nighttime diaper

English

Noun

nighttime diaper (plural nighttime diapers) (Canada, US)

1. An extra bulky and absorbent diaper which is intended to be worn during sleep for prolonged wetting, usually by an infant or someone with urinary incontinence.
   • 1966 January 16, “Soft Diapers”, in El Paso Times, page 4-C:

     Old flannel receiving blankets are useful as nighttime diapers for Baby, being soft and so absorbent.

   • 1981, Jack Weyland, Sam, Deseret Book Company, →ISBN, page 144:

     Half an hour into the movie Adam fell asleep. By the time we got out, it was eleven-thirty. Either Lara was asleep or else she was faking it. I put Adam in a nighttime diaper, put him in his crib, then quietly slipped into bed.

   • 2018, Justin Lind-Ayres, Is That Poop on My Arm? Parenting While Christian, Fortress Press, →ISBN, pages 14–15:

     With much of my attention on the needy one-year-old, I continued to ignore Svea's request to find one of her doll's small red-rubber shoes. While attempting to wrangle a nighttime diaper onto a slippery naked toddler, I told Svea that I didn't have time to look for the little shoe. It could be anywhere in the house, and we had already checked the obvious places.

2. A diaper or training pants intended to be worn during sleep to prevent bedwetting, often by young children.
   • 1967 October 10, William G. Crook, “The Length of Diaper Time Varies”, in San Francisco Examiner, page 26:

     Since most children will sty dry in the day some months before they begin staying dry all night, it seems sensible to wait until they are dry during the day before abandoning their nighttime diapers.

   • 1989, Robert Schachter, When Your Child is Afraid, Touchstone Books, →ISBN, page 82:

     If the child continues to show both difficult behavior and a return to wet diapers, use a nighttime diaper again. Explain that "big children" often wear night diapers so they can sleep well all through the night.

   • 2008, Margaret Thomas, Richard Thomas, Lisa Dobberteen, Love and Limits In and Out of Child Care: What Your Child Care Provider and Your Pediatrician Want You to Know, Johns Hopkins University Press, →ISBN, page 84:

     Many three- or four-year-old children are dry during the day, wearing underwear and using the toilet for urination and bowel movements, but still need a nighttime diaper or pull-up to avoid nighttime bedwetting.

Synonyms

• night diaper
• overnight diaper
• sleep diaper (informal)
• (Ireland, Commonwealth): night nappy, nighttime nappy, overnight nappy, (informal) sleep nappy