Nighttime wees

[Mummytocl2]

My DS has been potty trained in the day for a few months and goes to bed in a nappy. This week he's taken it upon himself to stay dry at night and wakes us up to take him to the toilet instead which is great!

Problem is that he has slept through since being a baby so the concept of going back to sleep after being up in the night is a bit foreign to him.

Once he woke for a wee at 1am and the next day at 3am. Both times it took him 2 hours to get back to sleep. 2 other days he needed the wee at 6am and so didn't get back to sleep at all (usual wake up time is 7.30).

He woke at 1am today and I think he's just about nodding off again now 1.5 hours later (and I'm wide awake struggling to get back to sleep as heavily pregnant, but that's another story!)

So he is seriously missing out on sleep which in turn impacts his behaviour. He has even nodded off on the way to nursery as he starts to flag by 8am.

I feel bad that he is so tired. Is this normal when they first learn to stay dry? Will he naturally start keeping it in longer till the morning or get used to going back to sleep? What can I do to help?

Is he a deepish sleeper? My DP used to take the boys to pee in the dark around 11pm when he went to bed and because it wasn't their own bodies waking them up they fell back to sleep okay.

I am in exactly the same boat with my son, also heavily pregnant. Yesterday he was up for the day at 4.50am. I felt like I was having a nervous breakdown yesterday was so tired. I’ll try the wake to wee when I go to bed tactic, see if that works. Reminds me a bit of ‘dream-feeds’ which never worked for me, but some people swore by.
Last night I tried putting a potty in his room overnight. He has a little nightlight he can do himself so my hope is that he can do this himself soon after we’ve helped a few times. Being in his room and doing it alone might make it less disturbing. Sorry, nothing more helpful than that, but will be delighted if someone comes along and says that this clear itself up really quickly!

Mine never woke me in the night for a wee. But my oldest was still wetting the bed late on, so when we went to bed we would wake her and walk her to the loo. That stopped her wetting the bed.

I used to lift kids and put on the loo for a 'dream wee' when I went up to bed.

Can't believe I hadn't thought of a dream wee, such a good idea! Thank you, I think I'll try that. Even if he takes a while to get back to sleep after I'd rather that happens at 11pm than 2am, it's a killer! Doesn't give me any time for proper sleep either side of it.

@AutumnVibes sorry you are in the same situation! I find myself wishing he would just wee in his nappy so I can sleep! Baby is due next week and I was looking forward to some final long uninterrupted nights before it all goes wrong. I feel like crying most mornings I am so tired.

Weirdly, it's now 7am and he didn't wake last night. Let's see if he weed in his nappy or just didn't need one! Feeling much better for having one OK-ish night! (Still woke a few times when he stirred thinking I'd have to take him to the loo!).

@goodnightgrandma that's amazing yours never woke you! Gives me hope he'll soon be able to consistently hold it in all night!

We've been nappy free for 10 days now,

I've got into a routine of lifting her to the toilet at 10pm, she's really groggy and tired at that time so she's going straight back to sleep afterwards and then is sleeping through to her normal time afterwards.

We've had 3 nights where she has had an accident prior to 10pm but other than that she's been dry. Definitely try lifting.

Right, I’m feeling bold enough to try a dream wee tonight. Will let you know how it goes…

How old is he?

With my little boy (3.5 year old) we kept him in nappies for a while after was dry in the day, and he was having bottles of milk before bed.

Potty trained him at 2 years 8 months during day, eventually got him off the bottles before bed and he still wore nappies for a while at night. Once he was dry all night for a few weeks/a month eventually ditched the nappy, and he only wakes up every now and then for a wee at night.

I would recommend if you don't already limiting drinks before bedtime. My little boy has a smallish drink (like, a fruit shoot bottle kind of size) of milk at least one hour before bed and no liquids after that.

Does he use a potty? Could you put one in his room he can use independently overnight?

I’ve put the potty in overnight and currently help him go to that. He’s almost 3, potty trained in the day for quite a while. I’m really not in a hurry for him to night train for wees but he’s sort of doing it himself. I’d rather have had the sleep! Will try the dream wee/potty combination and see how things go. Thanks all for the advice.

Good luck @autumnvibes! Let us know how it goes.

Weirdly since the night after I posted DS hasn't woken in the night for a wee and just keeps it in till morning, hope it lasts! If not I'll give the dream wee a go. @Galaxygirl93, limiting drinks in the hour or 2 before bed seems to have helped as well indeed!

Also wasn't in a rush to night train him at all, he just decided to do it himself, he's a bit older though, almost 3.5.