Night-times with my 3 1/2 yr old

[beatymomof2]

My daughter is 3 1/2 years old. We started daytime training back in July and had issues with pooping. We have gone about 1 month now with no accidents except at night. At first I wasn't too concerned about night-time training because I wanted her to get trained during the day first. The only thing that worked to for potty training thus far is just leaving her big girl underwear on during the day and if she peed we'd change into another. So I figured that I'd try this out at night since at night she doesn't even notice when her pull-up is yet (this was also a problem we had during the day). So I let her pee the bed for a couple of nights and she doesn't even notice when her clothes, bed, or favorite night-night is wet in the middle of the night. Now that I am back to work (I had a week off when I tried this) I can't really wake up several times in the middle of the night checking for wet blankets and than washing her night-night that she has to have at when she naps or sleeps. My son isn't sleeping well at night and if I don't get so many hours of good sleep I end up with migraines and can't do anything for a day sometimes more. Her dad doesn't help much at all with the potty training. I would also like to mention that some mornings she will wake up dry but it's about 1 in 13. Anyone have any advice or suggestions for me? Thanks!

[Andrewsmom70]

Before potty training, kids don't have to THINK about when they pee or poop.  When they are asleep, the last thing on their minds is waking up to go potty if they aren't night trained.  It's a totally different thing than daytime when they are awake and alert and can understand the "need to go" feelings.  So, you have to totally rethink your approach for night training.

The child needs to learn to sleep a little lighter.  The best way to do this is to wake her up and get her to go potty right before you go to bed every night.  If you do this for about a month, she'll get use to waking around that time at night and will be sleeping lighter and will be able to recognize the "need to go" feeling easier.  For most kids, that's all they need to be night trained. 

There's also a post at the top of this forum that gives more specific instructions on how to night train.  You might want to check that out too.

[dolphin2005]

I tried that waking up my kid before i go to bed but she won't let you pick her up or wake her up or nothing she will yell and scream because she is cranky if you wake her up so then what can i do.

[beatymomof2]

Same with my daughter, still haven't been able to get her night trained and if I start try to wake her up she is a horror the next day and doesn't sleep well at nights at all and than is overly cranky at the daycare and preschool and starts acting out.  Hoping she'll just learn on her on soon.  Giving it a break for now, maybe next month I will try waking her up again!

Quoting dolphin2005:

I tried that waking up my kid before i go to bed but she won't let you pick her up or wake her up or nothing she will yell and scream because she is cranky if you wake her up so then what can i do.

[Andrewsmom70]

Quoting dolphin2005:

I tried that waking up my kid before i go to bed but she won't let you pick her up or wake her up or nothing she will yell and scream because she is cranky if you wake her up so then what can i do.

You have to decide who is going to be in control of the situation- you or her.  If you are going to let her be in control then you can expect things to stay the same.  If you are going to take charge, which may mean fighting her for a little while until she learns that she WILL get up and go potty, then you will have a much better chance of getting her night trained. 

When I initially night trained my son, he didn't want to get up either but after a few days of it, he was much more cooperative.  If you don't turn on any lights and use a somewhat bright lamp/night light in the bathroom they don't even have to really fully wake up.