DS Night training at the same time as potty training

[sportinguista]

My DS is 2.5 and so far is potty training well, the wees went fine and now the poos, no problem with using either potty or toilet and also out and about, you'd think I've got it made.

But he also seems to want to be dry at night, something I really wasn't expecting straight away. He wakes up in the night now at least once often more and asks to use the potty. Unfortunately he's still in a cot and even if we put him in a bed (which is the plan) he would still need assistance to go at the moment. Has anybody else had this happen? What is the best way to work around it? He is using pull ups at night and he was previously ok with nappies or these. But he seems to be resistant to these now and even if he's not weed in them shouts 'All wet!"

Should I try night time pants are they any different? Any advice would be much appreciated...

You could take one side off the cot, it would be very low to the ground and you could either use one of those bed 'sides' or just put pillows on the floor in case he falls out.

I think you will have to keep getting out to help him as he is so young. Night time pants are really just glorified pull-ups, but you might be able to persuade DS to keep them on just in case if he still wets sometimes. He needs to be able to manage pulling them down and up by himself and using the potty on his own before you can let him do it himself, and even then he would probably like the reassurance of someone to help him in the dark.

My DS was dry at night immediately upon being day trained a week or so after his 2nd birthday. He was already in a bed so I put a potty in the room, but to be honest he wasn't really able to use it on his own and so would call us regularly in the early hours of the morning which was exhausting - he would get out of bed and try and sit on the potty and get tangled in his PJs or run through to the bathroom and end up with a puddle on the floor. Keeping a nappy on made no difference as he would still get up and call for us and get upset if he wee'd in the nappy. We resolved this by lifting him before we went to bed and he would then be dry through to morning and we would escape the early hours wake. After a few months once he was reliable at using the potty without any assistance and pulling pjs up and down we stopped lifting him and left him to it and he has been fine ever since. Now at 2.9 he no longer even has a potty in his room and never wakes - he seems to be able to hang on much longer and can get on the loo first thing in the morning if he needs to. So I'd say that this is basically a short term problem, I would suggest lifting him for a couple of months until he no longer needs assistance and then take the side off his cot and put a potty in the room.

Thank you for the advice. I think I will try lifting and this may give us a little more time asleep. He's just too little to manage on his own just yet. I was mainly just surprised at him wanting to be dry at night as well since I'd been told it was more common for that to follow much later, but to be honest it saves time him doing both at once.

I wouldnt start lifting unless you are planning on waking him properly as you will just be teaching him to wee in his sleep which you dont want! I would just get up with him when he needs to wee in the night. I never put a potty in the room and just went to the toilet with them.

To update he seems to be ok and has settled down to a once a night wee which is perfectly manageable so until he can go on his own we shall continue. Thanks for all advice.