DD potty trained for nearly 1year, soaking wet nappies at bedtime but we are stopping nappies tonight, advise please?

[returningstress]

DD has been potty trained for nerly a year, but still has soaking wet nappies every night. She drinks alot before bed.

She has a rash on her bum from the nappies at nighttime and she never had rash when she wore nappies (I have changed to a cheaper brand now she only needs them for bed).

She does not want to wear nappies to bed now and I dont want her to either.

She sleeps in her cotbad most nights now, which has a built in matress protector. She is right next to my bed so if she needs the toilet in the night I can help her.

Is it a good idea to get her out of bed and put her on the tolet in the night? If so how should I go about it? As she might not wake up properly. And how many times a night should I do it?

[morejuiceplease]

I used to put my dd on the potty at about 10pm every night. She never woke up, still had a few wet beds, would recommend a plastic sheet you can just wipe down to dry and lots of changes of sheets!

Maybe stop letting her drink so much before bed, and make sure she goes for a wee before bed.

[returningstress]

Tonight I stopped her drinking at 7.30pm and she went to bed just before 9pm, so I'm hoping that will work...

I've just put her on the potty and she didnt go, I think I will try again in an hour...

[preggersplayspop]

I thought you couldn't train to be dry at night, but that it was dependent on a particular hormone kicking in?

[emkana]

agree with preggers

[wannaBe]

if she is soaking every night then she's not ready to be nappy free at night.

Also lifting at night gives a false message as it teaches children to wee in their sleep.

If you want to see if she is ready to be dry at night then I would:

Stop her having any drinks after 6:00, ensure that she goes to the toilet before she goes to bed, and then see how the nappy is in the morning.

Dryness at night is dependent on a hormone kicking in, so if she is ready then you will start to get dry nappies in the morning. Then, and only then start to think about letting her go without happies at night.

[returningstress]

Really? I didnt know that, the reason I wanted her out of nappies is she has a rash and she also doesnt want to wear them.

I didnt know about the hormone.

[pooka]

IIRC there is a hormone that is ordinarily released by the age of 7 that directly relates to the child's ability to stay dry at night. UNtil then, then all the will in the world from you and her isn't going to help.

Personally if she is in a cotbed, so not able to get out herself, and still soaking nappies in morning, then would leave well alone.

WRT the rash, if she's only using 7 a week I would buy the nappies that don't cause rashes.

[whydobirdssuddenlyappear]

Could you try getting some pullups that are a little different from the nappies she's in at the moment, and marketing them as 'grown up night pants'? Worked for my DS.

[Pronoia]

This sounds like a disaster waiting to happen. If you want her bedroom to smell of urine, go for it.

[Rooble]

Agree with Wannabe about lifting giving a false message.
If it's something she really wants to do, could you start her with night time pull ups and broker some kind of deal - if she can show you that she can get up and have a wee by herself for 14 consecutive nights (or whatever) then she can stop wearing the pull ups? Then she might realise her body's not quite ready yet without the horribly sinking feeling of failure when she wakes up with a wet bed.
It just sounds like you're setting up a frustrating and difficult time for yourselves at the moment. (HATE changing wet beds and pyjamas in the middle of the night!)

Sorry that sounds really unsupportive. I hope tonight goes well!

[LoveJules3]

My dd2 is still wet at night at 4.5. she occasionally has a dry night but is usually wet despite stopping drinks at 6pm (she goes to bed 7:30pm). We also discovered she's allergic to pampers pull ups but asda's own are fab!

With preggers on the hormone, dd2 quite clearly hasn't got it yet so we will wait till she does. Patience. DD1 was dry at night by 3.5..........All DCs are different!
Don't push, you may end up with a nasty backlash. bedtime pants are the way we sell it.

[lilolilmanchester]

HOw old is she? Agree re hormone. It honestly doesn't sound to me like she's ready. FWIW GPs don't consider it a problem til they are 6 or 7.

[nickschick]

If shes soaking wet tho pullups will soon leak they are designed for an occasional accident not a night time of pee.

[Kewcumber]

Two physical functions prevent bedwetting. The first is a hormone that reduces urine production at night. The second is the ability to wake up when the bladder is full. Children usually achieve nighttime dryness by developing one or both of these abilities. There appear to be some hereditary factors in how and when these develop.

The first ability is a hormone cycle that reduces the body's urine production. At about sunset each day, the body releases a minute burst of antidiuretic hormone (also known as arginine vasopressin or AVP). This hormone burst reduces the kidney's urine output well into the night so that the bladder does not get full until morning. This hormone cycle is not present at birth. Many children develop it between the ages of two and six years old, others between six and the end of puberty, and some not at all.

The second ability that helps people stay dry is waking when the bladder is full. This ability develops in the same age range as the vasopressin hormone, but is separate from that hormone cycle.

Most children develop the ability to stay dry as they grow older. The typical development process begins with one- and two-year-old children developing larger bladders and beginning to sense bladder fullness. Two- and three-year-old children begin to stay dry during the day. Four- and five-year-olds develop an adult pattern of urinary control and begin to stay dry at night

[nickschick]

Kewcumber i really wasnt aware of that.

So really having all my 3 ds trained day and night by 2 with v rare accidents was sheer good fortune.

[lilolilmanchester]

I think the point is that for the most part you can't train them at night, for both the reasons Kewcumber mentioned. DD was dry before her big brother - she was 3, he was 7 and had an alarm to wake him.

[NonnoMum]

My DD was dry in the day at about 2.5 but not at night until 4.5.

We had a few false starts, but she was only consistently dry v recently.

She had some pull ups which were known as her "Princess Pants" for nighttime (bloody Disney they are taking over my life!)

[LittlePushka]

I would perhaps give her a fighting chance by stopping drinks at least an hour before she goes to bed.

[returningstress]

Thanks for the info Kewcumber and everyone else.

I did not know any of this and found it strange that my dd nearly 3 and dry for nearly a year was still wearing nappies. When everyone else I spoke to says there dc's were dry at night time nearly straight away.

I cannot believe that some children wear pullups of night nappies untill the age of 7 years.

[returningstress]

I think it was that she has been drinking way too much.

She has been in bed for 3 hours and I have just checked and she has not wet herself.

So will see how the night goes as do not want to put a nappy on her now after agreeing to let her sleep without one...

[bruffin]

DD took 2 years to be dry at night as well. DS was dry at night before he was dry in the day. DD was a bit of a shock

You should be careful about withholding drinks, because the urine will become stronger and irritate the bladder more and more likely to wet themselves.

[DreamTeamGirl]

We never stopped giving drinks, after a certain time and DS has his sippy of water in with him all the time, but then to be fair we didnt have to as he has a HUGE bladder

Just that he loses complete control of it when he giggles, but thats another thread.
As bruffin says tho dont withold fluids too much

[Anabellesmumanddad]

This has been very enlightening, thanks to all for your insights. I logged on because our 3.5 yr old asked to sleep without her nappies tonight. That is how she started having dry naps during the day.
We are going to check on her and offer toilet during the night. She is quite excited.

If she has an accident, we'll just shrug it off and suggest trying again next week if she wants.

[pooka]

Both mine have drinks at bed and a sippy cup of water in case they're thirsty at night. With no effect on night time dryness. DD was dry at night at about 3.5 and ds at about the same age, despite dd being day trained a year earlier than DS1.

Just depends on their physiological readiness when it comes to nights IMO.

[MmeLindt]

Brilliant post, Kew.

I feel so sad that this info is not generally known, and that parents and their DC are made to feel like failures because their DC are not dry at night, or not potty trained at 18mths.