Potty Training - Lincoln, CA

This worked for us (my son was 4 when he was finally trained).
We had him go potty at bed time, then we would wake him up about 11 (when we went to bed) to go again. You don't wake him up entirely, just gently whisper to him and help him get to the bathroom. after a while he would get up himself to go when he was sleeping and now, at 4 1/2 he doesn't have to get up at all. no accidents anymore either. Be Patient and kind. that's all it takes.

If you can convice him that pull-ups are night time under wear, it may help. My son was the same way, he only had to wear pull ups for a couple months until he had better blatter control. Children are incredibly smart, he may only be three, but try reasoning with him. Tell him when he can sleep through the night without accidents he can wear the regular under wear. Also, to prevent accidents in the middle of the night, dont give him too much liquids before bed.

I would try pull-ups. My son is 4 in April and we are still having accidents, but greatly improving every week. Most mornings he wakes up with a dry pull up, but sometimes it is full. The pull ups are put on just like underwear and hold about as well as a disposable diaper. Good luck
M. T

First, that is GREAT that he is wanting to! You have to strike while the iron is hot! I had the same concern, my 3 year old was completely potty trained during the day, and naptime, but mornings he had a soppping pull up! My girlfriend whose son is almost a year younger than mine said, just take off the pull up- get rid of it. You will have to get him up to pee at least once or twice in the night but its worth it! I thought there is no way he is going to be dry but after about 4-5 weeks so far he has only had 2 accidents! I usually wake him up between 1:30 and 2:30 to pee and he is dry in the morning. When we first started I got him up around 11 and then again around 3 - but he was doing so well that we are down to once and he actually got himself up a couple of times too! There is something subconscious inthem that knows when they have a pull up or diaper on..its amazing. TRY IT! I would have procrastinated it longer if my girlfriend hadn't encouraged me so hard...so i will do the same for you! You'll be amazed! Good luck!

have you tried pull ups at night? also, sometimes they have to have an accident, especially at night, to make them realize its not fun to have to get up and change in the middle of the night.

They now have the new ones out that look like shorts you might try those.

C. blakemore

R., when they are ready, they are ready. You will always have accidents, but if he wants to make this decision on his own, just have a couple clean sheets and towels to put down after cleaning and clothes to put him in and do it! He knows he wants it and it will come easier without the diaper. Unfortunately it will take a few un-fun nights of you getting up and cleaning up and getting the bed ready again, but if he is ready I bet it won't be long.

Also, if it doesn't work after a few nights then just calmly explain that maybe it isn't the right time and do the diaper/pullup for awhile longer until it looks like it can be handled. Whatever you do, don't compare yourself or your child to anyone else, they are all so different in everything and if he needs a diaper until 7th grade so what maybe he will invent something amazing (I know, a little crazy, but you know what I mean)

K.

I told my boys (now 6 and 7) that they had to wear "nighttime underwear" which were pull ups until they got through a week or so of being dry. After that we went to regular underwear and never looked back. Like your son, they pretty much took to potty training during the day pretty quickly. If he is staying dry through naps, I bet he'll do well at night too. Of course, be sure he goes right before bedtime and as soon as he wakes up. Good luck!

My son was the same way. I agree with the idea of putting him in underwear and let him go for it. I used to remind my son before bed to remember to wake up and use the toilet if he had to pee. The only way he will learn not to wet his bed is if his brain knows what it feels like to be wet. I never scolded him, he usually feels bad because HE doesn't like it - but I do tell him he needs to try and remember to wake up. He has only had about 4 accidents in the past 2.5 years. I have a mattress protector on his bed and keep an extra fitted sheet in his room just in case!

Congrats to your son! Big boy stuff!!!

Hi Rachel!

Sometimes all that is needed is an awareness. You may wish to try and explain that the way a person knows they are ready to go without a diaper at night is that they wake up with a dry diaper and use the potty instead of filling their diaper when they need to pee. The two main factors for success in my experience are 1. he is really physically ready to hold it, which it sounds like maybe he is, and 2. he is in control of his choice (because truly he is!). I've seen so many potty training disasters due to control battles. Sounds like he is ready on both counts. IT IS BEAUTIFUL THAT YOUR SON HAS TOLD YOU HE WANTS TO DO THIS! I would respond letting him know how exciting this is. Have him see if he can sleep without peeing in his diaper for a couple nights, then go for it! I waited to "train" both my boys until they asked for it. They were both 3 and a half. It only took a day, they did day and night at the same time, and they've never had an accident at night. I do layer two sets of waterproof mattress pads and sheets, just in case they do have an accident. That way I only have to take off the top set in the middle of the night. They have never peed in their beds, but they have thrown up! ;o)

Allowing your son to know and experience the gentleness and depth of your unconditional love for him whatever happens will absolutely ensure a beautiful experience for all of you. We tend to freak out when we are in the middle of these big milestones. In the big picture, all is well and before we know it, our kids are potty training their own kids!

Best wishes to you and your beautiful boys!
H.

When mine were at that stage, I bought pull-ups to use at night. We only used them at night and called them "night time underwear" for my son and "night time panties" for my girls. They were fine with wearing them then.

We aren't there yet but we have large puppy training pads ready. If their physical response isn't waking them to let them know it's time, being wet will. With the puppy pads, you spare the sheet and mattress. That is how we protect her car seat but small ones (12/15). Good luck. Jen P

I would start him on Pull-ups for the night only. They are neat and they have Buzz Lightyear on them. This way he can make it to the potty and pull them down easily. He can still wear his big boy underwear in the daytime. If you have to, move his portable potty closer to him. Sometimes they are just afraid of the dark and that is the only reason they don't want to get up. Make sure you give him a star if he goes in the night and give a reward for a certain number of stars. The reward could be a new book and extra hour in the park etc. Good-luck!

Hi,

I like what Gloria E. suggested, we did that too. My other suggestion is to wake him up twice at night at the same time, and know how much liquid intake they take.Then after a couple of weeks do once a night until they get use to it and pretty soon they will wake up on their own.

Good luck...

M.

Put a plastic sheet on his bed and go for it.

Like a few people have said, every child is different. But my son has not been successful with PUll-Ups at all, and neither was his older siser. Kids are smarter than you think and if it still feels like a diaper just putting it on standing up instead of lying down isn't enought to convince them that they are "night time underware" especially if they are already using regular underware during the day.

My son only had an accident or two at night when he first potty trained then after that no problems at all.
Just make sure you have plastic mattress cover under their sheets and check on them at night to see if they're wet because you don't want them to be wet all night and end up getting sick.
When they sleep through the whole night without wetting make it a big deal and really express to them how proud you are of them for being so good and they will feel really proud of themselves but even if they do wet don't make a big issue out of it just tell them they'll do better next time and give them a hug and reassure them that you love them.
Boys are always needing reassurance that we love them and approve of them and as long as they have that everything will be OK.

funny, but my son trained "backward". he said he didn't want a diaper at night. i argued with him that if he can't remember to go in the potty in the day how on earth would he remember not to go while sleeping. we made a deal. i told him if he woke up with a dry diaper, he could go without. he did. he was fine. good luck.

My middle son did the same thing one night. Just put a couple of towels under the sheet and make him use the toilet before bed and make sure the bathroom light is on and let him try! The worst thing that could happen is that you might have to wash some sheets.

When my son was 3 years old, I decided it was time to nighttime train him. He would go potty before bedtime and I would take him again about 11:00 P.M. Sleepy as he was he would walk to the
bathroom and go and walk back to bed where I tucked him in. Then when I went to bed I would set the alarm so I could get up and escort him to the bathroom. I started with three hour intervals to see how he would do and then lengthend the intervals until he would go through the night and/or he would wake himself up and go independently. This only took about a week and he was on his own quickly and proud of it. Having him involved in the choice is great for your future relationship. That little boy is now 54 years old and a joy to his widowed motherl. Recently I had back surgery and was concerned about going to a convalescent hospital. He told me to not worry about it since I was coming to his house until I felt able to take care of myself (which took 3 months) He even bought a wall mounted TV with a DVR which he mounted opposite my bed, so I could recuperate in style. We are wonderfully close and I count myself wealthy to have such a special son.

My younger son, now 9 did the same thing upon being fully potty trained during the day. I told him that if he had a dry diaper every night for two weeks, he would not have to wear them at night anymore. It worked! However, this was out of the norm according to my doctor and most people I have talked to about it.

I would let him try going without a diaper for a couple of nights and if he keeps wetting, tell him that he has to wear the diaper to keep his bed dry.

I also posted advice for a night time visualization and practice technique for the mother of a 4 year-old having problems waking up at night. See that post. My daughter turned 3 in December and I am going to start her on it because she gets very distraught when she wakes up with a wet Pullup.

Try Piddle Pads - you can find them at your local pet store. Just put one under his sheet at night, and if he has an accident, it's a lot easier to clean up. Also, if he does have a nighttime accident, very calmly and nicely ask him to help you clean it up - as if it's just part of the routine. The message should be "make a mess = clean it up... no big deal".

Also, put a potty chair in his room, close to his bed, with a night-light so he can see it, and let him know if he needs to go in the middle of the night, that's where he can go.

Congratulations on having a son who is so motivated, aware and articulate! Have you asked him why he doesn't want to wear a diaper at night?

My daughter made the same pronouncement "no more diapers" one night when I was out and her dad was putting her to bed. He went with it, while I might have tried to insist on the diaper - and she stayed dry from that night on.

Since he has done so well during the day, my suggestion would be to get a waterproof mattress pad and go for it. That solves the 'ruining the mattress aspect' - the other consideration, how do you think he'll feel if he has accidents? How did he handle the daytime accidents? Is he able to be philosophical about them?

Hi R.,

Definitely, do not put him in pull-ups! Pull-ups are expensive and prolong the situation.

If he is telling you that he does not want to wear a diaper at bedtime then I think you need to honor and respect his wants/needs. This is a milestone-

The same routine applys at bedtime as at nap time. Take him to the potty before bed and then tell him that if he needs to go to the potty during the night to get up and go or to get you for help! That's what we did and it worked.

Also, just know there will be accidents until he gets the hang of it, so have plenty of clean sheets ready to go at his bedside so you do not have to look for sheets at 4:00AM-

My two girlfriends also took this approach and it worked-yes we were changing sheets at 3:00/4:00AM but not for long and in the long run its so much better than wearing pull-ups, which are simply a crutch!

Also, I have another friend who just told me that her almost 6 year old still wears pull-ups-I do not recommend this path.

Good Luck and once he can use the potty himself and hold it until the morning you will be soooo happy yes it will take time and some effort but well worth it and will not break the bank!

Well I have three kids 9, 6, and 1. With the two older kids I protected the bed and woke up once through the night to see if they needed to use the restroom. And maybe ease up on the liquid two hours before bedtime. Let me tell ya if he say's he doesn't want the diaper on that's a big plus for you. If he has some accidents he prob won't like the way a wet diaper feels and he will be completely potty trained before you know it.

Have you tried Pull-ups at night? They have pictures on them. If there is wetness, the pictures fade.

Hi R.,
We just went through the same thing. My 3 year old son was so happy about wearing underpants during the day that he didn't like the diaper at night. I told him that he had to have a dry diaper in the morning for a certain number of days in a row, then he'd get a pull-up at night (only because we had some I was trying to use up) and then underpants. He still wanted the underpants, but he was motivated to keep the diaper dry. Within less than a month of having him wear underpants during the day, his diaper/pull up was dry in the morning for about a week or two and he started wearing underpants at night. He has only had about 1 or 2 accidents in 6+ weeks. One of those accidents was when he had a bunch of water before bed--even with us sending him to the potty afterwards. Also, he is responsible for cleaning up any accidents, if he has them, such as pulling the sheets off the bed, etc. Good luck!

My husband and his brother consistently wet the bed until they were about 9 years old - scary I know! My mother in law had the best solution I've ever heard of. She got them each miniature sized sleeping bags and put plastic over their mattress. Of course she had to wash the sleeping bags everyday, but it beats washing, drying, and putting on a whole new set of sheets everyday.
But what would be even easier (I did this with the kids I nannied for) is to tell him how excited you are that he wants to be a big boy, but that he wear a diaper to bed until he wakes up dry for one week in a row. Explain to him that he would be very unhappy to wake up all wet and sticky, so waiting to make sure he's ready would be best.
The kid I nanny for naturally stopped wetting his diaper when his bladder was big enough to hold his urine through the night. I potty trained him at 2 1/2 and by 3 1/2 he had no more wet nights. Actually he stopped having wet nights before his older brother!
"Night training" is hard because unless you want to wake up every few hours w/ your little one to get him/her to pee it won't work. And even when you do that they might still have accidents.
Personally - I have a 5 month old that finally sleeps through the night and would never intentionally give up my sleep again. Not to mention waking up a child seems cruel - I don't know about you, but I tend to be very angry when I'm woken up!
I really believe that letting the kid naturally do it on his own is best.
Good Luck!

for a boy he is doing great. Since he himself asked to be potty trained during his sleep I would give it a try. I would reassure him that if he has an accident that it will be ok before you start it. I don't know if you are using pull ups or not but I would continue using them at night time until he can get through the night without peeing his pull ups. Just tell him that he is a big boy and that it is hard to not wet at night so when he does get it done on a regular basis he will then move on to underwear during his sleep.

I was told during my time in college learning child development that a boy's urinary tract system develops much slower than a girl. Their brains don't get the message that they have to urinate as quickly as girls until their urinary tract is matured. I found this out to be true when I raised my son and two girls. Also when I did work with Two year olds and three year olds in my career I found that boys just didn't get it as quickly. So your son is doing wonderfully for his age.

Potty training is different for every child. I am only giving suggestions but it sounds like you already have a great start..and both of you are doing well.

It sounds as if he is ready to try not wearing the diaper at night. Have you tried Pull-Ups instead. For some reason diapers is affiliated with baby, to where Pull-Ups seem to be more grown up. Make a suggestion to him, that if he wakes up dry in his Pull-ups, the next night he can try the BIG-boy underwear, and should he have an accident, then he'll need to try the Pull-ups again...so every time he is dry he wears the BIG-boy underwear, alternate off/on when warranted. Let him pick out the Big-boy underwear (you know the character underwear, they love em). Should he have the accident don't get discourage, and make a big deal out of it, a little encouragement goes a long way. Don't get frustrated mom, he'll get it. He has to be able to connect the two, the sensation of having to go during the night and waking up to release it. You may have to change bedding more frequently, but he'll get it. Having him release himself before going to bed at night will help as well. Mine use to cry during the middle of the night, and it took a few times for me to figure it out that she needed to go to the bathroom, and once we figured it out, all was well. Don't be discouraged mom. Good luck.

J.