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Potty training and night waking- connected? (2 year old)

2 replies

ShushBaby · 13/03/2012 19:42

Our dd (23 months) has generally slept from 7pm-6am/6.30am for the last year or so, give or take the odd blip. Unfortunately the latest blip has been going on for several weeks now.

She usually goes down to sleep fine in the evening (though tonight we had 'mummy tuck my rabbit in'/'mummy tuck my arms in'/'mummy I need a drink' etc, which was a new trick!).

Then she wakes 2-3 times in the night and needs resettling. It doesn't take long but is tiresome.

She is recently toilet trained and is out of nappies at night too (at her request). Often the wake-up is to say she needs the potty, when usually she doesn't. Before this new phase started she would rarely wake for a wee in the night and would usually be dry in the morning- this was the case for months even before she was dry in the day. Now it's at least one potty call per night, and one or more potty calls that come to nothing.

Or, she wants a drink or to be tucked in or whatever.

She always goes back to sleep straight away afterwards. So in some ways it's not so bad. But I am newly pregnant, and my partner works full time, so while it is not the end of the world for us to get up for a minute or two, I am concerned about this continuing.

We don't want to ignore her, as I don't want her to genuinely need a wee and us not come, and then she wet the bed (this has happened once when she didn't specifically announce she needed a wee, but just shouted), which might leave her with anxiety around weeing or just make her feel bad.

However I do feel that she has us over a barrel to some extent, as she seems to know that a call for the potty is guaranteed to bring us to her side.

It would be no good putting her back in nappies, as she has refused to wee in a night time nappy since potty training started, and will ask to go to the potty in the night whether or not she's in a nappy.

A few other details that may or may not help:
In terms of day time sleep, she has a 1-2 hour nap. There has been a lot of practical upheaval in our house in the last few months (building work). And her talking has come on phenomenally- it the last month or so she has started conversing like a 'normal' human being.

Any clues/tips?

OP posts:
Teaandcakeplease · 14/03/2012 07:43

I leave the potty in my daughter's room for her to use overnight. Could you give that a try? I also leave an anyway up cup with water in, in her room too.

Can you start a star chart and a treat if she stays in her bed all night? Or buy a Gro clock and explain she cannot get up until the sunshine appears?

TheGreatHunt · 14/03/2012 08:09

Sounds like DS who's a few months older but not toilet trained. He just seems to wake at night and need resettling sometimes. If he's had a day with lots of fresh air (as in morning and afternoon) and a sip of camomile tea before bed, he's more likely to go through. I think he's started dreaming too and sometimes you hear him reciting a song or story so his brain must be in overdrive!

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