Hi, my 18 month old has recently started pulling his penis up out of his (disposable) nappy, we think early in the morning when he's just woken, and of course weeing all over the cot bedding. I am sick of washing bed clothes and mattress tops. Of course boys like to play with their penises but this seems different as he really only does this first thing in the morning, though he does tug at his nappy at other times of day. I am wondering if it's a potty training sign, like he wakes in the morning and needs a big morning wee, and it's connected to that.
For nearly a month (he's nearly 19 months now) he's been telling us when he's done a poo, so we can change his nappy, as he doesn't like to sit in it. I taught him the word poo and he knows it comes from his bum and he likes to have a look at it in the nappy when I'm changing him. In the past week or two he's started sometimes saying "poo" when he hasn't actually done one. Initially we thought he was confusing farts with having done a poo, and also it started when he had a bug and his tummy/bum was upset. However we've noticed that usually when this happens, he then does a poo say 10 minutes later, so I am wondering if he is now at the stage where he knows what a poo coming feels like and can anticipate it before he's actually done it - from what I've read, about 18 months is a normal age for that physical development/understanding.
So my question is whether anyone thinks this new penis out weeing issue is maybe connected to his developing understanding of his bodily eliminations, and is a sign I should think about low-pressure casual potty training? It's earlier than I had planned but I learnt from his brother that you have to go with their signs. With his brother, as with this one, I planned to start at about 2 and a half but he wanted to start just after 2 when he moved up to the toddler room at nursery and all the older kids were doing it. It took about 4 months with a lot of accidents but come 2 and a half something clicked and he had got it, no more accidents, and at the same time announced he didn't want a nappy at night. He had 1 night accident 2 weeks later when he had a fever, but never again (he's 6 and a half now). So I do want to run with what this one wants to do and I don't want to miss the window, if this is it, just because it's earlier than I expected. But it's harder interpreting their signals when they are mostly pre-verbal!
Thanks for any suggestions. Oh I did get out the old potty last night and put it in the bathroom and talk to him about it. He had fun sitting on it a few times last night (naked), though with no result, and again this morning (in his clothes!).
If anyone thinks this is nothing to do with potty training, then any suggestions on what to do about the weeing in the cot would be greatly appreciated! I can't think of any clothing I could put him in, especially during Spring/Summer, that would stop him getting to it. Even when he was in a baby sleeping bag, he would get his arms in down the arm holes to remove his PJs and undo the poppers on his vest. Now, he almost never is still in his PJs by morning. He's a baby Houdini.