Midnight Diapers Blues

After the long process of getting my son Nathan to sleep through the night, I realized the only time his sleep was disturbed (and mine) was when he had soaked the bed.  I always changed him right before bed so I could not understand how he could be that wet!

When he was waking every few hours, of course I checked and changed his wet diaper, not really putting much thought into why he was wet.  Let’s face it, I was already awake.  But now, that we were finally getting some sleep, I did not want to be awakened to a soaking wet baby and bed.  This was presenting a huge problem and I needed a solution. 

I set out to figure this out. I began studying our daily routine and realized he was drinking a lot sometimes as much as 20 ounces at a time.  Yeah, way too much!  Did I say I am a first time mother?  Well I figured it out. The problem was me and I didn't even know it! I was providing a cup with meals, a cup in the car and a cup in the crib.  It was time for a change.

Diaper power

To put this change into motion, I still prepare his cup but it is in the refrigerator or up too high for him to reach.  Nathan now comes to me for his cup.  He is 20 months old and he knows how to say juice which means cup.  Teaching your child to say juice, milk, Sippy, or bobo all could potentially mean cup.  As long as you understand what they mean, you are good.

Since we are in the car before 5:00 pm each day, Nathan gets offered his cup and a toy.  After 5:00, he is only offered the toy.  Dinner is Nathan’s last opportunity for a sip of juice or water, and I try my best to serve dinner no later than 8:00 each evening.  Then to ensure he is not getting too much liquid I have stopped giving Nathan a cup of drink at the beginning of his meal.  I wait until his eating speed has slowed down and then I give him the cup.  This is usually by mid-meal and I noticed by doing this he eats more and drinks less.  With a little effort and lots of determination this has worked and I am no longer changing soaking bed and baby every night.  

Is He Asleep Yet (Part 2)

My son Nathan now goes to bed at 10:00 every night and most nights he sleeps all night long, which is a blessing since this has not always been the case.  So, you might ask me, “How did I accomplish this great feat”?  Trust me when I say, it was not easy!

How

After months of trying to get Nathan to sleep in his own bed and to sleep all night, I sought the advice of many mom’s thinking they might have the solution!    Needless to say, I received a ton of advice, and many suggestions, but the problem with that was I had to try them all!  I put the suggestions in order from the easy & comfortable to the ones I labeled, this person is crazy & I am NOT trying this with my child!  Wow, was I mistaken! 

No More

After months of no sleep, I did the unthinkable, the one thing I did NOT want to do.  I ignored Nathan.  I ignored my child!  Well, guess what?  It worked and in the process of testing this theory, I learned how to differentiate between the hunger; pain; wet diaper, and even sleepy cries.   This was not easy, allowing him to cry; nor was it easy listening to it every 2 hours (yes, he did continue to wake up), but I quickly learned to do what I now call my ‘Nathan Check’.  The Nathan Check is 1) check diaper 2) check blanket and 3) check cup.  During the testing phase, he was almost always good.  Now that he is sleeping through the night, we don’t have those issues, but when he is awake and I hear him cry, the Nathan Check is still a good test to see what’s wrong.  I highly recommend it!