What has happened to my normally potty trained three year old?

longwaytogo · 2006-02-25T20:29:06+00:00

Help before I go mad. DD3 end Jan has been clean and dry for months but for last few weeks has been wetting herself. She did it three times on Wed, twice on Thurs, twice Fri in the middle of Ikea today and now to top it all she has just pooed in her bed. What on earth is going on please????

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dinny · 25/02/2006 20:30

urine infection maybe..?

was it a little bit of poo? has she been constipated?

DumbledoresGirl · 25/02/2006 20:36

Was she having a tantrum during any of these times? My ds3 (aged 3) has been PT for 6 months but still loses control if he is left to scream when having a tantrum. (did so today! )

Original poster

longwaytogo · 25/02/2006 20:37

nope no tantrums, she just stands there and does it.

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DumbledoresGirl · 25/02/2006 20:38

Attention seeking?

Distracted?

Urinary infection?

Elibean · 25/02/2006 20:51

I don't know from experience, but was reading a couple of 'potty' books recently (as dd has decided she's interested) and it seems this isn't uncommon, especially in the under 3s.
I DO know from experience that dd (2.2) regresses in some way whenever she's going through a developmental milestone: eg she wanted to be carried up and down stairs a couple of weeks ago, same week she decided she wanted to be big and pee in the potty.
Hope the experts have some tips for you..does she seem upset about it?

Original poster

longwaytogo · 25/02/2006 21:07

took her to GP on Fri no sign of infection but have sent a sample off just in case.

No she doesn't get upset. In fact she had to sit in her wet clothes for an hour until we got out of Ikea and into the car. She wasn't bothered at all. Earlier when she pooed in the bed she just looked at me with no expression really.

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NotQuiteCockney · 25/02/2006 21:28

Any changes at home? Could she be doing this to annoy you?

You have my sympathy. My DS1 is 4y5m and has suddenly started having wee accidents, after being dry for over a year. Well, he had a big one yesterday and a small one today. At least he's upset about it, though.

Original poster

longwaytogo · 25/02/2006 21:36

We have just bought a house although we haven't moved yet. Some boxes have been packed and we have talked about new house etc. But surely this wouldn't affect her, especially seems that there has been no actual change as of yet.

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Elibean · 25/02/2006 22:01

I think it could. My dog used to react to boxes being packed, and he wasn't as smart as a two year old!

Blu · 25/02/2006 22:13

I suspect that the prosepct of moving, and boxes being packed could very well cause this.
Honestly.
I started a thread sometime in November about DS suddenly wetting himself, and LOADS of people gave examples of just this.
Has she seen the new house, or is it all a great Unknown?
I bet you are more stressed, or at leats busire, too - which could also have an effect.

spidermama · 25/02/2006 22:23

My ds was dry for months and months then started doing this at about the same age as your dd. He'll be four tomorrow and he's still in night nappies, having once been free of them for months. I have no idea what went wrong.

Commiserations and good luck.

Jbck · 25/02/2006 23:54

DD 2.8 at the time had been potty trained for a few months & we started going through a v stressful time over house move & she went back to ending up in nappies because we couldn't cope anymore. House being up for sale didn't help as we probably didn't try hard enough but I couldn't keep having wet patches on the carpet when I had viewers coming. We just gave up trying & let her get back to it in her own time because she would get so upset if she had an accident after the first few weeks. At first she'd just stand there & let it happen like your describing. All of a sudden she decided she wanted rid of her pull-ups for good & even better within a month or two of being confidently dry all day she said she didn't want pull-ups to bed either. Hope it sorts itself out soon.

Original poster

longwaytogo · 26/02/2006 09:35

Thanks for all your replies. She has seen the new house quite a few times. I'm really really trying not to react now. At first i just simply said never mind, but now she is really infuriating me because I know she can do it. Thing is there is even more stress to come. We hopefully complete on Fri then on Monday I start a new job which is only 15 hours a week but a week and a half full time induction, so my mum is coming to look after them. They have had me at home full time for the last 7 months so goodness help us is all I can say.

Oh well at least I wont be here all day so won't see what she's doing.

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OuiOui · 27/02/2006 09:47

I was just about to start a similar thread. My dd is 4.5 years old and has been potty trained since 2.5. We have just moved countries and she is wetting ehrself every other day. BTW, she is still in night time nappy. Totally against not wearing one. we tried it for 2 nights and she wet the entire bed and slept through it.

Amongst other things I think she must be stressed. On the surface she's fine but she's really stopped listening and reasoning. cajoling, threatening and all methods are no longer having an effect. I don't know what to do anymore. I also have "shyness" behavioural issues which I will post on another thread... It's all linked.
But really my question is "should I just ignore the wetting?" and hope she'll stop or do I go back to step one and take her every hour again?

OuiOui · 27/02/2006 09:54

I was just about to start a similar thread. My dd is 4.5 years old and has been potty trained since 2.5. We have just moved countries and she is wetting ehrself every other day. BTW, she is still in night time nappy. Totally against not wearing one. we tried it for 2 nights and she wet the entire bed and slept through it.

Amongst other things I think she must be stressed. On the surface she's fine but she's really stopped listening and reasoning. cajoling, threatening and all methods are no longer having an effect. I don't know what to do anymore. I also have "shyness" behavioural issues which I will post on another thread... It's all linked.
But really my question is "should I just ignore the wetting?" and hope she'll stop or do I go back to step one and take her every hour again?

OuiOui · 27/02/2006 09:54

I was just about to start a similar thread. My dd is 4.5 years old and has been potty trained since 2.5. We have just moved countries and she is wetting ehrself every other day. BTW, she is still in night time nappy. Totally against not wearing one. we tried it for 2 nights and she wet the entire bed and slept through it.

Amongst other things I think she must be stressed. On the surface she's fine but she's really stopped listening and reasoning. cajoling, threatening and all methods are no longer having an effect. I don't know what to do anymore. I also have "shyness" behavioural issues which I will post on another thread... It's all linked.
But really my question is "should I just ignore the wetting?" and hope she'll stop or do I go back to step one and take her every hour again?

jaspercat · 27/02/2006 10:23

Glad to hear others are having a similar experience. My son just three was just about fully potty trained last summer but in last few months has regressed completely. I was getting so cross about the constant changes of clothes and it was aggravating his legs as he has exzcama so we have had to go back to pull ups - at least that way we are both happier. There is no apparent reason - no changes in his life or routine so I have just decided to leave it for a bit and try again when the weather is a bit warmer. Probably wrong thing to do but haven't got the energy to do otherwise.

Elibean · 27/02/2006 10:36

I'm not there yet, but...I think I would go back a step with her (ie take her to the potty regularly, use night nappies, whatever it takes) and at the same time, say something like 'Mummy is going to help you remember when to wee/poo for a while, because we've made/are making such big changes and that might be why you are forgetting. Then when you feel ready, you can remember all on your own again'.
(Off the top of my head and in a rush - am sure someone can say it better!)
In other words, take a step back with her - but also verbalize things for her. And hopefully, anything that makes a child feel more secure will help the potty training get back on track faster!

Elibean · 27/02/2006 10:37

jaspercat, I do'nt think its a wrong thing to do...fwiw, I think sometimes we all need to regress a bit, and the fastest way forward again is to go with it! Plus if you're less stressed, that will help too - gentler on everyone.

lazycow · 27/02/2006 11:28

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Original poster

longwaytogo · 27/02/2006 19:51

we may have got some answers today as we had a paediatric appointment asked for by speech therapist but we missed it due to spending the afternoon getting dd2 leg stitched up. So will have to wait now till we get next appointment.

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