Disposable diapers make life easier for young parents. They help the baby sleep peacefully all night, and help mom relax. More and more parents give preference to diapers for their babies.
Every year, models are improved, new materials and technologies are developed.
But even taking into account the fact that their safety has long been proven, my mother has many questions: how many newborns can be in the diaper, how often to change the diaper to prevent diaper rash and skin irritation, is it worth waking up the baby to change the diaper?
How many times a day do you need to change diapers?
How often do you need to change the diaper for a newborn? You can answer this way – as filling. But in relation to newborns, it is necessary to take into account that they write very often – up to 25 times a day. The amount of fluid released is small, but the diaper quickly becomes wet. Therefore, its replacement is required at least 1 time in 2-3 hours.
The first few weeks of life, the baby adapts to an independent life “outside of mother”. At the same time, his body is actively cleansed of the original feces, and therefore diapers are often changed for a newborn.
Even if it was put on just a few minutes ago, but the baby got dirty with feces, an immediate replacement is required. Otherwise, the baby’s skin will quickly redden and inflame, and bacteria that enter the baby’s genitals can lead to infection. Therefore, the cleanliness of a disposable diaper is recommended to be checked every half hour. Clean diapers should be worn after bathing, before bedtime, and before walking.
It turns out that newborns often have to change diapers. This expense item is quite expensive for the budget of a young family: diapers per day can go up to 20 pieces.
What you need to know about changing a diaper?
Each baby gradually establishes its own individual rhythm of natural need. Therefore, the first rule for changing the diaper is to focus on the baby. Do not do it by the hour. Someone needs to change diapers much more often, and someone stays dry and clean longer. But still there are certain rules that must be followed.
The question of how often to change the diaper of an infant can be answered as follows:
- After each bowel movement. Regardless of whether it has been put on for a long time or just now, feces, when it comes into contact with skin, are very irritating to the crumbs. Therefore, it is important to stop such contact as soon as possible.
- Before a walk, going to the doctor, visiting, traveling in transport, sleeping at night. After the above, it is also necessary to put a clean diaper on the child. Even if it is not crowded after sleeping or walking, it is better to replace it, because the peanut has been in it for too long.
- If the skin under the diaper is wet, no matter how long it is worn, you should immediately remove it.
- In the summer, and also if the room is hot, the time spent in the diaper is reduced. In the cold season, the baby is allowed to stay in it for up to 6 hours, provided that this is a product made of high-quality, well-absorbing material.
- It is necessary to change the diaper for the newborn in the hospital as often as necessary, that is, at least every 2 hours and after each bowel movement.
- A newborn boy needs to change diapers as often as a girl. The gender of the baby in this case does not matter.
If the diaper gets wet after two hours, if it leaks on the sides or causes diaper rash, you need to change the brand. A newborn has to change diapers more often when he is incorrectly selected in size.
Should I wake a child?
Some parents do not use disposable diapers during the day, preferring reusable diapers. But at night, diapers allow the baby to sleep harder and provide an opportunity to relax mom tired for the day. And here the question often arises, is it necessary to change the diaper at night? Should I wake a newborn to change a diaper?
It is unequivocal to say how long to change the diaper for a newborn at night is not easy. It depends on various factors. The rate of contamination of the diaper is affected by what the baby eats (breast milk, mixture), the state of the digestive system and urinary system, the air temperature in the room, the age of the child.
It is impossible to say exactly how long the diaper needs to be changed for a newborn, but you can focus on the following rules:
- It doesn’t matter if the baby is sleeping or not, a clean diaper should be worn immediately after a bowel movement.
- If the diaper is full, then it will also have to be removed, even if the crumbs do not wake up. Otherwise, skin problems can be provoked.
- It is better to change the diaper as soon as the newborn wakes up. This usually happens every few hours.
Is it necessary to change the diaper at night for a newborn if he is not crowded and the baby is fast asleep? In this case, it is better not to disturb the baby and change his clothes after waking up.
Why do diapers need to be changed regularly?
The main reason for the frequent change of diapers is diaper dermatitis, which manifests itself in redness of the skin, the appearance of a rash, irritation and diaper rash. If the skin of the crumbs has been in contact with urine for a long time, then it is impossible to avoid such problems.
For a certain category of children whose skin is especially sensitive, especially for infants, this problem is very relevant. Therefore, it is necessary to change the diaper for a newborn in the hospital as often as he overflows or gets dirty. Appearing diaper rash is a concern to the baby and requires treatment.
How to change the diaper
It is easy to change the diaper for a newborn:
- All replacement accessories must be prepared in advance so that the child does not go unattended. Even if the baby was just born and still lies calmly on the changing table, he may fall and be injured.
- After each act of defecation, it is necessary to clean the skin of the crumbs with a damp cloth, and it is better to wash with clean water. No need to use soap with every wash your baby. It can dry the delicate skin of the newborn.
- In between diaper changes, you need to enable the baby to take air baths – lie down naked for about 15 minutes. This procedure will heal the skin and temper the child.
- If skin irritation and diaper rash appear, you need to use special means. It can be ointment, cream or powder.
- The diaper of the newborn should be changed as often as necessary. At first, up to 20 pieces can go per day. Of course, this is not cheap, but saving in such a situation without harming the health of the crumbs will not work. Later, when the child grows up, these costs will be reduced.
Observance of the elementary rules for the use of disposable diapers makes it possible for the baby to be in a comfortable dry environment, and the mother does not have to constantly change and wash the diapers.
In order for the baby’s skin to remain healthy, it should be remembered that the diaper of the newborn must be changed as often as necessary due to its age and physiological characteristics. Failure to comply with this rule in order to save money can lead to serious problems in the health of the newborn.
