Toddler (2.4) weeing every 15 minutes.

[Jenkeywoo]

Hi, I'm hoping for some advice and reassurance. My daughter Emma (2.4) is aware when she wees and poos and is interested in wearing pants and using the potty and toilet. My problem is that she wees every 10-15 mins - we have tried to put her in big girl pants and she literally got through about 6 pairs of pants in an hour. I decicded to leave it again for a while but this week she has been making such a big fuss about nappy changes and seems almost embarrassed of having a wet or dirty nappy. I have put her back into the cloth nappies I used when she was younger and she calls them her special pants and really doesn't want to wet them. It all works if I ask her if she needs a wee and put her on the potty every 15 mins. But I also have a little 9 month old girl and I'm just able to give potty training the time and consistency needed. I feel really guilty because all of her little friends are much further ahead and if she was an only child I would have the time to give her the attention she needs.

Do you think that she will always wee this often? Do you think I should carry on potty training in dribs and drabs or does it need a concerted effort? (in which case, how? with DD2 taking up so much time - she doesn't sit up yet so seems to always be in my arms as she now hates lying down and wants to be up like a big girl).

Sorry this is a long one and thanks in advance for any advice.

Jenny x

Mum to Emma - 16th August 2004 and Heather - 26th March 2006 (born at 35 weeks)

I coud'nt be doing with putting her on the potty every 10-15 minutes. Keep her in nappies. My 3 year old is still in daytime nappies.

My ds is a frequent wee-er too! He was showing similar signs to your dd, not liking nappies etc. I was quite aware that he was very young to be potty trained (about same as your dd) so I decided to let him take it at his pace, which mainly involved letting him be nude whenever we were at home and having a potty in each room. Then gradually I put pants on him while at home, lots of which ended up wet!
I then began short journeys in pants- taking the potty with me and always ready to do an emergency wee stop!
The longer journeys I kept him in a nappy, especially if he was likely to fall asleep, but made sure I stopped if he said he needed to go.
Within a few months he was completely dry during the day. He then decided he didn't want to wear nappies at night, he was about 2.7 and I had just had ds2 so was very concerened it just wasn't the right time but putting nappies on at night were causing bedtime to become very fraught...so one night I decided to give it a go. He woke up at 9 to go on the potty, then slept through and has been dry ever since!

I think the key is not to panic, each child is different, I was pregnant and very ill through most of ds's potty training and let him get on with it he was trained quite quickly, a friend of mine with just one ds same age, spends every waking second trying to potty train him and he is still nowhere near dry. It's not your "fault" she just isn't ready yet!
(the naked thing works much better in the summer if you can manage to wait)
Sorry to have rambled on!

As an afterthought, it's an absolute nightmare taking a toddler who wants to wee every ten minutes out and about visiting or shopping. Much better to have a nappy on (the toddler that is!), and far less stressful for you, which is the most important thing.

It may be worth persisting for a little while. My DD wanted to sit on the potty ALL the time when we first started training her (2.6). She wasn't as bad when we went out, being out and about seemed to distract her. Nursery distracted her even more, and she had as many accidents in a day there as she's ever had at home! The novelty seemed to wear off after six weeks or so, and she settled into a more normal routine of going to the loo. I think she was just using the potty as she had a nappy - she had control, but didn't bother as she had a nappy on, so when she went into pants she could hold on, but didn't really think to, if that makes sense.

Thank you for all your help - we've had a real grizzly day from both my girls today so the potty didn't even enter my head and neither did Emma ask for it - so I guess for now we're back to as and when!

Jenny

haven't read the whole thread but i recognise the weeing every 15 mins.
My dd1 did this - for months - 4 months in fact and i refused to give in and go back to nappies. (so did she, i overdid the "ooh, look big girl pants, babies wear nappies blah blah).
so i had 4 months of mopping up wee. plus a baby who had just started crawling. disastrous combo.
Anyway, before i depress you completely, all of a sudden she got it and her wees were longer and she could hold it. This happened in the space of a week. I just think physically she wasn't ready when we started though behaviourally and mentally she was. her bladder just wasn't ready to hold the wee.

I would stop and try again in a few months. If she is ready it really is quite quick and relatively painless. Don't go through what we did.