Potty Talk - Training Early, Part 2

Get excited about diaper-free nights!

As our son was nearing his 3rd birthday we decided to start talking to him about wearing big boy undies to bed.  He had consistently been accident free throughout the day for the past 6 months and he had zero issue napping without a diaper.  He liked the idea of wearing his cartoon themed underwear all night, so having him on board was the first step.

Up until we began potty training over night, we had allowed him to have a cup of water in his room.  Now that we wanted him to stay dry all night, we removed the cup from his room and put it in his bathroom.  We explained that if he got up to get a drink, he needed to use the potty as well.  After 1 or 2 accidents during the night, the process clicked and he was permanently free of diapers.  At 4 years old, we allowed the cup of water to return back to his room as he no longer needed the reminder to use the potty.  

We are currently in the midst of overnight training our 2.5 year old daughter.  The first night I put Lila in big girl underwear she slept for a few hours before coming to me and asking if she could sleep in a diaper.  We switched back to a diaper that night and the following evening she said she was ready for princess panties.  Letting her have control of the situation and making the decision to sleep in underwear vs diaper helped us have a successful few nights.

A happy experience = a positive experience

The rest of the week diaper free sleeping went alright.  We had dry nights and wet nights.  Then she caught a cold that kept her up throughout the night coughing and having difficulty breathing. That set us back in our progress and I put her back in diapers during the night.  She's "almost" back to healthy again and I'll give it another few days before we try another diaper free night.

I have tweaked her overnight training a little bit as I am concerned about her climbing on the big potty in the middle of the night without someone else awake.  I put the BabyBjorn potty in her room with a roll of toilet paper.  I also put her cup of water next to her little potty.  She has a nightlight next to the potty lighting up the area.  Prior to her catching a cold, the little potty had proven successful to her training.

As I fully expect her to have a few more accidents prior to mastering staying dry throughout the night, I leave a spare sheet, an extra pair of jammies, and a new pair of underwear on top of her dresser to make cleaning up a wet baby in the middle of the night easier.  

To wrap up our Training Early Part 2, I want to discuss a few key points:

• Talk through the overnight process with your child.  Make sure they know exactly what to do if they wake up and have to pee.  
• Let them make the decision.  If they aren't ready give them more time. 
• Character underwear are a HUGE deal! If they have underwear they are excited about, they'll want to stay in them all day and night!
• Celebrate those dry nights with fun breakfasts!   
• They will have accidents.  Don't get discouraged.  If you need to switch back to diapers for a few nights, do it!  You're still making progress!  

Road tripping with the traveling potty

Today I'm linking up with Polka-Dotty Place http://polka-dottyplace.blogspot.com 

and the 

wonderful ladies at Tuesday Talk!