Preparing for Potty Training at Nighttime
You might be asking yourself, “How on earth am I supposed to potty train my little one at night?”
Our short answer: You aren’t!
We’re guessing you're not here for the short answer though :P So read on for the long answer!
In this blog, we’ll cover:
When to transition from diapers/pull-ups at night
Understand why we do (or don’t pee) at night
How to prepare for nighttime while potty training
“Should I use diapers/pull-ups at night or switch to undies?”
We’re hoping this is going to help you take a sigh of relief – Just because you are starting to potty train your toddler does not mean you have to immediately switch to undies at nighttime. You can keep your little one in diapers or pull-ups at night until they are staying dry throughout the night and/or you feel more confident that your little one is ready to make the switch.
Did you know you can’t teach your child to use the toilet while they’re sleeping? :D If you can’t teach them that skill, it may be best to wait until they are physically ready to remain dry overnight. Another sign that you can ditch the diaper at night is if your child starts independently waking up at night to use the bathroom. Either way, it’s a good idea to have a plan ahead of time for how you want to respond if your child wakes up during the night to go potty. Part of that plan can be discontinuing diapers/pull-ups at night since your child has the ability to notice the sensation of needing to go to the bathroom.
There are a few different routes you can take for deciding when to switch to undies at nighttime (in no particular order - do what is the best fit for you and your child):
Option A:
Start with potty training during the daytime only. Wait until your child stays dry for about 5 nights in a row before you decide to discontinue diapers/pull-ups at nighttime. This is a good indication that your child is physically able to stay dry overnight. It’s possible that your child may take some time before they are consistently staying dry at night, which can be a potential “con” to this option.
Option B:
Start with potty training during the daytime only. Once your child is having success with their new toileting skills during the daytime, make the switch to underwear at night. For some children, they may not stay dry all night in a diaper/pull-up, but they can still have success once they are put in underwear at night. Here’s the reason: During the daytime, they are learning that the feeling of having underwear on indicates that they need to bring awareness to their bodily sensation and “stay dry” until they go to the bathroom to eliminate pee/poop. So, if they are put in underwear for bedtime, they have that same feeling of underwear and NOT the feeling of a diaper/pull-up, so it gives them a cue to “stay dry.” Keep in mind: This approach may not be effective if your child is not physically ready to remain dry all night. More info on that in the next section of this blog!
Option C:
Dive right in with potty training during the daytime and at nighttime at the same time. If you notice that your child has nights where they remain dry even before you start potty training, you may have success with this option. This approach may be more likely to result in more nighttime accidents during the “learning curve” but can also result in quicker learning.
For more on this topic, check out our blog on when to use pull-ups and undies in general during potty training.
The science behind peeing (and not peeing) at night
It’s helpful to understand a little science that explains how we pee, or don’t pee, during the night.
Here’s our quick science lesson: Part of the reason we have to use the bathroom less at night is because, well, we aren’t drinking and eating at night. But, another reason is because our body is super smart! Our kidneys help our body process water, including reabsorbing water into the bloodstream and excreting the water through urine. The antidiuretic hormone (ADH) sends signals to the kidneys to do the reabsorption part of their job. When we sleep, our brain tells our body to produce more ADH, which means the kidneys are going to do more on the reabsorption side and less of the excretion side - meaning, we have less of a need to pee. Interestingly, this process doesn’t occur for babies and it is unclear exactly when it starts occurring for children. That’s why it can be best to wait until you recognize that your child can physiologically stay dry overnight, which likely means that process has kicked in.
Another physical component is bladder size. As a child grows, so does their bladder, which can influence their capacity to hold urine overnight and not feel the sensation of needing to go potty while they are sleeping.
Nighttime potty training prep
Whether you’re prepared to get started with potty training or you’ve already potty trained your little one and have been holding onto nighttime diapers/pull-ups for a while, you may be considering how to prepare for switching to undies at night. Here’s the thing - you can’t really rush the nighttime potty training process. As we talked about, a lot of it has to do with your child’s physical readiness. However, here are a few things you can incorporate into your routines that may help:
Limit drinks 1-2 hours before bedtime. Pretty straightforward. Less fluid means less full bladder means less need to pee.
Include potty in your bedtime routine. Make sure your little one has the chance to empty their bladder (and maybe poop, too) before they go to bed. If they potty right before bed, they should be good for a bit.
Celebrate when your child wakes up dry!! This goes for kids in undies and kids still in a diaper/pull-up for nighttime. Bring their attention to the fact that they stayed dry and let them know how exciting that is!
Final prep for nighttime potty training:
Since it’s possible that nighttime accidents are going to happen, you can do your best to stay ahead of the mess by preparing your child’s sleep space ahead of time with things that are going to help the clean up process go as smoothly as possible. I mean, nobody really likes cleaning up pee or poop, especially not in the middle of the night or first thing in the morning. Some things you can get (all links below are affiliate links):
Waterproof mattress covers like this one!
Waterproof mattress pads. Check this one out!
Water-resistant sheets. This one might work for you!
Extra absorbent underwear (just make sure they still feel like regular underwear and not like a diaper/pull-up). Here are some you might like!
Oh, can’t forgot one more thing!
As always, before switching your little one over to undies at nighttime make sure YOU are prepared! There may be a temporary increase in midnight clean-ups, so we recommend choosing a lower-stress season to take this on.
