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Potty training

Is your child ready for potty training at nursery? Here's the place for all your toilet training questions.

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Original poster

3.5 DD waking up EVERY night with a wet nappy!

21 replies

Parkmama · 31/10/2015 01:22

My daughter is 3.5 and has been dry in the day for over a year, most of the time it's successful with the occasional accident. She is happy to wear pull ups for bed and we've seen a few dry ones in the morning but this is rare. We encourage a wee before bed, we don't lift her and we're not in any rush for her to be dry until she is developmentally ready. For the last 3 months she has been waking up almost every night coming in to ask us to change her nappy, she seems to do a wee in her sleep and it wakes her up, she's uncomfortable and wants to be dry. We put a fresh pull up on and 9 times out of 10 that will be dry in the morning so it looks like she's doing just the one wee overnight. Getting a bit tired of her constantly waking us to deal with this so wondering if we should push things along and encourage her to use the loo when she wakes? She won't go without us in the night at this point which is fine and I'd be happy to get up with her to support her but i feel like changing her nappy every night is like we're regressing somewhat! Any thoughts? Should we just continue on and wait for her to eventually go all night and wake up dry? I don't think the need to go wakes her, it's the wet nappy after! Thanks in advance x

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

beavington · 31/10/2015 01:28

Aren't pull ups supposed to feel wet and a bit yucky or is it just certain types? Would a normal nappy have better absorbancy? My potty trained dc fills a normal nappy overnight so I wouldn't consider downgrading to a pull up!

CordeliaFoxx · 31/10/2015 01:49

Is there any other problems? Speech delay for example?

fanjoforthemammaries7850 · 31/10/2015 02:32

Yes I'd definitely take her to use toilet on night. It could still be a while before she is dry in night so that might be an intermediate step.

I think 3.5 is a perfectly normal age to stoll not be dry at night so I wouldn't think of this as a development delay cordelia?

fanjoforthemammaries7850 · 31/10/2015 02:33

Excuse typos..am tired

poocatcherchampion · 31/10/2015 02:40

I might seem unsympathetic but I would be telling her that she only gets one nappy a night and to jog on until the morning.

I resent changing my newborn's nappy at night

RitaConnors · 31/10/2015 04:16

I would either go back to nappies which are more absorbent than pull ups or I would tell her that she can take the pull up off when she wakes up and put it in the bin and go back to sleep. She could wear a nightdress to make it easier.

duchesse · 31/10/2015 04:48

6yo dd3 is still in nappies at night. There are no problems, and her siblings were in nappies at night until a lot later than this so we are not worried. Dh and I were both also very late in this respect. It's not voluntary, it depends on whether they are awakened by a full bladder, which none of us was until very late.

differentnameforthis · 31/10/2015 08:42

I might seem unsympathetic but I would be telling her that she only gets one nappy a night and to jog on until the morning. Would you like to sit/sleep in wet smelly underwear all night?

It could be the sensation of needing to go to the toilet wakes her, but like you say, doesn't want to use the toilet at night without you.

You are regressing, you are progressing, but the truth is that night time wetting won't stop until her body releases the hormone that suppresses urine production.

DeathMetalMum · 31/10/2015 08:50

Have you thought about trying without the nappy? Dd1 was doing this and we took her nappy off, she was actually waking up before weeing then asking for it to come off. I only worked this out as I heard her in the morning, wake, say I've done a wee, thenn call out for one of us. We had a couple of wet beds over the first two weeks or so but most of the time she got up and took herself to the toilet.

poocatcherchampion · 31/10/2015 12:59

But that is the point of nappies different

You wee in them and they are changed afterwards. Same concept as sanitary towels. I can't say I love it but I tolerate it.

I'd be encouraging my child to put it out of her mind and go back to sleep.

fanjoforthemammaries7850 · 31/10/2015 13:00

She doesn't sound like she needs a nappy though. She needs to have a pee in toilet in night.

poocatcherchampion · 31/10/2015 13:01

Agree that is worth a try too

GreenSand · 31/10/2015 13:11

Yes to encouraging toilet trips at night.
Also worth trying double voiding before bed, so toilet, bath, teath, story, toilet, lights out. Or whatever you normally do, but add in a second toilet trip.
My 4.5 yr old has only just stopped waking us if he needs a wee at night, and has been night dry for 12-18 months.

Original poster

Parkmama · 31/10/2015 21:37

Thanks everyone for your thoughts, have gone nappy free tonight and layered up the waterproofs and sheets, I figure I'm getting up anyway I may aswell get up to change the sheets and hopefully this might encourage her to wake to use the toilet. we shall see!

OP posts:

differentnameforthis · 01/11/2015 00:37

poocatcherchampion So if you woke & knew that you had flooded your sanitary towel, you would happily go back to sleep & hope that no more liquid is added causing a leak, or that it didn't cause you to get a sore bum/vulva... or would you change it?

Also, please remember that urine is way more acidic than blood, and is far more likely to cause nappy rash than a blood soaked towel.

Changing nappies is part of being a parent, I don't think it is fir on the child for you to decide that they nee to sit/sleep in a urine soaked nappy juts because you can't be bothered to lose some sleep.

differentnameforthis · 01/11/2015 00:38

Excuse typos.

differentnameforthis · 01/11/2015 00:51

I'd be encouraging my child to put it out of her mind and go back to sleep And that is great if you have a child that is able to do that, one of mine wouldn't have been able to, and we would have suffered more by trying to convince her to do it, than by just changing her.

ijustwannadance · 01/11/2015 01:02

I left potty near DD's bed for a few months. She couldn't make it to the bathroom in the dark, half asleep. Also stopped her having to wake me up and easy to empty in morning. After a while she naturally started to sleep through without needing to go.

Lweji · 01/11/2015 01:02

I figure I'm getting up anyway I may aswell get up to change the sheets and hopefully this might encourage her to wake to use the toilet.

If she wakes up with a wet nappy but not to wee, it won't matter if she is in nappies or not.

It's her brain that doesn't wake up when she needs to wee.
She can control it and you can't train her or teach her.
She won't be dry at night until her brain produces enough of a certain hormone (forgot the name), so you will have to wait until it does. Sorry.

Meanwhile, at best you can limit the damage, by giving the last drink at least one hour before bed, making sure she wees just before bed, and with luck that she takes off her wet nappy and goes back to sleep without waking you up. Good luck.

GreenSand · 01/11/2015 03:46

Just a thought, if the second nappy is dry, could you just remove the first nappy, and then leave her to sleep, ie don't put on a second nappy? That would speed up the changing time.
Hope message not needed, and you had a good night.

WSM123 · 04/11/2015 01:56

Is there a particular time she wakes you ?? if so maybe waking her and taking her to the toilet at that time could save some hassle and will teach her to be aware of the urge to pee (I remember in the old days they had sensor matresses that sounded an alarm at the first drip to wake the child to train them, similar sort of thing, but you are waking her)

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