DS doesn't want to wear a nappy at night, what now?

[redllamayellowllama]

We started training DS at 2.3 as he was asking to use the toilet. It's been really successful, we've overcome a few months of poo phobia and he very, very rarely has accidents.

He's now 2.7 and is unhappy about putting a nappy on at night. He wakes at 5 each morning to tell us he's done a 'wee and a poo' and then goes back to sleep in pants. Occasionally, if he's slow to settle when we put him to bed in the evenings he'll call us to say he's done a wee.

So, if he wants to do it, I guess we should comply. What do I do?!

[RuthChan]

Is he ready to wear pants at night?
Is he capable of waking up and getting himself out of bed at 5:00 to do the wee and poo in a potty beside his bed?
If so, or if you believe that he will quickly learn to do so, then give it a try.
My son is 2.6 and has been dry at night for a month now, with only a few accidents.

If you would like to try him in pants at night, you can buy very effective bed covers.
I have waterproof sheets on top of my DC's mattresses that prevent anything getting through there. In addition, on top of their normal sheets, I also have absorbent bed covers. They are just under a meter wide and tuck in either side under the mattress. They absorb a lot and will easily hold a wee, while still feeling dry to the touch.
This means that if either of my DCs have an accident, I can just change their pjs and whip off the cover rather than changing the entire bed in the middle of the night.

One thing you can do to help avoid accidents is to take your DS out of bed asleep just before you go to bed. Put him on the loo/potty and help him to do a wee while still semi-asleep. He'll go straight back to sleep afterwards.
I thought this was a strange idea, but my DD hasn't had a single accident since I started doing that.

I have never tried this one, but other people whose DCs want to wear pants before they're ready, put them into bed in pants and then change them to a nappy while asleep. Apparently that works too.

HTH

[emmaloupolman]

I started my 2 year 5 month old potty training on wednesday so far so good he wakes up after a 12 13 hour sleep with a dry nappy so 2day i bought a waterproof sheet and his going 2 bed in pants

[redllamayellowllama]

Thanks Ruth loads of answers there. Yes, he often does a poo/wee in his potty in his room between us putting him back to bed and getting up for the day 'proper', so could definitely do it.

Someone else mentioned putting them on the toilet before we go to bed, so will give that a go too.

We already have a waterproof sheet under his usual sheet and I shall investigate the ones of which you speak - are these the ones available in supermarkets? The kind of thing I remember putting underneath me when very pregnant in case of waters breaking (oh, the circle of life).

[RuthChan]

Glad to be help, but I'm afraid I can't advise you on where to get the bed covers.
I don't live in the UK, so I'm not sure where they're available there.
Here I got them in a baby shop, kind of a Mothercare equivalent.
I wouldn't be surprised if the supermarkets stocked them as well.

[BlueChampagne]

You can get absorbant disposable sheets for putting the bed in Boots, but probably in big supermarkets too.

[NellyTheElephant]

Pampers do disposable bed mats that tuck in and jojo maman bebe do washable pads. With all my 3 when making transition from night nappies I always made the bed up 'twice' so as Ruth advised mattress protector then sheet, then another absorbent pad (either pampers disposable or washable) and then another sheet so if there was an accident take off the top sheet and bed mat and have second clean sheet underneath. DS potty trained last months at 2.1, refused night nappy immediately so I lift hi at around 10.30 at the moment (he hardly even wakes up - I just pop him on the potty and he does a wee then back to bed. DDs both out of night nappies around 2.6 wt which point they were more than capable of sitting on the potty next to their bed on their own in the night if they needed to.

[wompoopigeon]

John Lewis for waterproof mattress protectors.
Bambino Mio training pants (washable).
Cross your fingers! It is by no means impossible to be trained day and night at the same time- my DD was.

[bibbitybobbityhat]

My ds was dry at night almost as soon as he was dry during the day. I think it gradually dawned on me that I was taking a dry pull up off him every morning, so stopped using them. He was certainly well under 3 years old. He has only ever wet the bed once, iirc - and that was when we were on holiday in a rented cottage! Typical!