I have a daughter who just turned 4 and has been potty trained (for all day and throughout the night) since 2 and a half. Some moms would think I have it great - no diapers or pull ups since 2 1/2 yrs old! Well on that flipside, my husband and I haven't gotten a full night's sleep (we try to alternate nights)since she was 2 and a half! She wakes us up to go to the bathroom EVERY night, sometimes twice a night. Since it is in the middle of the night, she feel as though she needs our assistance b/c she is probably sleepy and of course it is dark (although we have hall night lights). We have her go to the bathroom before she goes to bed, but she still wakes us up to go to the bathroom (and she really does have a full blatter), probably from what she drank at dinner. Any ideas to help us sleep through the night?
Hi,
We had the same problem. Her doctor told us to let her drink all she wanted until 6:00pm. After 6:00 limit her drinking to small sips as needed. After about 2 weeks she started sleeping through the night.
i do not know what time you eat dinner but hopefully it is early, like 6 or so. what time does she go to bed after that? anyway, i would suggest taking her to the bathroom again just before you go to bed. that way she can get rid of the liquids before your long sleep. hope this is helpful.
Have you talked to your pediatrician about this? She may not be able to totally empty her bladder which would give her the feeling that she has to go. She probably hates this as much as you and your husband because I am sure that she knows that you don't want her to wake you up. I would talk to your pediatrician and have her tested maybe by a urologist. If you are satisfied that qualified doctors have really addressed this issue thoroughly and that there is NOTHING really wrong, then you have a 4 yr old who is manipulating you! Does she go to the bathroom by herself during the day? Maybe you could put some tickets in the bathroom at night that she can cash in for a cool prize in the am IF she doesn't wake you up during the night. Good luck.
You have probably already heard this, but don't give her anything to drink 4 hours before bed. If she is so used to it, you could gradually cut back her liquids--kind of like Ferberizing but with the cup rather than the crib. Is she in a 'big-girl' bed? This may have something to do with it-she either loves it or hates it. Finally, you can try the psychological ploy that if you are big enough to wear panties, you are big enough to use the potty at nite by yourself. If you aren't big enough to use the potty at night by yourself, then you'll have to wear pull ups. Sounds kind of mean, but it seems to me that she has created a bad habit and its going to take some firmness to break it. God luck
You want to cut off her drinking earlier at night----I would say at least 2hrs before she goes to bed and then of course have her to go right before she lies down for the night.
At age 4 she is plenty old to go to the bathroom by herself, sleepy or not. (I'd say this even if she were 2 1/2 still.) Just tell her that you and Dad are no longer an option and do not negotiate this at all (or it will never stick). You might want to put a potty chair in her bedroom and/or leave a light on. I'm guessing she is getting up in the night more out of habit than out of need. Children as well as adults can train themselves to wait longer and longer during the night between bathroom trips. She is only waking you up because you are allowing it. Long ago we told our five children (ages 9 months to 10 years) that if they wake up in the night with nightmares they are welcome to sleep on the floor in our room. When they do, they come prepared with their own pillows and blankets because they know we won't go back upstairs to get them for them.
You're the parent; you set the limits. Once you make her be more independent with this, she'll probably decide that getting up in the night isn't such a good thing anymore and learn to sleep through the night. Then you'll all be sleeping better. Good luck.
Hello Jeana,
Wow, what an accomplishment for your little one. Our children are not really developmentally capable of nighttime wetness until they are about 5 or 6 years old. Of course, there are always exceptions in which children younger will reach this developmentally sooner than that. My daughter is 4 years old and she stays dry throughout the night and is a successfully pottier during the day as well. When we used to put her underwear on at night she seemed to have more accidents but now that we've switched to putting on pull-on training pants she seems to be staying dry all night long. I just kind of feel that for right now that she needs the pressure off her and therefore she seems to be more successful. You might check out the book by Elizabeth Pantly, The No-Cry Potty Training Solution. It has wonderful tips and helps talk about developmental readiness, etc. I hope this has helped!
As Always,
S.
have you considered overnight pull ups for night time only? i have a son who has a small bladder, and was potty trained by three, but not at night, until much later...the doctor said that some kids bladders are just too small to expect them to hold it all night, and we did that...when he was old enough for it to bother him wearing those, we got this sleep alarm, from starchild labs, that woke him to go when he needed to..but it sounds like she does wake up...he was sleeping so soundly that he'd wet the bed...so that you can get some sleep, i'd limit the amount of fluids she drinks, nothing after dinner, and put her in an overnight pull up so that she doesn't have to get up...if she still wants to get up, maybe set up a reward system for her not waking you up to help her? good luck!
