Toddler night-time help!!

[Caz]

(also posted this in Parenting...)

My 26mo DD is in the early stages of PLing - in that, when she is naked and a potty is available, she will independently go to the potty and use it (even if I'm in another room). She is not reliable if she has training pants or undies on. And if she has a diaper on, she is perfectly happy to go in the diaper and often doesn't tell me after she's gone and doesn't seem bothered by a wet diaper. Except at night...

At night, I always have her sit on the potty before bed, sometimes she goes sometimes she doesn't. It generally takes her a while to fall asleep at night and she typically spends some time in her room talking to herself or looking at books after we've put her to bed. In the last month or so, she has started to open her bedroom door (there's a baby gate up in the doorway) and tell me she needs to pee after she's been put to bed. If I don't respond right away she will take her diaper off (snaps). Lately, what I've been doing is putting the potty in there and telling her to just use the potty and then I put her diaper back on after she's gone and put her back to bed. If I don't get to her in time and she's already wet, I just change her into a dry diaper. Although this was a hassle, I don't expect her to go to sleep in a wet diaper, so I just dealt with it. Although, I definitely think she was using it as a stall tactic many nights, but whatever.

But now, she is doing this in the middle of the night and no one is getting a good night's sleep! I think that she is waking up when she pees and then wants a dry diaper. Which I get, but getting up 2-3 times a night to change her is killing me! She goes down in Flips with a staydry insert and a doubler. She doesn't drink that much with dinner, and we don't do fluids after dinner, so I'm not sure how I can reduce her urine output overnight...

Anyone experienced something similar? Advice? I'm sure it's related to the PLing, but I have to say that I'd prefer if she PLed for day time first!

[hibiscus869]

Ok from what I'm understanding you are doing PLing during the day, and you don't want to start PLing at night yet, but she wakes up from wetting her diaper at night and wants you to deal with it?

I think it's natural for her to wet in her diaper at night, that's what she's used to, and that's a long time to stay dry for most kids. I think you should just ditch the diapers all together (daunting, I know) and get her up to go once or twice a night. Maybe when you go to bed, and then again in the very early morning (like 2am-ish). If you're already getting up might as well get her on the potty and establish a better habit. You can put her on the little potty by her bed if that's easier, but I wouldn't expect her to handle that by herself yet. She's still pretty little. The author of Oh Crap Potty Training (which I love BTW) has a post on her blog where she talks about rearranging fluids for night time, and avoiding the 'night time potty pit.' That might be helpful. Good luck

[Caz]

We are doing PLing during the day, but not very formally. DD is in daycare part-time, and is in diapers there, but when we are home, I usually try and keep her out of diapers and encourage her to use the potty, but don't push it. I wasn't ready to start PLing at night, but mostly b/c she has never been dry in the morning and is still so early in the process during the day, that I don't think she is really ready. With DS, I waited until he was waking up with a dry diaper most mornings before switching him to trainers at night, which was was probably when he was about 3.5yrs.

The last 2 nights, I tried putting her to bed in trainers, both nights she wet the first trainer within the first hour after going to bed, so I went in and helped her change into dry pants. Then I went back in before I went to bed and got her up to sit on the potty, she didn't go even after sitting for a few minutes and started crying to go back to bed Then, an hour or so later she was up and wet... I'm definitely at the point where I'm ready to ditch the diapers during the day, she's ready and I know I'm just dragging this out. But I just don't know what to do about night. She's not ready to stay dry all night, but she also isn't going when I take her during the night, yet wakes up after she's already gone...

[hibiscus869]

I think if you get serious about it, like for real, she'll know. She may well have the day time thing down in a few days once you buckle down.

As far as the night time dryness- some kids will start staying dry very quickly, others need months of getting them up once or twice a night to go (I've experienced both scenarios). As adults we often get up to go to the bathroom too, I mean there's nothing wrong with not being able to hold it for 12 hours. It doesn't mean she isn't 'ready' or any of that. The fact that the wetness wakes her up I think shows her brain is clicking and she's realizing what's happening.