Diaper/sleep Help

Since he's such a heavy wetter, I would stop giving him milk right before bed. Since she stopped nursing at 11 months, I've given my daughter milk with dinner around 6:30 and nothing else before bed around 8. She started leaking at night around that age too, but she slept through it and the Pampers Extra Protection worked for us.
As for the sleep issues, often kids who fight naps are doing so because they are overtired. If he's waking at 5-5:30, what time is he napping? It's not uncommon for a 16 month old to still need 2 naps, especially if they are an early riser. Better sleep during the day also leads to better sleep at night. I would try laying your son down before he's showing signs of being tired, somewhere around 9 and again around 1, or right after an early lunch around 12 if you want to stick with only one nap.. Worst case scenario is that he cries in his crib and doesn't actually sleep, but you can teach him this is nap time and that means crib time. He might fuss, but if you set a time period that you want him to sleep (like 12-2) and don't go in there to comfort after you've tucked him in, he'll soon learn to sleep during that time instead of fussing and everyone will be better off. Good luck!

I would cut out the milk before bedtime and see if that helps. I have two 12 month olds and since they were about 9 months old, they have dinner between 5:30 and 6 with their 4 oz. cup of milk and then they have bath, book and bedtime. They go down at 7pm and get up between 6:30 and 7 am. Many kids wake up early because they are not getting enough sleep. He may need to go to bed earlier and he definitely needs a longer nap during the day (either two short ones or 1 long one). He is not getting enough sleep for his age. If you can get his night time sleep lengthened, it may help with a better nap time too. Also, let him cry it out some. It won't hurt him to have a good fit. :) He may have developed a habit of waking up in the morning or at nap time and really isn't ready to get up, but he has learned if he has a fit you come. One of my babies used to wake up and cry out, but learned we weren't going to run in and get him and he is a great sleeper now. He wasn't really ready to get up, but he was awake so thought he should. Good luck!

Hi!

This might sound strange, but you may want to consider that he has too late of a bedtime. The best ever resource to give you all the info rather than me type it here is the book Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Dr Marc Weissbluth. It seems like this would not be true, but a too late bedtime can/will lead to early waking. Also, if you go to your child before 6 am, then they learn to keep waking up before 6 am. A typical bedtime for your age child is 6 pm- 8 pm, but if he only takes an hour nap at 16 months he may need to go to bed as early as 5 pm. When I had nap issues with my first born, she would go down for bed at 5 pm and sleep until 6 am. The book is excellent and will explain how sleep patterns work, but a basic premise is: sleep begets sleep and sleeplessness begets sleeplessness.

We used Huggies overnights, and that kept us from leaking. At his age, he should be fine in a heavy wet diaper as long as it's not actually leaking.

Hope this helps in some way!

God's Grace to you,

Lisa :)

Have you considered cloth diapers for night time? A pocket diaper double or triple stuffed with a stay dry insert and a hemp insert would do the trick. Also, between the baby and the stuffers is a fleece lining that wicks moisture from skin, preventing that cold and wet feeling. PM me if you want to give it a try- you could borrow a set for an evening.