Baby Peeing Through Diapers at Night: 7 Tips to Handling Your Baby or Toddler’s Nighttime Leaky Diapers

Is your baby peeing through diapers at night? As parents, we’re all familiar with the standard reasons for a baby’s nighttime waking or toddler’s nighttime waking. Newborns and young infants often wake at night out of hunger. Many babies wake out of habit, because they’ve formed sleep associations. But, when your baby is peeing through their diaper at night, it’s so frustrating because maybe they would sleep if it weren’t for the diaper, right?! Sometimes, one leaky diaper is all it takes to turn a peaceful night of sleep into a chaotic mess!

First, how often should you change your baby’s diaper at night? When they are newborns, you will likely change their diaper at each feeding time. By the time they are 3-4 months old, you will likely only change it once a night. And, by 6-8 months old, you most likely won’t need to change their diaper unless they are pooping at night. If your baby is sleeping through the night, no need to wake them to change their diaper.

Every child is different but most babies will sleep through the night without a diaper change at night from a young age. That is…unless they are peeing through diapers. So, what’s a parent to do? How do you stop baby from peeing out of their diaper at night?

Today, we’re spotlighting 7 tips that’ll help you banish those leaky diapers and keep your little one sleeping peacefully.

1. Do a Diaper Change Right Before Your Baby or Toddler’s Bedtime.

This one seems obvious, but not all parents take this step. If your baby or toddler is routinely waking up with a wet, leaking diaper, be sure to do a fresh diaper change right before your baby’s bedtime. If your bedtime routine includes a diaper change as most do, make sure it’s one of the last steps especially if you’ve noticed your baby pees after their last feeding, for example. In addition, bedtime routines get fairly long for some toddlers so that means 30-45 minutes might have passed by the time you’re tucking them into bed.

2. Do a Diaper Change Right Before Your Bedtime.

This won’t work for all babies and toddlers but if you think your child may sleep through (or at least wake only slightly during) a late-night diaper change, then consider sneaking in a diaper change right before you go to bed yourself. Similar to a “dream feed”, you can do a “dream diaper change.” If your baby is a light sleeper and/or has difficulty going back to sleep then skip this, obviously.

3. If Baby is Peeing Through Diapers, Use a Bigger Diaper at Night.

Once your baby or toddler starts approaching the upper end of a diaper’s size limit, the leaks will probably start. If your little one is waking regularly because of a leaky diaper, consider moving up a size (at least at night). Some parents find that this solves the problem completely.

4. Invest in Good Overnight Diapers for Baby Peeing Out of Diapers.

If none of the above tips make a difference in the leaks, consider purchasing separate overnight diapers. Huggies Overnites are a great solution; Pampers Extra Protection Nighttime Diapers are also a good choice. These overnight diapers are thicker and more absorbent than regular diapers, making them a good choice for nights. They’re also more expensive than regular diapers, but since you only need to use them at night, a large box will last longer.

One other option is to use these Bamboo diapers that have double the absorbency than regular diapers. They are also ink-free and hypoallergenic!

5. Consider Using Diaper Booster Pads.

Some parents swear by diaper booster pads as THE solution for their baby peeing through diapers. These booster pads look a bit like feminine pads, and they’re designed to fit inside a regular (or overnight) diaper. The booster pad acts as a first line of defense — it absorbs up to 8 oz. of liquid. Once the pad is full, the diaper absorbs the excess. These might make a good last resort option for those parents who find that even overnight diapers aren’t doing the trick.

Using cloth diapers? They have cloth diaper insert pads, too! GroVia also makes soaker pads and boosters for cloth diapers.

6. No drinks before bed (for toddlers).

Ignore this tip if you have an infant; babies need to nurse or take in formula frequently, and you should never withhold a feeding from your baby in order to prevent diaper leaks. If you have a toddler, however, it’s a different story. If your toddler routinely has something to drink right before bed, this could be part of the leaky diaper problem. Change your routine, and make sure that your toddler’s last drink of the night happens an hour (or more) before bedtime. And, if your toddler is taking off their diaper at night, it might be time to start potty training.

7. Keep Sleep Training

Although inconvenient, if you are sleep training and baby is peeing through diapers at night, you will of course want to clean your baby up, change the sheets, redo a mini routine, and still have your baby try to settle herself. You don’t want to let something like a leaky diaper lead to inconsistency in your behavior and undermine your progress.

When baby is peeing out of diapers at night, it can be very frustrating! Hopefully, these tips can help you fix that problem. Of course, if you need help in your sleep training – look no further! That’s what we are here for. Sleep training can be tough, and hundreds of parents turn to us for sleep coaching help every month. We can help you, too!