DD doesn’t want to wear nappies at night anymore

[Muddytoes1]

DD is nearly 3 and has said she doesn’t want to wear nappies at night anymore. She potty trained at 2 (again she said she wanted to or would never have occurred to me to start then) and uses the toilet fine by herself with minimal supervision. I have a few questions though as no clue how this actually would work. For starters she’s in a cot so if she needed a wee in the night she would have to call one of us to help. Dh suggested a bed but surely she’s too young to take herself to the loo by herself at night? Also I know she says she wants to but don’t know if that means she actually should. She sometimes has a dry nappy in the morning but often has a wet one though usually says “I’ve just done a wee” so thinking maybe she does it in the morning when she wakes up? How do you tell if a child is actually ready to do this rather than them just telling you they want to. If it’s anything like the potty training she’s going to be pretty stubborn about it. Do I just make her wear them at night and if so for how long? Hope this makes sense and thanks in advance!

[angelichosts]

If she can tell when she needs to go to the toilet, then she should be in a bed. Whether she manages to wake up every time is unsure but forcing her to wee in the nappy in the morning is not great.

[frasier]

DS was in a little bed at that age. It’s less than a foot off the floor so can get in and out easily. Is the layout of your house, is it easy to get to the loo from her room?

[Racheyg]

Ds2 is 3 and has been potty trained since 2 both day and night. He is in a bed but He still can't make it to the toilet so calls out of us to help him.

(He is short and the handles on the door are higher than him)

maybe get her a toddler bed and tell her if she can't get herself there to call for you?

[MangoApplePear]

You just have to try, no special way of knowing otherwise. Mine was the same, had a wet nappy in the morning but I think she was doing it in the morning when she woke up. Here are some tips:

1. take her to the toilet before you go to bed. This worked us. My DD didn’t really wake up but she would do a wee! Weird but worked.
   
   
2. get some of this disposable bed sheet things you put under the sheets to orotect your mattress.
   
   
3. have a spare clean duvet and bottom sheet ready to go so you can do a quick change if she wakes up with a wet bed in the middle of the night.
   
   Mine did wet the bed a few times but soon stoppes. Good luck!

[PurpleMac]

A toddler bed, night light, and potty in her room? Assuming she uses a toilet and not a potty during the day, you can get pottys that look just like a mini toilet.

[Babdoc]

DD1 was in a bed at 15 months, as I needed the cot for DD2’s imminent arrival! Admittedly, we started with the “bed” being just the mattress on the floor, for safety reasons.
If you have a night light, and your bathroom is easily reached from your child’s bedroom, there’s no problem. If it’s on a different floor maybe you could leave the potty in her bedroom for her to use at night?
My own kids never seemed to need the loo at night - I don’t recall it ever being a problem.

[WooYa]

Put her in a bed/take cot sides off and put a potty in her room. If she wakes up in the night then the potty is there and she won't need to faff about.

[BendydickCuminsnatch]

DS said the same last night. A few weeks ago I said to him you don’t have to wear a nappy at night but you’ll have to go to the toilet in the night.

So last night he said he wanted his nappy off as he was lying in bed. So we put the potty in his room and he went to bed naked with a bed mat down. I kept going in to ask him if he needed a wee (kept asking until I got a response so I felt it got through his subconscious). Anyway. I went in a couple of times in the night but he didn’t wee until the morning, miraculously! We’ll see how tonight goes, I definitely expect some accidents.

FWIW his nappies were never empty in the mornings when he did wear them.

[Muddytoes1]

Thanks sooo much for all your great responses! Will reply properly after dinner.

[user1495997773]

DD is 3 and in a low toddler bed. Since removing night time nappies she has a potty and nightlight in her room to use in the night, and we've put a stairgate on her door so she can't just go wandering about (and falling downstairs!). We've told her the potty is only for use at night if she wakes up and needs to go, she uses the toilet with her special seat and step at all other times.

[Muddytoes1]

Ok so thanks again, seems like the consensus is she really should be in a bed so that’s a first step we need to take. Will get that sorted at the weekend.

So then the main options seem to be either night lights and a potty, night lights to the loo or calling us to help her. Potty sounds like a good option though she hasn’t used one in awhile. Loo option also could work as it is very close and we have a stair gate but my main worry is drowning. At a child first aid course I did the trainer said toilets were the main cause of toddler drownings and it freaked me out a bit. I guess if I left the child loo seat on this would be very unlikely. I am happy for her to call us so may start with this.

So next question then, do I need to get her used to her new bed before starting this so as not to have too much change at once or just for it all together? She did ask not to wear nappy tonight but seemed quite happy for me to put it on. Obviously don’t want to keep doing this long as @angelichosts says this isn’t really great. Thanks again so much for all your comments and ideas!

[Muddytoes1]

Also good luck @BendydickCuminsnatch!

[Muddytoes1]

Sorry, I meant well done! Just re read! That’s great he managed to get through fine. Hope tonight goes well.

[Haggisfish]

Dd did this at same age and we had similar worries. She was fine-had maybe one or two accidents although they were mainly poo as she was holding it in during day (another thread!).

[Haggisfish]

I would try without nappy in cot to see how she gets on-it might be she sleeps through till morning and just has a big wee in morning.

[xyzandabc]

DD1 was dry in the day at 26 months. After 2 days she said she didn't want a nappy at night as she had a hot bottom! We tried her without and she's never ever had an accident. She was already in a bed though.

Dd2 however still has issues both day and night accident at age 9. They are all so different, get her in a bed and just go for it.

[Muddytoes1]

Ok great thank you so much for your encouragement! Will give it a go!

[billsbillsbillsbills]

Dd went into a double bed at two years old, with the side rails obvs. At about 2 year and 7 months she started potty training I just didn't put nappy's on her in the night and she just woke up and I left a potty in her room so she could use it. She's great joe has the odd accident when she's fell asleep in the car or had a drink before bed but other wise great. Through her in the deep end

[Mol1628]

We did potty and nightlight too. The potty was always used for that first see when they were desperate after holding it all night.

[Pinkkahori]

That's how both of mine night trained. They just said they didn't want a pull up at night anymore. I put a mattress protector on the bed, made sure they went to the toilet last thing and that was it.
Both were around 3 and I'd say we only ever had a couple of wet beds ever.
They didn't often get up to wee at night but would wake me if they did.

[tomhazard]

Put her in a bed first. When dd was 2-3 she wouldn't like to go by herself and would call for company!

Ds we just made sure he had a good wee before he goes to bed and he has never woken for a wee- just waits till the morning.

If she's sometimes dry then it's worth a try - you might find it a seamless transition.