2 1/2 Year Old Wetting Bed!

Okay, 2 1/2 isn't too young to potty train a girl. Many people recommend you start at 22-30 months, so you are on the right track there. Being that she was pee trained previously, I don't think it is too early for her developmentally. However, there is another issue here that you didn't mention, you have a 6 week old. Often times when a sibling is born a potty trained child will regress. It happens all the time, and there is nothing to worry about. Also, with a change in childcare, she may just be subconsciously seeking attention from mommy. Both of these events are known to trigger enuresis (bedwetting). My advice would be to maybe talk to her about how she feels about these changes. Explain to her that mommy loves her just as much as before, and try as hard as you can (which I'm sure you already do) to make her feel just as special as the new baby. You may want to talk to her about that while the baby still poops and pees in its diaper, she is the big sister and "gets" to use big girl undies. Really try and play up the "big sister" card, it will be useful in many situations. Also, don't force her to wear pull ups. It is actually good for her to feel uncomfortable in her undies. It helps her realize when she pees, and helps expedite the potty training process. Instead, put a plastic cover under the sheets to protect the mattress. At Babies R Us they have pee wee pads which are disposable and work very well. I know with a new baby, this is the last thing you needed. I think with some careful mediation, loving attention, and continued intensive potty training, you can turn this bed wetting around quickly for a happier mom and toddler.

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My daughter is also two and a half & potty trained. However, she only wakes up dry about half the time. She also will often fight wearing a pull up so on those nights I wait until she's asleep and then before I go to bed I put one on her. As of now she hasn't had an issue with it in the morning.

Another option would be to try the vinyl training pants that are lined in really thick cotton. They don't see too comfortable to me (pretty bulky), but maybe your daughter would see it as just a different pair of panties?

Good luck!

Although the bedwetting may appear to be emotional S., it is probably more likely it is a metabolic shift. Day cares have the tendency to feed kids lots of empty carbs and filler foods because they are less expensive. This would change her blood sugar around the clock, making night time dryness more difficult.

Until the bladder sphincter is controlled by the brain, it is actually controlled by blood sugar levels. In small children (as well as the elderly in nursing homes) the bladder releases when blood sugar drops.

So keeping her blood sugar levels UP is the key to her sleeping through the night and having more awareness around needing to pee during the day.

Make sure your child is eating a high fat, high protein, low sugar diet throughout the day.

Give her a large high fat/low sugar snack before bed.

Water should be given liberally throughout the day and before bed also because DEHYDRATION RELEASES THE BLADDER as well (the brain thinks it is starving and blood sugar drops when dehydration sets in).

Good blood sugar regulating bedtime snacks include: Cheese with bread or crackers (or just cheese), peanut butter or nut butter with bread or crackers, bean and cheese burrito, fish ~ tuna on toast... what ever you child will eat that is high in fat/protein and low in sugar (make sure your peanut butter is not sweetened).

Water, water, water ~ the more water your child can drink the better... even right up until bed time.

You won't believe how well this works. Start today and she will be all over the bed-wetting and daytime accidents by next week.

Hopefully this is just an adjustment stage. I am sorry I don't have much advice to help her, but I do have a suggestion to help you at night. Make her bed with two layers of bottom sheets and mattress pads (one waterproof mattress pad, one bottom sheet, one waterproof mattress pad, another bottom sheet). This makes the night time changes quicker and less disruptive for everone. Take the top layer off and everyone can go back to bed!

Assuming you go to bed later than she does, and that you also have a 6-week old at home too, I gather you are probably up at least a couple times in the night every night. In that case, get your daughter up out of bed and pull down her underpants and while helping her balance, sit her on the potty. This is a subliminal trick I enjoyed using on my girls when they were potty-training. 2 1/2 is pretty young to be potty trained anyhow. Can you get her that new type of underwear I saw advertised for older kids which looks like underwear but is actually a pull-up for sleepovers?

I agree that you are the parent, and YOU say whether or not she gets to sleep without a pullup!

If you like, you can try using plastic pants over her panties - they should be right by the cloth diapers and training pants in the stores.

My younger two both were dry through the night regularly by eighteen months, but by the time they got serious about potty training they no longer were. Maybe it's another developmental stage.

S.,
I had this problem with my girls also. But the thing I did was I had a set time for them to go to bed and I just made sure that they had nothing to drink at lease an hr before bed. You can try that or even try to have her go potty right before bed. Hope this helps.

We made our son take all of his wet sheets down to the laundry which was two floors down. It often took two to three trips. It seems cruel but he understood the extra work that occured when he wet the bed. Good Luck

Well, it's just my opinion but 2 1/2 is pretty early to be potty trained all night long. Sometimes I've heard a suggestion of waking them up right before you go to bed to let them go one more time. Not sure that works with all kids, but I guess it would be worth a try. Not sure when your child goes to bed, but if it's 8 or so, maybe try waking up at 10:30 or so?? Just my opinion. My daughter just turned four and wore pull-ups until about six months ago. I think she may have been ready before that, but I didn't want to deal with wet sheets and pjs!!

That's really young still to be potty trained throughout the night. Alot of kids are and can be but alot don't have the physcial ability.

Daycare has probaly made her regress a bit.

I would just MAKE her wear pullups until the problem subsides.

If I had to guess, the 6 week old is probably the reason for her going backward. My 2 1/2 year old was completely potty trained by about a month when her new sister came along and she went backwards. Just keep doing what you are doing, she should come around. Good luck, hope this helps.
~J.~

I don't believe a 2 and a half year old can hold their bladder all through the night. And as for her "not letting you" put a diaper on her...you're the parent, just put one on her! If you let her win, you're in for a l-o-n-g future. At 2 and a half (or at any age) your children don't allow you to do anything. At least not in my house!

It's difficult when children go through changes and a new baby is difficult...and with a new daycare on top of it she probably feels a bit out of control of things. Give her a bit of control back by giving her options of snacks or which game to play...but not whether to wear a diaper or not! And lots and lots of snuggles and love! Best of luck!

Although she's young, if she was doing well before and isn't doing as well now, it may be an issue of attention. She wants your attention and has found that is one way to get it. One thing that may work is a reward for each dry night. Pull ups are great for nights if they aren't too much trouble. I've found them to work if a child isn't ready to hold it yet and a lot less work than washing everyday. Hopefully you have a good waterproof mattress pad. You could also have the pull up be the consequence if she can't stay dry. Hopefully this is helpful. Don't worry, she'll get through it. :)

She's pretty young to expect her to be dry at night- If she throws a fit about the pull up- put it on after she falls asleep.

I definitely think she needs to go back to pull ups at night. You can lay down the law on that one - no books until you're pull up is on, etc. My daughter was about 3 1/2 before I trusted her full time without a pull up. My 7 year old son even wets the bed occasionally if he's over tired or has too much to drink before bed. It is totally age appropriate. She is still very little!

Good luck!