Potty Training at Night

[ides]

I need help before I go mad. O is potty trained during the day. He still has a bit of trouble with his clothing on his own but here's there potty wise. He stopped diapers a couple of weeks ago and a little over a week ago he refused to wear them at night anymore. He is wetting most nights and it's becoming a major problem. First he's waking up in a puddle of pee in the middle of the night, which wakes me up and I have to change his clothes, cover the sheets with towels then he goes back to sleep. He ends up sleeping worse because of it. As well I can't take all the pee. Sheets, towels & clothing every day. Smelly pee covered boy. Last night he was in a lake of pee - wet from head to toe. He didn't drink liquids before bed and went potty first. Ugh. We never went the pullup route since I think they are just diapers. I don't know if I can convince him to use them or if I should try. I don't want to damage his psyche since he's adamant that only babies wear diapers & he's not a baby. Oy. Any suggestions?

[SuzySunshine]

I don't remember how old he is? I've been told night wetting is developmental not something they necessarily can or can't do at certain ages. A is 3 years and 8 months, she has been potty trained for a year now and still wears pull-ups at night. We call them her night time panties and I would say its 50/50 on when she wakes up wet versus dry. No advice except maybe he's not ready.

[Pollyanna]

Our kiddos were in night time diapers until just before they started kindergarten for the most part. Maybe try the older kid pull ups. Don't worry about his psyche, it's all about mommy preservation at this point.

[HouseofWool]

I would definitely go the pull route for bedtime, calling them the special night time undies (or what ever will float his boat). I think of them as diapers as well, but DD (age 2) doesn't. *shrug*

As for dealing with the wet bedding, I swear by this tidbit that my sister gave me. When I make the bed (or crib) I put on the waterproof pad, the set of sheets and then I top it with ANOTHER waterproof mattress cover and another set of sheets. That way in the middle of the night, you just yank off the soiled bedding, clean up the kiddo and pop them back into bed. You can be done in under 5 minutes without any fumbling to find clean stuff.

[ladymoreta]

Of course I'm not there yet, but would something like this work for nighttime? It might at least keep the sheets dry, even if he needs to change them, and it wouldn't *exactly* be a diaper...

http://www.greenmountaindiapers.com/other.htm#trainingpant

[madeintaiwan]

Are you talking actual diapers or pull ups? Clearly he is not ready to go to bed without a diaper or pull up. My older two were fully potty trained by 2.5 [no night time wetting] but Eó is 3 and still goes to sleep with a pull up. He wakes up dry about 70% of the time. He clearly just isn't ready like the other two were. Do you decrease his fluid intake at night? After dinner. I would try the pull ups, they have cars and planes on them and pull up like underwear rather than "velcro" like diapers. I wouldn't worry about his psyche. There is no way that I would be cleaning the bed like that every night.

[Chrisada]

The four-year-old and two-year-old both wear Pull-ups to bed. The two yr. old is always dry, while the oldest frequently wakes up wet. Pull-ups are way different from diapers and not a big deal at all for the four-yr-old.

[houseelf]

Night time and daytime dryness really are separate milestones. DS mastered daytime dryness in three days the weekend after his 3rd birthday. He had maybe one accident and never looked back. On the otherhand, he was 6.5 when he achieved nighttime wetness only through the use of an alarm system. I completely agree with Chrisada and MadeinTaiwan on this one, don't sweat it and don't make work for yourself.

[ides]

Thanks! I feel better & needed that reassurance. I too think its developmental & feel he just isn't ready. Dh has been saying to just let him go in undies & wet since he has a meltdown over the thought of a diaper. Ummm, no thanks mister. If it was once a week that would be one thing but not most nights. We got some pull ups last night & O slept through the night. O wasn't too excited about them however I think in the morning he was relieved & is in a much better mood. I actually snuck them on him when he fell asleep. Hee hee. Let's hope its not a battle tonight. O will be three next month.

I also have this problem with my 5 year old son, B. He has been potty trained for over 2 years now, and we still can't get a hold on this night time dryness. We had been doing pull ups for a long time (overnight undies is what we call them). For a while, it seemed like he was keeping them dry pretty consistently, so we tried without, and he wet every single night. We ended up getting some waterproof pads that just lay over the bed in the spot where he wets, and that has cut down the laundry since we only have to wash the pads and not all the sheets. I just worry that it will be come something he is embarrassed about, especially now that he is in kindergarten. I don't mind the laundry so much, but I just hope we can get past this stage soon. We try to eat dinner early and restrict his fluids for a couple hours before bed, but that hasn't really helped either.

[ides]

We have been doing the pull ups at night. I keep telling him that they aren't diapers. He still isn't keen on them but its becoming less difficult each night to get one on him. Saves my sanity.