Night Training - Should I try?

[Sunfl0wer]

Hi,
My DS is 4.5 and has been day potty trained since 2. He doesn't have anything to drink after dinner - maybe a mouth full of water when brushing his teeth. He goes to the bathroom before bed, I take him to the bathroom when I go to bed around 10:30pm. I feel that he empties both times. I get up to go to the bathroom in the night I take him again. Even if it's 2am (I'm pregnant so I don't last long) He's often already wet. He has never woken up dry on his own and maybe a few times he's been dry when I take him 3 times in a night. My husband thinks it's ridiculous that he can't stay dry and I don't really care except the times when he wets through his night diaper and I'm remaking his bed. Should I even be bothering to wake him up and disturb his sleep every night if I'm not getting anywhere? Should I give up and just wait until he wakes up dry some time? He doesn't want to wear diapers but he has to. Any help would be wonderful.
Thanks!!

[Shimpie]

You're already taking him several times a night. Perhaps he's not ready yet? I know several 5 year olds (including me ) who were not quite night trained.

I think waking him up 3 times a night to pee in order to stay dry is too much. One trip a night should be enough.

You could try taking away the night diapers? Even while sleeping, I think kids know they are wearing diapers. Double or triple make the bed with a waterproof pad in between the sheets so that if he pees, you can just pull the wet sheets off. Ta da! Bed is ready.

[MDever]

IME you cannot really night train a child. Either they are ready or they are not. Children will start waking up dry when they are ready. It is not that uncommon for children to be 8-9 and still not be dry. Our first 2 children potty learned by age 2 but were not night trained for close to a year. Our 3rd LO is 7y2m and has NEVER woken up dry. Have you spoken to his pedi? After any medical issue has been eliminated you just kinda have to wait it out Many children who wet have a parent who wet the bed, is that the case in your family?

[Sunfl0wer]

Thanks guys! His Dr said not to worry about it until after the age of 6. I did ask my MIL and she said dh was trained by 4 but she was 9 and her brother (my husband's uncle) was 15 - I think he comes by it honestly! I may try the double up on the waterproof pad and see if that helps for a couple of nights, otherwise I think I should just wait - too much stress for all of us!

[Donthaveaclue]

Originally Posted by MDever IME you cannot really night train a child. Either they are ready or they are not. Children will start waking up dry when they are ready. It is not that uncommon for children to be 8-9 and still not be dry. Our first 2 children potty learned by age 2 but were not night trained for close to a year. Our 3rd LO is 7y2m and has NEVER woken up dry. Have you spoken to his pedi? After any medical issue has been eliminated you just kinda have to wait it out Many children who wet have a parent who wet the bed, is that the case in your family?

100% agree that you should look into it being a medical condition. No joke my son started to hold it through the night at 2 weeks old. I think it was because I woke him every 2hrs to change his diapers because I hate the thought of him sitting in pee. One night I went to change him and he was totally dry so I went back to bed and other than a hand full of accidents (usually when he is sick or schedule gets interupted) he has been dry ever since but I have a nephew who was 13 before he stopped wetting the bed at night and they thought he was lazy for a long time but finally his dr figured out his bladder didn't grow as fast as the rest of him and when it caught up he stopped wetting the bed. Even if it is a medical issue getting him up at night is going to be benficial in the long run because if he outgrows whatever is causing it already having a habit of getting up to pee will make things easier when he is older. I get up a billion x a night because im pregnant and it doesn't bother me any because Im used to it.

[alexaE]

DOnt worry, when hes ready he will stay dry! Some kids just take longer to recognize that feeling and have it wake them up.

[jen_batten]

If it runs in your family I would wait. DD has been potty trained since she was about 18 months but her bladder is teeny tiny. She goes often during the daytime and just cannot make it through the night. She will be 5 in Dec. We just use cloth pullups to keep the sheets dry and don't make it a big deal. I know people say "they know they are in a diaper....so they are just too lazy to get up and go" but often that is not the case. My DD will sometimes wet the bed if she has a long nap. She is not in a diaper or pull up then. She takes her sheets off, and changes her clothes, and we don't make a fuss over it. It's not like they WANT to wet the bed. My brother and my Dad both wet the bed til they were 12 . It can be frustrating but eventually they will outgrow it. Just try not to stress and teach them early how to change sheets.

ETA: I also wouldn't wake him up. That may make him groggy and irritable. My Mom tried that with my brother for a long time, but it didn't help. Let him get what rest he can and know that this too shall pass.

[Angel89411]

Ds1 is 4.5 and can't go through the night. I stopped waking him and such. Didn't help and it messed with his quality of sleep. They make waterproof mats for beds. It's like a smaller one that tucks into the sides and doesn't go the whole length. They are $20-$30 from medical equipment places. You can get a couple of those and just change that when he wets through.

[Nat4]

My son is 5 and still has to wear a night diaper. He's never woken up even remotely dry. My husband (who is a pediatric Occupational Therapist) and my pediatrician said it's a purely subconscious thing. Some children mature faster than others, and thus can stay dry at night. Others go years until they're ready. I agree that you can't really night train a child. They just have to grow into it on their own.

[kdzb243]

My oldest trained within a few days of being woken up once at night right around his 4th birthday. He had been wet every day until that time. My next son is 4.5 now and there is no end in sight. We let him wear trainers with a cloth diaper inside to catch accidents so he can get up and potty by himself if he needs to, but he has only made it all night once or twice. (and even with getting up, still is wet in the morning just like your little one) Just try to find a solution that keeps him and his bed dry at night and he'll get there on his own when his body is ready.