This is part 1 of the ‘Cloth at night’ series.

To read other parts please follow these links:

Cloth at night: an introduction

Part 1: Considering cloth nappies at night-time?

Part 2: Cloth at night – using day nappies as night nappies

Part 3: Cloth at night – Using dedicated night nappies

Okay, so we’ve gotten the hang of day-time cloth nappies.

Night time will follow in the same way, once we’ve considered all the factors to determine which cloth nappy would suit your baby at night time.

Factor 1: Sleeping through the night, or not?

Tip 1 – Use night-boosted nappies or dedicated night nappies once baby stops pooing in his/her sleep and sleeps through the night.

Newborns and very young infants that do not sleep through the night typically do not require night nappies, as they would be changed before, during or after their night feed/s. As they are still so very small, there is no need for extremely absorbant nappies anyway.

Generally, babies do not pass any bowel motions or wee while fast asleep. It is when they wake between sleep cycles that any waste is produced.

For babies who take naps longer than about 1-1.5 hours, or sleep through the night, they may have some time between sleep cycles where they may wake sufficiently to wee/poo, then fall back asleep again (or wake up crying because they feel wet or dirty, depending on the nappy/motion).

Babies who have sensitive skin would be advised to have their nappy changed every time they poo (even in the middle of the night) to reduce the chance of skin irritation.

Factor 2: Light, average or heavy wetter?

Tip 2: Depending on your baby’s wetting habits: rule of thumb is to add 50-100% more absorbancy of a day nappy for night time.

Generally, older toddlers would have more wee output than young infants. Usually the absorbancy of baby’s current daytime nappies would be a good indicator of what kind of wetter the baby is.

Also, older toddlers tend to flood a nappy once or twice a night, or even store it all up until first thing in the morning.
Young infants tend to wet more frequently but in smaller quantities throughout the night.

Factor 3: Evening drinks for baby, or none?

Tip 3: be mindful of what bub has drunk in the evening, then either offer opportunities to go to the toilet (if old enough) or add extra boosting in the night nappy.

In our family, I try to limit drinks after 6.30pm. If my children need a drink after 6.30pm I would limit to 1/2 a cup maximum, or offer plenty of opportunity to go to the toilet before bed to reduce any nightly output. Be mindful if soup is part of dinner (or even swallowing bathwater!) and adjust the absorbancy of the night nappies accordingly.

Older babies/toddlers who wake for a drink of milk or water in the middle of the night would also tend to wet a lot more than babies who don’t. Either invest in extra absorbent boosters or use a dedicated night nappy in these cases.

Next in this Cloth at Night series I will share in Part 2:

- how to use your daytime nappies at night successfully.
- tips to determine whether your day nappies are suitable for the job at night.

In the third and final part I will talk about dedicated night nappies, the types that are available out there, and all you need to know about using these specialised nappies at night.

Stay tuned for more tomorrow!

Or click here to shop for nappies to use at night time at Bean Sprout Bubba.