Night Toilet Training

[IDontWantToBuildASnowman]

I have a DS who is 4 and who still wears pull ups at night, which are almost always soaked in the morning, but very occasionally bone dry. I have always been of the view that you can't night toilet train and have to wait for a certain level of physical maturity to kick in, which happens over a very wide age rage for children, but that when it does you will know as nappies are generally dry most of the time when they wake. However my DS has made comments on several occasions recently which indicate that he is choosing to wee in the pull up, and sometimes when we take it off it's clear that it has happened fairly recently, so maybe after waking in the morning but before getting up. So I am wondering if the fact we still put him in a pull up is confusing him and that actually he may be ready, but just assumes he is allowed to go in the pull up iyswim. Has anyone else experienced this and found that taking the nappy away was actually fine?

[Jasonandyawegunorts]

if you suspect that then try him in pants.

The worldis unlikely to end if he pees the bed.

[IDontWantToBuildASnowman]

Haha you are of course completely right, the world will not end.

However what I failed to mention is that in terms of parenting I am about as laid back as a meerkat and particularly when it comes to things that could possibly impact on (my) sleep.

So I was just wondering if anyone else had experience of going cold turkey on the nappies when on the face of it the child was still soaking them most nights, and had success. Even one story of success and I might consider giving it a shot ;-)

[Jasonandyawegunorts]

Personally there is no harm in using nappies either, It's also not harming anyone.
At some point he's going to tell you he wants to try underpants it might be better if you wait.

[KatyN]

Does he have a potty in his room?? And can he get his pull ups off himself?? If both are yes then how about trying stickers for a dry pull up in the morning???
My son went through a phase of not wearing any pj bottoms or pants so he could get up and have a wee quickly in the morning. Fortunately he can get his pjs off now as it's getting colder.
I think he wakes quite early but is well trained with the groclock so hangs about in bed for a while. I'm pretty sure this is when he wees as I think I'd hear him in the night (unlike just before the alarm goes off when I'm in full morning denial)!!
K

[LibrariesGaveUsP0wer]

Yes. DD1 had wet nappies until the day we took them away. DD2 we told her she could stop having nappies if she was dry in the morning for a week.She was.

[nightsky010]

Yes! I thought exactly as you do - that they have to be mature enough for the hormone that concentrates the urine at night to be present.

DC has Autism and had significant day time training problems when younger (still not reliable in daytime and at age 4.5 was still pooing in pants), therefore I assumed DC was not going to be ready for night time training as at age 6.5 he was still soaking pull ups every single night.

I decided to try anyway and we went cold turkey on pull ups. Had a month of very slight improvement but still no dry nights, just smaller patches of wee. Putting a potty in the room to make it easier to get up and wee did not work either.

Bought a Chummie Premium betwetting alarm and within a month DC was trained!! Wonderful! (Brilliant product btw, except it can be a bit over sensitive and go off in response to sweat and is pretty expensive.)

I'd highly recommend trying a betwetting alarm and seeing if it works?

[mpops]

We went cold turkey at night-time with DD when she was 3.5. She wet the bed a couple of times, then another couple of times in the space of a month and that was it. I think it's worth just doing it to see how it goes.

[blushingmare]

I don't have experience of going cold turkey, but am in a similar situation. Thought it would just happen when physically ready, but got the feeling she was just weeing in her pull up out of habit and often when awake. So I've put a potty in her room and told her she should use that when she needs to go to the loo at night and that we're aiming for a dry pull up. She is dry I'd say 4 nights out of 7 now, but the nights she's not dry the pull up is pretty full. So I don't know what the next stage is now. To just wait til she's got a dry pull up every night, or to ditch the pull ups and keep fingers crossed!

Like you, I'd rather preserve my sleep, especially as I'm often woken more than once a night by DC2, so don't want to add being woken to change wet sheets into the mix.

[Roomba]

I managed to get DS dry in the daytime just before he was 3, and a few weeks later my DP suggested we left his nappy off at night too. I laughed and said don't be silly, he isn't ready - you can clean it up tomorrow if I am right... and amazingly, DS was dry in the morning and thereafter!

I suspect he was doing what your DS is doing, and urinating upon waking rather than in the night. Give it a try, and he may find it easy to just get straight up and go to the loo.

My DS2 is very different and I haven't got him dry in the day yet at 3.3, and I know he wees in his sleep still so he will take a while longer yet.

[LittleBearPad]

Marking my place as I've been trundling along assuming the same. Hmm. Will have a think. I do like sleep though and DS is only just getting better at sleeping through.

[blushingmare]

Right, I've decided she's going Pull Up free tonight! We've had a completely dry Pull Up all week and she is often getting up in the night to do a wee in her potty, so I think it's worth a go. Fingers crossed!!