time. We did it for years because our son was a bedwetter until we found a medication that stopped that.

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K.Q.

answers from Boston on

Did you try night diapers? My daughter wears Huggies night diapers and they usually do the trick-- all night long. We find them at Target, but you can also get on drugstore.com. Or you can try a larger size diaper, but the night diapers hold an amazing amount of liquid.

Also, you may want to try something called the 'ultimate crib sheet' (you can get at Babies R Us and amazon.com). I would make my son's crib (mattress pad and crib sheet) and then put one of these waterproof sheets on top (they lay on top of the mattress and securely fasten to the crib slats). That way, if he did have an accident, I only had to change him and whip off the top crib sheet and have a clean second layer underneath, which was a godsend at 3am! Good luck!

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