Several years back I thought I knew everything about parenting.
OK, let’s be honest, most of the time I still pretend know everything…but I digress.
My son was extremely easy to potty train. So easy, in fact, that by the time he was 2 years and 4 months old he was wearing big boy undies during the day and was dry most every night.
Nice, right? Well, then came my daughter. She was also day potty trained by two and a half. But nighttime training was a whole different story.
Claire sleeps. Like really sleeps during the night. There’s no waking her. And although this is great in so many ways, it is rotten when it comes to her ability to recognize her body’s cues during the late hours of the night.
Fast forward to February. Claire had recently turned four and was still happily wearing her large pull-ups to bed each night.
One day we accidentally ran out of those damn absorbent pads forcing nighttime potty training upon us.
Hold me now.
At an utter loss as to what to do, I reached out and asked for help. I sent a message to one of my high school friends who has potty trained all six of her darling children. I asked what she did with any of her reluctant nighttime potty trainers.
Here’s what she said: For both of her difficult-to-train children, she decided to take the diapers off all together and equip the bed with those potty pads. She said she prepared herself for a month of nightly sheet changing. At the end of the month, both children’s bodies had adjusted to the new routine and there were no more accidents.
While mentally preparing for this month-long pee fest I found myself googling variations of the phrase, “nighttime potty training” again and again. On one blog post a woman was asking for advice and help training her daughter. A lady who had found success in an odd way left an obscure comment on her post. (I wish I still had the link..)
Here’s what she said: She successfully potty trained her daughter by (get this) increasing her daughter’s water intake during the day. Let me say this again… She made her daughter drink more water during the day.
Crazy, right?
Well she went on to say that she realized her daughter was never really feeling that “I gotta pee really bad” sensation and therefore her body never learned which muscles were needed to “hold it”. When that sensation happened at night, her body did not know how to respond.
Something in her comment resonated with me.
I was supermom with son and always made sure he was hydrated…But my daughter? Not so much.
My Plan:
Starting in the morning I required Claire to drink as much water as possible, refilling her cup as many times as necessary. I became vigilant.
After four o’clock, liquids were off limits with the exception of a small glass of water directly after dinner.
At nighttime I’d have her go to the bathroom two to three times prior to laying down, ensuring that she appropriately drained her bladder.
I’d take her to the bathroom just before I went to sleep.
I prepared for a month long ‘battle’, so to speak, by making her bed with two waterproof mattress pads and two bottom sheets and one additional waterproof pad directly under her body.
Claire, true to form, began peeing herself with regularity. We (both Claire and I) changed her sheets and pajamas when that happened.
After two weeks, as if by some sort of miracle, Claire was dry almost every single night.
Dry.
Nightly.
Amazing.
Now I’m a believer. Once Claire was forced into the potty dance during the day, her body began recognizing the cues at night and responded by not allowing her to relieve herself all over her sheets.
Now it’s your turn. Send me your parenting questions and I’ll let you know what’s been effective for me.
