Staying Dry Overnight - Are we on the right track?(long - sorry!)

[SweetLexie520]

So travel back with me 10 days. DH and I are getting DS ready for bed. (He's almost 2.5yo.) DS has been a little cranky all day and decides he doesn't want to wear his Goodnight to bed.

"NOOOO! BIG BOY UNDIES!!!" He is screaming. And crying. And he's been doing great during the day with his potty training (including dry pull-ups after naps), and pretty good at night, too.

DH and I decide we just don't want to deal with wet sheets yet, so we manhandle the kid into a Goodnight. (Really, we didn't hurt him or anything - and it took two of us to do it, lol!)

DS immediately runs across the room, screaming and crying, and takes the Goodnight off, throwing it across the room at us. DH and I look at each other and realize, "Crap. It's either big boys or naked!"

So we let him pick out some big boys and when morning came - he was dry! Let's press our luck and try for a second night. Still dry!

Fastforward 10 nights... He has stayed dry 7 out of the last 10 nights, and last night's pee was just a small soft-ball sized spot. So he stopped himself from peeing more, called me, and then peed on the potty in his room while I changed his sheets. And on all those pee nights, he consumed/drank too much water/liquidy foods, so that's maybe partially on us, too.

Today, MIL made a comment that she would save herself the headache and just keep putting him in Goodnights, but that that was just her being lazy. :hectic1: To her credit, she is putting him down for his naps in the afternoons in his big boys, and he hasn't wet the bed at her house since she started that. So I appreciate that.

But her comment is bugging me. Isn't this good? Isn't this progress? I thought it was - can someone please reassure me? :sad:

He's so proud of himself every dry morning, and last night after his little accident I let him choose big boys or goodnight for the rest of the night. He chose big boys - and stayed dry.

TIA!

[foggierbard9]

I would absolutely keep letting him choose which ones he wants. We are just starting the potty training thing, so I am probably not much help, but if my son chose big boy pants then he could wear them whether it meant I had to wash sheets every morning or not. Your son seems to be doing great so why back track.

[bonniebabies]

I don't see anything wrong with a child who is mostly trained not wearing a diaper.

[TheWoman]

Save on laundry

[SweetLexie520]

Thank you everyone! That link was great, too! I could have used those 6 months ago when he was soaking through his dipes, lol!

[SweetLexie520]

And an update - he's now 8 out of 11, since he woke up dry this morning. With him having accidents that rarely, I don't mind changing the sheets now and then. I was pretty confused when MIL mentioned it being a headache, b/c I hadn't been complaining, I'd been cheering for DS.

We'll be staying in big boys. And I'll definitely be checking out those Soaker Pads from the link TheWoman posted.

[mom2lucas]

DS wore Goodnights all of 3 nights, and he said they itched him. He prefers big boy undies. We're down to the rare accident (maybe once a week if he drank too much before bed). I see nothing wrong with letting your DS wear the big boys because I think that is a big motivator to stay dry.

[bonniebabies]

[QUOTE=SweetLexie520;1938691]And an update - he's now 8 out of 11


Very cool. DD (22 mo) is staying dry or waking up to pee for naps now so I think we will be making the leap to underpants soon too. Like you I'm happy about it and don't mind changing sheets since I change them once a week anyway.

I have one of those soaker pads that someone posted a link to. It is fantastic. Had it under me when I was pregnant and breastfeeding and then it went to DD's big girl bed when she started potty learning. I've put her on it when she fell asleep without a diaper on and it absorbs accidents well. That price is good too, I've seen them as high as $18.

[momy97]

I wanted to know if anyone has advice for me on the same subject. I have a 5 year old daughter and although it is getting better she starts school in a couple of weeks and we won't always have time to bathe her in the mornings. She doesn't like the pullups much but I dont know what to do. This is also a problem for us because we don't have a washer and dryer in our home so sometimes it is a week between laundry days. HEEELLLPPP

[TheWoman]

Originally Posted by momy97 I wanted to know if anyone has advice for me on the same subject. I have a 5 year old daughter and although it is getting better she starts school in a couple of weeks and we won't always have time to bathe her in the mornings. She doesn't like the pullups much but I dont know what to do. This is also a problem for us because we don't have a washer and dryer in our home so sometimes it is a week between laundry days. HEEELLLPPP

What to do depends on whether she wets at night because she can't stay dry or because she doesn't care enough to stay dry. My 5 year old was wetting every night because she didn't care enough. The pull-ups were wet before she even fell asleep. Also, she doesn't like to get up to pee in the night because she gets scared when everyone is asleep (which is why I let it go on this long--I don't like her waking me up at night to take her to the bathroom). Last week I started giving her a reward when she stays dry and she has been dry every night since. Sometimes they just need a little motivation.

Other times a child physically isn't ready to stay dry all night. Her bladder may be smaller than average or she might sleep deeper than most kids. She will outgrow it eventually but if this is the case it is best to just use the pull-ups and wait until she is ready IMO. There are all kinds of programs to help children stay dry at night but is it really worth the money and effort when she will outgrow it soon on her own? Really, I woudn't worry too much until she gets old enough that it is upsetting her.