OT-Night time Potty training tips/advice?

[02AggieGirl]

Hi! My oldest child, DD3 (will be 3.5 in June), is fully potty-trained during the day. I want to start working on night time training now. She still wears a diaper to bed at night, and it is always wet in the morning.

However, I don't know if this is because she is wetting her diaper while she is sleeping or just does it in the morning while she is waiting for me to come and get her out of bed. (I know from reading about it that you should wait until they start waking up dry, but I don't know if this will happen with my daughter b/c she doesn't mind if she wets her diaper.)

I've been telling her for several weeks now that soon she will be a big girl and sleep in her underwear and she seems ok with it. My DH & I are going on a trip in two weeks by ourselves and I plan to start working on it after we get back. Since it's not like potty-training where I will be taking her to the bathroom every hour or so, should I just leave her in her underwear one night, and just hope for the best?

Also, I think it is important to mention, that she doesn't do well with change and was a little bit challenging to potty-train for that reason. This is the main reason I have not attempted to nighttime train her up to this point.

Anyway, if you have anything that worked with your child, I would appreciate it if you would share that with me. Thanks!!

 

[bartleby1]

Personally, I would just wait until it happens. I read an article once about how a certain area of their brain needs to mature enough to wake them when they have to go. This happens at different times for different kids.

I didn't nighttime train my kids. I just sent them to bed in a pull-up and waited for it to happen. Sure beats changing sheets in the middle of the night! DS is still wearing pull-ups to bed (he'll be 5 next mth). He hasn't had an accident in probably 6 mths, but he doesn't fight me on it so he still wears a pull-up. If he asked not to at this point that would be fine with me. Biggest problem we had with him was that once his body told him to get up in the middle of the night to pee, he was sleep walking trying to find the bathroom and couldn't find it. He'd RUN around the house searching for the bathroom and then he'd end up peeing whereever he "thought" the toilet was!
Let me just say that cleaning pee out of a dresser drawer in the middle of the night is not fun. We still run the minute we hear him get up in the night. For a while I kind of wished he would go back to just using the pull-up!

My DD nighttime trained herself about a month or two after she daytime trained (at 2yr 9mth). I still kept pull-ups on her for months after (ok, it was probably more like a year after, lol!).

I don't think there is too much you can do to nighttime train them. They are asleep and until they learn to wake up when they have the feeling it just isn't going to happen. You could put her in underwear, but personally, I don't know that I'd want to deal with the mess of the accidents. I like my sleep, lol!

Good luck! Just know that it WILL happen when your DD is ready for it to happen. I'm not sure there is all that much you can do to speed it along though. You can try limiting liquids or waking her up periodically to pee, but that really isn't the same as her being trained. When she is really trained, it won't matter if she drank a gallon before going to bed, she'll wake up to go when she needs to.

 

[02AggieGirl]

Thanks. I'm not going to push the issue with her. I just thought I'd give it a try. I'm with you on liking/needing my sleep. A few nights in a row of changing sheets and doing extra laundry might cure me of this!

 

[bartleby1]

One thing you could try if you are currently using diapers is to switch to a pull-up with a character on it. I know the ones my kids used (huggies) have pictures on them that disappear when they get wet. The kids were always so proud when they kept their pictures. DS has planets on his. DD used to have bows. I'll never forget the morning after my DS's first sleep walking/peeing accident when he peed down the front of his dresser and all over the carpet before he headed back to his bed. I had to MOVE his dresser and I STEAM CLEANED his carpet while he slept in his bed in the same room! He slept through the whole thing, lol! The next morning he came running downstairs yelling "I kept my planets, I kept my planets, I stayed dry ALL NIGHT!" . I didn't have the heart to tell him that he peed all over his room, lol!

 

[mom2aredhead]

I'll never forget the morning after my DS's first sleep walking/peeing accident when he peed down the front of his dresser and all over the carpet before he headed back to his bed.

He'd RUN around the house searching for the bathroom and then he'd end up peeing whereever he "thought" the toilet was!
Let me just say that cleaning pee out of a dresser drawer in the middle of the night is not fun.

OMG
My son has been trained for months, day and night, and he's never really gotten up in the middle of the night to pee.
BUT
We only just moved him from his crib to his regular bed last week. He NEVER attempted to get out of his crib himself - he would just call for us if we didn't hear him get up in the morning (or during the night on those few occasions) and we would help him. Now that he's able to get around himself, I'm having visions of him peeing in his toy box Him looking for the bathroom at night in the dark himself, then to pee in a dresser drawer never even occured to me!

 

[krystalleigh1]

Day training is completely different than night training. They are not physiologically able to night train (most kids) for a while. Completely normal. There's not a lot you can do about it except to wait until she's older and can wake herself when she needs to go to the bathroom. Her body is not mature enough to wake her when she is sleeping yet.

If she was older I would recommend going to the chiropractor. My chiropractor once told me that adjustments due to wetting the bed were what he dealt with most in his office.

 

[jennifer293]

One thing you could try if you are currently using diapers is to switch to a pull-up with a character on it. I know the ones my kids used (huggies) have pictures on them that disappear when they get wet. The kids were always so proud when they kept their pictures. DS has planets on his. DD used to have bows. I'll never forget the morning after my DS's first sleep walking/peeing accident when he peed down the front of his dresser and all over the carpet before he headed back to his bed. I had to MOVE his dresser and I STEAM CLEANED his carpet while he slept in his bed in the same room! He slept through the whole thing, lol! The next morning he came running downstairs yelling "I kept my planets, I kept my planets, I stayed dry ALL NIGHT!" . I didn't have the heart to tell him that he peed all over his room, lol!

My DH would KILL ME if he knew I posted this, but I just have to. We had been married a little over a year and he had been working back to back shifts at the fire dept. He was SOOOOO tired and he is a very deep sleeper anyway..Well early one morning I say around 2am I hear something like water running and I was running through my head what it could be. So I feel his side of the bed and he is gone. So I get up and begin my search. Went in the bathroom..NOT THERE, go in the living room..NOT THERE..keep hearing it and I get to the laundry room..THERE HE IS standing with his eyes closed peeing all over the washing machine. I of course yell, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING", and he says I thought I was in the bathroom....Needless to say I busted out laughing, but spent the next few hours cleaning up his mess while he went back to bed to get rest. I never let him work back to back shifts again!!!!!

Ok sorry to hijack your thread..just had to share!!!

 

[Ellester]

My oldest dd was day trained at about 3 but wore pull-ups at night until she was around 4. I was pretty sure she was staying dry all night and just going in the pull-up in the morning because she didn't feel like sitting on the potty. So, I simply ran out of pull-ups and then announced one night that we were out of them and she'd have to sleep in her panties. She asked me to go to the store and buy pull-ups but I told her it was too late at night. She stayed dry at night from then on. My youngest dd day trained at almost three (much easier, she was the one who wanted to do it. I don't think she had a single accident once she decided to go to panties) and did NOT want to wear a pull-up at night. I made her for a trip we took to a funeral (she stayed dry each night) and then it was panties at night. Now that she's 5 1/2 she occassionally has an accident, but it's always one of those "sleep walking" type of things where she pseudo-wakes up very disoriented. My ds turned 3 last month and has been day trained about 8 months (and everyone told me boys took longer, he was the earliest by months!). Last night he decided he didn't want to wear pull-ups at night so he's in undies now. Last night went well, we'll see about tonight.

I definitely wouldn't stress about it. You know your child best and what will work for her. I knew prepping my oldest wouldn't work and cold turkey was the thing to do. The other two decided on their own, I certainly didn't push them. In fact I tried to convince my second dd to wear pull-ups at night and she just would not have it! Good luck with whatever you decide!

 

[justwinnie]

One thing I do is limit liquids at night. I don't let her drink more than a sip or two of water or milk after dinner. I always make her use the toilet right before bedtime too.

However, my daughter seems to be camel-like. She can hold it in for 5+ hours at a time!

Underpants, cool-feel pull ups, and underpants w/a plastic cover may work. She'll feel the wetness and may be able to train herself. The pull ups or plastic cover underpants may save you some clean-up.

She was night and day potty trained by 2 yrs 10 mos. She hasn't had any night accidents, but there are times she wakes up screaming, thinking that she wet the bed. We kept a pull ups on her for a while at night, since we had bought a huge box of them, thinking it would take much longer to be trained. Who knew how effective a Disney trip would be as an incentive for potty training!

OT: Recently overheard in the restroom at CRT: "Mommy, there's a pull up in the garbage! You said that pull ups weren't allowed at Disney!" The Mom replies:" I guess they didn't get the memo. Cinderella won't be happy they were brought into her castle!" Cracked me up!

Good luck!
And as others have suggested, don't push too hard. It's not easy for all kids. What works for some will not work for others.

 

[reginaastralis]

I agree with limiting night time drinks. My little girl is a drinker once she gets home, but she's allowed milk with dinner, and half a cup of water after. Sometimes, though rarely like tonight, she'll get a little juice or tea. She's been telling me that she needs to go potty, and has woken up a couple of times during the past week to tell me she needs to go ... but she's pretty much training herself. She's 2 and isn't day trained fully yet, but we're getting close!


It has to be something there both physically and mentally ready to do. Juliette wanted to wear her princess panties to school, so now I can stop buying diapers and she takes a couple of pull ups to school. She is one of the youngest in her class, however she is the only girl to show any interest at all in the potty. It's something that will eventually come, I hope.

And omg, you all are making me dread sleep peeing. Julie already sleep walks, which is scary as it is. We were at FW and I woke up in the middle of the night and she wasn't in bed next to me ... I got up in the RV and am trying to search around without waking anyone else up, and I hear "But momma, I wanna see Mickey" ... she was sleep talking while sitting on the bottom step towards the door of the RV. I sat there until she woke up completely and climbed on the couch with me ... weirdest thing ever. I never thought of her peeing while doing this. Maybe since she doesn't have a fire hose, I won't find pee around my house. I'm more ok with bedwetting than cleaning up a dresser. The joys of having children.

 

[susykt4]

DS4 was daytime trained a couple months before he was two. As for nighttime- AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!! He recently went a month waking up with dry pull-ups every single day so we tried (once again) to do underwear at night. He wakes up wet once or twice a week. He's slowly improving so I'm going to keep him in underwear but it's sooooo frustrating. Especially when it takes me 2+ hours to fall back asleep.

DD was daytime trained around age 2 and EASILY nighttime trained a couple months later- NO effort on my part. Good luck!

 

[Mouse House Mama]

I would limit liquids at night as well. You can't really train a child not to wet the bed. When they are ready to wake up to use the bathroom they will. Their brain has to tell them to get up or hold it in. Just hang in there. It will happen eventually.

 

[02AggieGirl]

Thanks again. My daughter also LOVES to drink alot throughout the day, so I've cut back on how much she gets, b/c she would have to go to the bathroom ALL the time. Now she goes a normal # of times, IMO.
Anyway, when we get back from our trip, I think I'm gonna give it a try. I'll give you an update to let you know how it's going.
I really appreciate the help and hopefully the transition will go smoothly.

PS Mouse House Mama, Congratulations! I love you countdown for your new little one.

 

[Mouse House Mama]

Thanks!

 

[belle&beast]

Just thought I would add some information I have.

My DD5 has bladder issues and we see a pediatric urologist. At our visit in February, we were told that night time wetting is not a concern until children are 8 years old! This was surprising to me, but about 20% of kids still wet at 5 and they don't even want to start working on it until they are 8 unless it is really upsetting psychologically or emotionally to the child.

 

[deedeetoo]

I agree with others that when they are ready then they will just wake up in the morning dry. I have two kids ands they are so different.

DD potty trained at age two and was dry at night right from the start. One day she just refused to wear diapers anymore and insisted on underwear and that was the end of it. One day she was wearing diapers, the next day she wasn't and she had only a handful of accidents after the switch.

DS is now 6. He didn't daytime potty train until 4.5 and he still wets the bed on a regular basis at night. I would say about 50% of the time he is dry and 50% not. Our pediatrician says not to worry yet, he will get there.

 

[TheDizMom]

Like the previous poster I have 2 vastly different kids in the night time training department. My DS took 3 weeks to train night and day (except for the number 2 department which is a whole other thread ). My DD got trained in the day after months of trying, but at 6 is still wet 99% of the time in the morning and still has to wear pull-ups to bed. We ran out a few night ago and decided to try without. The first night she did great only dribbled, but woke up to go the rest. The next night not so much. She handled it great but wanted the pull-ups again. She just doesn't seem to feel it. I haven't pushed it because both her dad and I had these problems and the Ped says don't worry it will happen. I am trying to let her take the lead on this herself, and just go with what she wants. I think if your DD is wet most mornings she may not be ready yet, but get her pull-ups so she can pull them up and down easily to get to the bathroom in the middle of the night and see how it goes. Wake her up to go to the bathroom right before you go to bed too. Good Luck!!

 

[BlondeAlligator]

Thought I would add my two cents...

My DD is 4 and Autistic. We started working with a behaviorist last Fall to get her potty trained. It has been a long process, but we are almost there. The behaviorist told me that you really can't "night train" a child. They need to just keep wearing diapers or Good Nights until they start waking up dry, or you are setting them up for failure (& a lot of sleepless, wet nights!). As soon as my DD started having success during the day, she started waking up dry at night (of course, she is a lot older than the normal potty training age). The behaviorist said that the brain needs to reteach the body how to do things at night (hold it or wake up to pee). She suggested: 1)no fluids at all for 2 hours prior to bedtime, 2)waking her up in the morning, (even if I had to set an alarm to wake up before her) and rushing her straight to the potty even if she was still groggy, 3)possibly waking her up late at night (11:30 or midnight) & taking her to the potty to she could make it the rest of the night.

We were lucky that we didn't have to do those things; DD wakes up dry most mornings now. The behaviorist said that she doesn't worry about nights until kids are at least 8 years old. Don't pressure your child, or hold anything over their head about this one...it will happen when the body is ready for it and until then there isn't much you can do.

Good luck!

 

[mhm]

I wouldn't push it. Our dd4 has been daytime trained since 2 1/2, and doesn't wear a pull up at nap time, but still needs a pull-up at night. She doesn't like to be in a wet pull-up, and wants out of it as soon as she wakes up, but she still sleeps too soundly. She has the desire, but she's just not physiologically ready, and to try now would probably be very frustrating for her.

 

[daisyduck123]

I wouldn't worry about the nighttime wetting.
I think that just happens naturally maybe??

I was lucky in that both of mine were nighttime trained the same day they were daytime trained (don't know how that happened??). But I'd be worried that the pressure/stress of her worrying about not wetting at night might cause her to regress & start having accidents during the day. I've read a lot of stories here on the DIS about potty trained kids regressing & the parents not knowing what to do.