How to night train your toddler to be diaper free?

Hello everyone. Do you want to know how to night train your toddler to be diaper free? In this article, I will share my journey as well as share some tips with the parents who wish to night train their toddlers. 

So if you are done with the potty training phase, another challenge awaits you.

When to start night time training?

Experts say that kids need to be fully potty trained for the day before embarking on the journey to night train their kids. It is also mentioned to keep a track of diaper at morning. If the diaper is dry for consecutive mornings, then it is a signal that kid is ready for night time training.

My experience about night time training

Till 2.5 years of age, my daughter didn’t sleep soundly and would need night feeds and so I needed to change her diaper once at night. So there was no scope of leaving her without a diaper. Once she stopped night feeds and started sleeping well I thought it was time to start night training i.e. sleeping without a diaper at night. She was 3 years old and sleeping soundly at night.

In the initial months, I was tired as she would pee 3-4 times in the night. Sometimes I would miss and she would wet the bed. Putting the dry sheet didn’t help much as she would move a lot in sleep. It took a few months to understand her schedule and then I made my schedule. I would get up at fixed intervals and make her urinate. I would have to carry her in sleep and make her pee. If she got up somehow then she would take 2-3 hours to sleep again. So I had to make her pee without disturbing her sleep. 

Also when it was summer month, I was scared of switching on the fan as she would wet the bed frequently. So it became more frustrating.  

Then I thought of using the fan at minimum speed and letting her body adjust. I had to be very alert and my maternal instincts acted like an alarm to get her to the toilet at regular intervals. I was sleepless as usual. 

So gradually I started increasing the time intervals between the toilet trips. From taking her thrice a night, it came to twice a night and then once a night. But I still wondered when she will get up on her own and pee and then come and sleep soundly. 

How things changed?

It has been almost 2 years since I embarked on this night training journey. 

 I went out of station for a few days and so to be on the safe side, I put diapers on at night. And she didn’t wet her diaper the first night. On the second night, she got up when she felt the urge to urinate. And then, she wouldn’t need diapers or me to take her to the toilet in sleep. And finally, I could see my future of peaceful sleepy nights. Diaper free nights for my kid didn’t seem too far now.

Tips for night time training

1. Kid should be potty trained for day : First of all, make sure your kid is fully potty trained for the day before you start to night train your toddler. Initial weeks will be just guessing the schedule as to when or how many times your kid urinates.
2. Limit liquid intake by evening : Try to limit liquid intake at dinner time. Finish off milk feeds by the evening before dinner. Try restricting your child from drinking too much water or any liquid post-dinner.
3. Urinating just before bedtime : Often bedtime with kids is a long process. So ,ensure that your toddler goes to toilet just before sleeping.
4. Get a mattress protector: Put a mattress protector on the mattress and dry sheets on the bed sheets to prevent accidents.  So this will be double protection in case of accidents. And be mentally prepared as this is also going to take time and effort. 
5. Talk to your kid : Try talking to your kid about this and ask him/her to let you know when they feel the urge to pee. I did this with my child every night before sleeping. But don’t scold them as this thing is tough on them too. They need sensory development to understand this. And you can’t blame a child for this.
6. Talk to paediatrician in case of issues : Experts say kids are fully trained from bedwetting by around 5-6 years of age. If you feel there is some issue or it is delayed,  please speak to your paediatrician. They might give some medicine or tips.

So these are a few of the tips I followed and I hope you can too. But I would like to remind you not to worry much and ignore the negativity of people around you. Because most of the time, people pass judgments and make you feel low if your child hasn’t achieved any milestone. 

Miraculously some kids get trained easily in a few days. Some have dry diapers at night at a young age and parents never get to understand the struggles of nighttime training. But if you are not that lucky parent, stop worrying. 

Remember, all kids are different and they take their own time. Unless a certified paediatrician says it is an issue, don’t worry.

I hope you liked this article about how to night train your toddler. Do share it with fellow parents.

Check my blog on How to potty training your kid?

If you have a toddler at home, do check out my books for them.

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