I have a daughter who will be 4 in the begining of May. She has been potty trained since 2 1/2 and never has accidents - except for occasionally trying to get her pants down on time right in front of the potty. However, we haven't gotten even near to conquering night time. She doesn't go very often during the day - sometimes hours at a time, and I think that "may" be the problem. At night, her pull ups are completely full. They are rarely even light. I asked her pediatrician, and she said that unless I can teach her to do tricks in her sleep - which is what potty training in her sleep would amount to, then I would just have to wait it out, and not really worry until she is 5 or so. However, I have VERY few friends whose children are the same age and wear pullups at night.
She has woken me up one time in the middle of the night becuase she had to poop. Other than that, it is just pee, but from the weight, she must pee all night!
I have a new baby coming in less than 3 months, and the thought of getting up in the middle of the night to change sheets is keeping me from trying something drastic, but I would love to hear others advice of whether they waited out the night time thing, or forced the issue. She seems not to be bothered at all about wearing a pull up at night time, and when she moved in her big girl bed 2 months ago, we said "bet you don't even need a diaper anymore either". Help!
Don't worry about it. She will figure it out in her own time - like when she wants to have a sleep-over! My daughter will be 4 at the beginning of May as well and I still can't get her to poop in the toilet!!!! Hang in there!
The main thing I would say is, try not to worry how many of your friends' are night "trained." I know they say girls are supposed to "train" faster, but nighttime training is something they will do when their body is ready. I think you are right that once she starts going more often during the day it won't be as big of a deal. My 3 1/2 year old son was doing the same thing with holding it for a long time and then soaking the sheets even with a diaper or pull-up at night. Have you tried the nighttime pull-ups? Also it's a good idea to limit drinks after dinner before bed and try to have her go again just before bed. I am also thinking about getting something I saw in One Step Ahead that is a mattress pad that wraps around the middle of the bed so you don't have to change all the bedding. I was having a hard time with that as well since I was pregnant when that was happening more often. I have an 8 month old and I know what you mean about the idea of getting up even more often and changing the sheets every night or morning. Good luck with the new baby. Having two is a wonderful addition to our lives, but it is also a big change.
Each child develops differently. You have to consider when she consumes her liquid intake as to know when her bladder will need to be emptied. She apparently consumes moe liquid in the pm than the am, thus leading to her bladder emptying in the pm., Girls are usually easier to potty train than theie counter part, so the hard part is over there. You may need to set a routine with very little liquid intake after about 4 hours before bedtime, so if bedtime is 8 pm you will want to limit her intake to less than 8oz after 4pm, you also need to monitor if certain liquids generate more in the pull up. Also remember foods such as jello, popsicles and ice cream will liquify. Since you work from home you have a better ability to ensure when her liquids are consumed . You likely will have to train her bladder this way by adjusting the fluid intake. Also thru out the day you may need to say sweetie do you have to go pee? And try to get her in there and run the water to help her go, This may help in the battle. If these things don't help you may want to check with her pediatrician to see of there are any other undelying causes.
Hi, I'm a mom of 3 boys. This sounds so similar to what my younger sister went through as a child. She was fine all day but at night she never woke up to go. Finally the doctors found she had cistitis (sp?). That's when we learned she honestly couldn't help it. She is now a mom herself with 2 children and she doesn't wet the bed anymore either. =) N. R
