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Newly potty trained and waking early for a wee...

13 replies

moggle · 04/08/2017 09:59

Feel free to tell me to suck it up and it's just part of being a parent, but if anyone's got any good ideas I'd love to hear them before I do indeed suck it up...

Since DD (2y9m) started sleeping through at 13m she has never been a particularly early riser, usually waking about 7-7:30ish and happy to stay in her cot until we came to get her, which meant on the weekends we'd usually not hear from her until 8am. i know, we have been really, really lucky with her. Our family routine is kind of based around this (eg we usually go to bed about 11-11:30, and mornings we are just up and out quickly).
We took the side off her cot in April and when she started coming out of her bedroom in the morning we told her she needed to stay in there until we came to get her but she could turn her lamp on and look at books, play with toys etc.
She potty trained last month, pretty instantly as we didn't start until she was telling us she needed a wee. Now she's nowhere near dry at night but in the morning I think she stirs at about 6am and instead of just turning over and going back to sleep she realises she needs a wee, gets up and shouts at us she needs a wee.
Then once she's been, she will not go back to sleep because she knows it's morning (even though we tell her its still night time...). She's knackered from waking up over an hour earlier, she's dropped her nap and is very resistant to the idea of a sleep even when clearly exhausted. We've been going to bed earlier but I'm pregnant with twins and I need all the sleep I can get, DH never sleeps well either, usually falling asleep well past midnight or 1am no matter what time he turns the light off, and so he really needs those hours in the early morning.

Is it a terrible idea to just tell her to wee in her nappy? Sometimes we don't wake up quick enough and then when we get to her she just says, Oh, I just did it in my nappy. No upset or anything. But it seems a bit backwards to tell her to just do it in her nappy having seen her do so well with potty/toilet training? But it could be months if not even years before she's actually dry at night so we could be looking at a long time of these early wake ups.

I can imagine many bad repercussions of putting a potty in her room, and I think she's too young to use the toilet with no supervision/assistance.

Suspect the answer is no, but are there any other ideas? Her room is blacked out but once she opens her door a crack she can see it's 'daytime'. She will go back to her bed for maybe 20 mins or half an hour but then gets bored and wants us...

OP posts:
keepitgoing · 04/08/2017 14:24

How about taking her for a wee before you go to bed, then she will go back to sleep easily and might wake a bit later

moggle · 04/08/2017 15:17

Hmm that is worth a try actually. Thank you! She definitely still pees while asleep though at some point during the night. But if her nappy is still dry when we go to bed then I can do that and try and get her to wee. Might make a difference as she won't drink any more so maybe her bladder will be empty ish until the morning...

OP posts:
Mar15mite · 04/08/2017 15:19

How about a gro clock to tell her even if she gets up for a wee it's still night time?

DameDiazepamTheDramaQueen · 04/08/2017 15:22

Potty by her bed , and tell her once she's used it to go back to bed. Worked a treat with ds. If she comes to you or shouts then do rapid return.

moggle · 04/08/2017 15:25

Mar I have been thinking about that. If it doesn't pass I might have to get one. Needs a bit of tough love too I think... this week when we've told her it's still night time she just bursts into screaming tears. (same as when we tell her anything she doesn't like...)

Dame my problem with the potty in her room is that I can see her trying to be helpful and trying to carry it out of the room, opening the door, spilling it everywhere... I'm also worried if she has an unexpected poo it'll be a big mess... I would rather have more sleep than most things, but more sleep vs wee and poo to clear up in the morning is a tough call!

OP posts:
DameDiazepamTheDramaQueen · 04/08/2017 15:27

Potty with a lid?

moggle · 04/08/2017 15:38

OMG that's so cute! Not sure I can bring myself to buy another potty... Have bookmarked that, let's see how we are feeling after another few nights of the same! I'll be banging Argos's door at opening time on monday... Thanks!!!

OP posts:
moggle · 04/08/2017 15:38

Poo mess though would probably be due to wiping attempts... I need a mini bidet for her!

OP posts:
BellyBean · 08/08/2017 10:46

I'd go for a gro clock and encourage quiet play in her room on her own until the sun comes up (start with say 6:30 and nudge back towards a reasonable hour).

You could supervise a wee in the potty in the bedroom, so there's no leaving the bedroom until morning.

moggle · 08/08/2017 11:09

So ... we tried lifting her for a wee over the weekend - she would do one half asleep at 11pm, but still by 6am she had a wet nappy and managed to do a wee on the toilet. So that sadly was not the answer.

So last night I put a potty in her room and we talked through what she would do... you can turn the lamp on if you can't see, have a wee, wipe your bottom with the tissue and put it in the potty, put your nappy back on if you want to or you can put pants on, then JUST LEAVE THE POTTY THERE. And DON'T tell mummy and daddy until we come into your room in the morning.
To be fair it was a lot to remember!
At 5 am she woke us calling 'done a wee wee, LEFT THE POTTY JUST THERE!!' from her door with her nappy round her ankles... yes it was in the potty at least! And she hadn't tried to move it! But we obviously need to keep working on the 'don't tell mummy and daddy' part. At least we all got back to sleep as it was so early. And when she did wake up at 7ish she just chilled in bed as she didn't need a wee, so we got to do most morning chores without her.

I guess it's hard to change the habit of telling us when she has done a wee as the last few months has been all about showering her with praise when she does it!

I am buying a gro clock today as well!

OP posts:
moggle · 08/08/2017 11:09

Sorry - meant to say thanks belly as well.

OP posts:
DameDiazepamTheDramaQueen · 08/08/2017 12:37

Small progress, well done!

Don't bother 'lifting' it's not recommended anymore. She sounds like she'll get there herself anywaySmile

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