mom_baby

This post is sponsored by Boudreaux's Butt Paste

Whether your baby tends to wet through her nighttime diaper or always needs a little snack around 2 am, it's not easy to get up in the middle of the night! You're probably tired from a long day of parenting already, and you want that diaper change in the wee hours of the morning to go quickly and smoothly.

With a little bit of preparation and a fantastic action plan, you can get your baby up, changed, fed and quietly back to bed without his sleepy eyes ever wearing off. You can get back under the covers and snoozing again, too, with just a couple additional steps. Here's how to make it all happen - whether it's at midnight or later.

BEFORE BED

Surviving a middle-of-the-night diaper change starts before bed. That's why it's key to make sure you have all your supplies on hand and at your changing station, like extra diapers, wipes and Boudreaux's Butt Paste Diaper Rash Ointment. Before you put your little one down, you also may want to pop an extra liner in her diaper to help with nighttime absorbency.

THE CHANGE

You want to be quick so that you don't wake your baby up completely! While you're cleaning up, using your diaper rash cream and re-dressing that little one, hum a soothing tune so he stays in a sleepy mindset. After you change that diaper, feel free to let him feed for a while; give him a half-bottle to a bottle of breast milk or formula, and he should fall right back to sleep. If your baby still breastfeeds, let him sip for a bit until he falls asleep. If you're a mom who needs a free nipple to go back to bed, use your index finger to gently loosen your child's jaw. Slide the nipple out of his mouth, replacing with your finger until his mouth gently adjusts around this new object. You can gradually remove your finger from there, free at last!

mom_baby_2

BACK TO BED

Once your babe is back down, take a few additional "mom steps" for nighttime changing if you need some help getting back to sleep. Don't use screens while your baby is feeding - from TVs, to smartphones and tablets - because blue light will wake your brain up. Instead, try soft, soothing music or a little reading to relax your mind back into sleep. You can also try a light "sleep snack," in order to send a shot of sleep-inducing tryptophan into the bloodstream. This snack should contain both a carbohydrate and a protein, because while tryptophan is an amino acid contained in protein-based food it is actually made more available to the brain by carbohydrates. Great options include: a serving of peanut butter on toast, or crackers with cheese.

Click here to learn more about Boudreaux's Butt Paste to keep your baby's nighttime changes easy and pain-free. Boudreaux's was created by a pharmacist with four kids of his own and is free of parabens, preservatives and artificial fragrances.