Night time toilet training

So DD has been day TT for almost 18 months. We didn't push night time. A while ago she decided she wanted to wear undies overnight - great, I thought! So we got brolly sheets for the bed, we gave her last little drink at dinner, talked about it, all keen. DH would take her to the loo before we went to bed, 10 or 11pm. I'd take her when I was up with DS2, around 2 or 3am. And she'd generally be dry in the morning.

And then a few nights we went to bed late, or forgot to take her, and she wet the bed. DS2 started joining us in bed as mummy got lazy, so I wasn't taking her in the morning, and she'd wet the bed. And sometimes, she wouldn't even wake up. Never once woke up and asked to go to the toilet.

So I got sick of the washing and and changing sheets and decided she must not have been ready, so put her back in pull ups. Talked about it and she was ok with going back to nappies.

Fast forward to now. I am starting to think she is being lazy. The other day she was sitting in the couch in her night nappy (not long after getting up) and she weed. It went all over the couch because her nappy was full. (She is supposed to take it off as soon as she gets up, clearly she had not this morning) I asked her why she didn't go to the toilet and she said because she was wearing a nappy :rolleyes:

The other night she woke up and called out for a drink, I went in and got her bottle and could smell wee. I asked if she'd just weed, she said yes, I asked why she didn't go to the toilet if she was awake anyway and she said because she was wearing a nappy and you wee in nappies.

And then tonight... She was on the couch (again, poor couch) with my MIL, before bed, and weed, but because she was sitting funny, it went on the couch. MIL said that she asked her why she weed in the nappy and she said because she was wearing it and its ok to wee in nappies. MIL told her we use the toilet during the day but apparently she's wearing a nappy so she can wee in that :wall:

I am getting a bit frustrated at this. I feel that she is being lazy, plain and simple. She's 4.5, she's been TT day time for 18mths, she knows the deal. I am tempted to just take the nappies away and force her into it... Is this the wrong approach?

She is a clever kid but head-strong (nooooo idea where she got that from??? :rolleyes:) and I think she just needs a kick up the bum.

Thoughts??

Take it away. If she can identify when its toilet time and thinks its ok to go in a nappy, she understands her actions and is making the decision to wee in the nappy just because it's there (when she is awake anyway). She may not realise yet when she is asleep, that's understandable, but she will learn. It does mean persevering and lots of washing though. Good luck!

Interested in any responses, our Moo is not night trained and will use his nappy just because it's there too. He sounds very similar to your DD and I often wonder if we should just take the nappy away.

Wish it were summer!!!! We've got plenty of linen though...

I kind of agree with you in that you decided she wasn't ready. Because you were waking and toileting her, so she wasn't independently going overnight etc.
I guess you can go back to doing that, but it is winter!
You could stay with a pull up and make sure it is absolutely the last thing before bed (I.e. not sitting on the couch) and it comes off straight away in the morning.
Could you leave her in a pull-up and start doing rewards for dry nappy? If that's enough to encourage her not to wee in it when she is awake and aware. Then if its still wet, you know it's because she is still weeing while she's fast asleep.

I'm not sure about rewards for night dryness. If they aren't aware of their night time wetting, then it seems kind of unfair. But if you think she is being lazy or head strong, then it might work.

My dd is exactly the same! I stopped putting her nappy on before bed a while ago as she would sometimes wee in it when she was still awake, so I put it in when she is asleep. Lately I have started taking her to the toilet at around 10 and then putting the nappy on. Sometimes she has been dry in the morning, but not always. I'm not ready to stop putting the nappy in as when she does wet the bed, she does not wake up!
So not really any help here I guess, but I am actually quite relieved to hear my dd is not the only one in night nappies at this age!

I would say a rewards chart for dry nappy or even to begin with a chart for taking her pull up off as soon as she gets up then progress to a chart for a dry nappy.

She may not be ready to be dry overnight yet but she certainly knows that she can go to the toilet when she is awake so I would think that taking her pull up off as soon as she gets up and not putting it on until right before she goes to bed would be the first step and then do the dry nights thing.

Just a thought - what if you put undies on under the pull up?

See I remember you saying that Nai, about having five dry nappies in the morning. We tried that when she was enthusiastic and I just don't think she was ready, but now I'm worried we have gone past it. She often gets up and takes it off without me having to ask and puts it in the bin. And when it is me or DH putting her to bed, she doesn't get it on til right before she gets into bed. MIL does things a little different I think ;)

Anyway maybe a rewards chart will help. She just seems to have lost the care for it - you know, the excitement about big girls wearing undies overnight etc, leading to the natural eagerness to wear undies. She just doesn't seem to care.

I'll give a rewards chart a go...

Make the reward something that she is really keen about and that may reignite her enthusiasm.

hey love what about letting her go to sleep with her undies on and if you are worried, put a pull up on her whilst she is asleep. That way she wont rely on the nappy, but you have a backup.
Your DD is very headstrong, I would just wait until she makes her mind up that she is going to go dry overnight. Its just finding the incentive for her that is going to appeal to her and she will be a pro!!
xxx

I asked her what reward she wanted - I'm hoping that will help. She only went to sleep around 9pm but not a peep out of her yet to ask for help to go to the toilet...

I don't think its too harsh to take the night nappy away, from what you've posted it seems she associates a nappy with wee'ing it in rather than going to the loo. So take the association away and then you are one step closer to being night trained.

Is she in knickers tonight? Good Luck!

No...we're going to do the five dry mornings approach first. I talked about it with her and we chose a reward for five dry mornings and then we worked out a reward for her first morning of being dry. Given she was up so late I asked her several times if she wanted to go and she said no every time, DH took her before we put her to bed for the second time but still no go. She didn't go overnight so wasn't dry in the morning.

We will try again tonight. It needs to come from her, that she is waking and getting up, or not seeing in the nappy. I'm not going to take her anymore.