Potty Training - Baltimore,MD

My son did the same thing. He grew out of it. But it really stunk! My aunt said it was because I potty trained him too early. Dunno, but he quit doing it after a couple of months.

Does she actually go potty when she wakes up? If so do not under any circumstances discourage her from doing so...it could lead to bed wetting. If you do not want to get up and take her twice a night consider getting a potty chiar and palcing it in her room near a night light so that she can go on her own. I know that some people might consider that disgusting but chamber pots were qutie common during the potty training period for hundreds of years. Also like some already said start cutting out her drinking at least one hour before bedtime.

Take her to the potty lucky girl! It won't last long. We cut off fluids an hour to an hour & a half each night. Lucky girl.

I just recently potty trained my 2 yr old son. When he wakes up in the middle of the night asking for the potty, I take him and then he goes right back to sleep.

Limit her liquid intake at night. Depending on what her bedtime is--stop drinks 2 hours before bedtime.

If she's waking at night to use a potty, that is a good thing. You have 2 options, get up and take her to the potty, or if she'll go by herself, let her get up and go to the potty on her own by turning on a nightlight or keeping the light in the bathroom on.

Even if she is getting up and doing nothing, I would not try to work against her waking up wanting the potty, since night time waking may be normal for her during nighttime training.

J.,

Is your daughter still in the crib? That could be why she is crying out. She can't get out of her crib to get to the potty. She might need to be moved to a toddler or regular bed so she can take herself. Just be prepared for her getting out of bed for other reasons.

If she is going potty when she screams for it, you are very lucky. Most kids sleep so deeply that they can't wake up when their bladder is signalling that they need to relieve themselves. So they wet the bed or their pull-ups. My daughter was 4 1/2 before she could stay dry all night. Also, we had to convince her to stop using her bed rail so she could get up to go potty. We still keep a potty in her room near the nightlight (so she can see it, it's about 3 watts so it won't disturb her sleep cycle). Now she can wake up when she needs to go, and she doen't neet to search for the bathroom in the dark because she knows where her potty is.

I agree with the poster who said to take your daughter potty before you go to bed. I did that with my daughter when she was working on staying dry all night. That might help your daughter sleep through the night. Also, restricting liquids after dinner helps a lot.

If she is just saying she needs the potty, then playing or fooling around, she is just doing it for attention. Put her back to bed without saying anything and leave the room.

You may be very lucky with potty training and not even realize it. . .

A.

One more suggestion to add to what everyone else said. If she goes to bed earlier than you, right before you go to bed, take her to the potty. My daughter is 5 years old and has been day and night trained since 3.5. She goes to bed at 7:30 so we wake her and take her to the potty at around 10:30. We've had very few accidents in the last year and a half. By doing the same, you may find yourself down to one time a night you need to wake up and take her to the potty. I agree with everyone else - take her to the potty when she says she needs to go - don't fight her on it.

if she wants the potty and is using it, it means she has to go. why do you want her to sleep through that??? if you feel her bladder is not ready to go through the night without elimination, then you can always STOP potty training her and put her back in diapers. seems pretty counter-productive, though. you've got a kid doing so well, why on earth fight it?
khairete
puzzled S.

Wow, J., usually people have issues with their kids NOT using the potty at night and bed-wetting instead -- yours is a more unusual issue!

When she wakes "screaming" for the potty, does she actually need to use it? Does she really produce something at those times, so you know her body did indeed need the potty, or is she waking and yelling for the potty but not doing anything in it?

If it's the former, then you're actually lucky she can wake in time to use the potty at this age -- my much older daughter still doesn't feel the urge in the night even when she needs to, and the result is occasionally a wet bed. If your daughter is waking to really pee, I'd cut back her liquids from late afternoon onward so she doesn't need to urinate at night so much. I'd also try to get her to stay on the potty long enough just before bedtime to really empty her bladder; sometimes kids urinate only enough to get immediate relief but are not completely emptying the bladder, hence the waking later. Also, if you don't already, put a potty right in her room next to her bed -- that way she can use it very quickly and climb right back into bed. Faster for you both though you still have to empty it.

If she is thirsty a lot and producing lots of urine night and day, have her checked by the pediatrician, especially her blood sugar, because excessive thirst and urination can be signs of diabetes.

But if your daughter's waking, calling for the potty and not putting anything in, that sounds more like it's a reaction to the training and she's thinking that she must call for the potty in the night whether she needs it or not. Is she being trained to use the potty as soon as she gets up in the morning? (I'm still convincing my daughter that that's a good idea!) If so, it could be that she has absorbed that idea so well she thinks that waking at any time means immediate pottying. That's really not a bad thing! I'm not sure what to say in that case, other than it will likely pass with some time as she gets weary of being up twice a night. Remember, using the potty is one thing they can control; we can't make them go or not go. I'd give it some time, cut back liquids late in the day/evening (unless she's a kid who generally doesn't drink enough for hydration), put a potty next to the bed for both your sakes, and ensure she has a good long "sit" before bedtime. And see the doctor if she's urinating (not waking, urinating) more than seems normal to you.

Is she screaming for the potty because she has to go? If so, then I'll tell you to put up with it b/c it's quite possibly a sign that she has control over her bladder at night. Most kids who are potty trained during the day are still using pull ups at night because their bodies are not connecting fully with their brains. So they're not receiving the signals to wake up and go. If she's not going and she tends to be "playing around" at night b/c she thinks the potty is a novelty, don't make a big deal of it. Calm her down and step away. Eventually, the behavior should stop b/c she's not getting a reaction from you. It's most likely a phase she's going through. Keep up the good work! Being trained at 21 months is amazing!