Diaper Changes at Night

[AngelaSpots]

I have an 11 month old who I'm using PD on to try to break him of his habitual night wakings.

Recently, every night, he has had a bowel movement in the night after about 1 hour of PD (normally PD takes less than 15 minutes). 

I change him and BF him back to sleep, which is exactly what he wants (the BFing part).  I find after the diaper change he is so awake BF is necessary to get him to sleep easily yet I have a feeling this is the wrong thing to do.

What do you think?  What would you do?

[shelliz]

This may not be the right thing for everyone to do,but if it was me,this is what I would try Given that your son is wide awake after the diaper change, I would slather on an ton of desitin (or whatever diaper rash ointment you use) and don't change his diaper right away. If he is going through a stage of having longer p.d. time, maybe he will come out of it. It sounds like maybe b/c he is upset during p.d. he is having the bm. Since it is taking you an hour to get him down and he doesn't poop till after that hour, I would leave him w/ the dirty diaper.  Does he wake any other times during the night in which you feed him? You could change him at the next waking before you feed.

  Once your lo breaks the habits of night wakings, he won't be upset and may not have a bowel mvmt. By not changing him right away, at least you will not have gone through the hour of p.d. for nothing and he will learn to sleep through that waking. I know that sometimes my dd will poop during a BF at a night waking and I hate to leave it, but I will b/c I know that changing her is so stimulating. I have gotten her past the point where I have to BF her back to sleep, but still, changing her wakes her too much.  With as much Desitin as I put on her....she has never gotten a rash from the times I have let her sleep a while in it. Yuck...but it worked for my dd.

Just a thought

[AngelaSpots]

Thanks for the idea but it won't work for my son.  As soon as he poops he's wide awake and chatty.  He knows it's diaper change time.

Last night he didn't poop but it was an off night because we were away and he spent the first part of the night in the car sleeping.  The night before he pooped immediatly after waking up. 

We'll see how it goes tonight.

[Gage and Sophie's Mom]

I have read that babies will poopoo when fed as their tummies are making room for more food. this is a physiological process. I don't know when your lo's last BF is, but maybe you could do it early and maybe this will get things moving sooner IYKWIM. This is probably a stretch, but when your desperate (as I have been soooo many times) you'll try anything

[AngelaSpots]

Really?  I've never heard of that.  I'm working on eliminating night feedings.  Hopefully once he's night weaned he won't need to poop because he won't need to make room for more food.