The EC at night thread got me thinking...

[sgmom]

I don't EC at night anymore, but I've toyed with the idea of starting again. My daughter wakes up at (more or less) the same times every night. Often 3-4 hours after falling asleep, and SOMETIMES a couple hours after that. When she does wake up, she'll call out or crawl to her babygate. When she sees me coming, she'll crawl right back into bed and will be sleeping again before I pull the covers over her.

I'm SURE the reason she's waking at these times is due to her need to pee, but I'm not sure how to handle it. She also pees in the morning, when she stirs, but before she wakes completely. She'll pull herself onto her knees (head down, butt in air), and pee like that. A few minutes later, she'll wake up with a warm and heavy diaper.

If I put her on a potty though, she'll scream to come off. Should I not worry about it? Suggestions?

[hrsmom]

I'd not worry about it. I even got to the point where I wouldn't change Hannah's diaper unless she squirmed. (Something about getting tired of being kicked in the stomach after being woken repeatedly influenced that choice, not to mention how she protested even a diaper change at night.) She started holding it at night at 16 or 17 months, I don't remember!

ETA- you could always try, of course, but if she's crawls back into bed and falls right asleep, I wouln't wake her up to go potty. If that's what you're asking. Why don't you put the potty on the floor in the room and see if she uses it? (Just kidding, that's an inside joke between the two of us. Which still makes me laugh, by the way, sgmom!)

[lisavark]

I don't EC at night either. And you know how much I love EC'ing. But my daughter screams when I try to potty her at night, and EC's all about communication! She does NOT like to get out of bed to pee. I can't blame her--I don't either.

[hrsmom]

Totally true, Lisa! And it's not like they would pee under protest! So you have a crying upset baby (and, in our case, upset Mommy) and still no peeing. I remember reading when I was pregnant, that you can't force a baby to pee. I learned the truth in that statement!

[sgmom]

Well I wasn't thinking that I should force her to pee (shame on you two! LOL), but I was thinking more of techniques to keep her try. I do sometimes change her diaper in the middle of the night, but if she's half asleep and just wants to go back to bed, she doesn't want to wait for a diaper change. I CAN change her while she sleeps without waking her up, but should I?

Never mind, I guess... This thread is bunk.

[Carlyle]

Can she crawl to her own potty? It sounds like she's waking up and getting out of bed anyway...

[lisavark]

You can change her without waking her up?!? That's incredible! Your child is so completely different from mine that I am utterly unqualified to offer any kind of advice. I can hardly breathe without waking my child up. LOL.

But wait, I will offer advice: enjoy it and sleep!!!

[sgmom]

She can (and does MANY times during the day day) crawl/walk to (and sit on) her potty all by herself, but she never goes there to pee. And in the middle of the night, there's just no way she'll think to get out of bed and go to it. Sleeping diaper free (and unattended) is something I'm not ready to try yet.

I'm not as concerned about peeing her in the potty, as I am about her desire to remain dry. I think she wakes up and pees, then becomes uncomfortable. By the time I get to her, she's over the pee issue, and is ready to just crawl back to bed.

I could be wrong, but when I check her to see what the status is, she's almost always wet and very warm. So I was wondering if I should change her, or just leave her be until morning (which is what we've been doing).

When (how?) does nighttime EC begin?

[hrsmom]

Hi sgmom- I wasn't suggesting you force her to pee, more commiserating with everyone that some babies don't like to be taken potty at night!

If you can change her without waking her up, I would do that. If not, and she goes back to sleep until morning after she wakes up to pee, then don't worry about it. How many times a night does she wake up?

We started night time EC from the beginning, and then it stopped when she was about 7 months old. I did the diaper change thing until she became dry at night. On the extremely rare occasion, she'll ask to be taken potty in the middle of the night, but mostly she's dry. It's pretty cool!

[lindsayjean]

I am in the don't change them at night camp. Until of course my daughter would wake up and let me know she had to go starting around like 15 months or so, That's around when she started holding it all night and in underwear at night. My 3 month old wakes up with a pretty full diaper, but always goes in the potty right upon waking up. I refuse to let it forfeit me getting a semi- decent amount of sleep. Just not (personally) worth it to me.

[emmaegbert]

hmm, my LO is younger (almost 6m) and its- totally surprisingly to me!!- easier to EC at night than during the day with her. I dunno. She sleeps in bed with me, on a prefold which is on a rather large puddle pad, and many days its all dry. I just potty her when she nurses at night. Some nights I'm too tired though and then, ugh, I miss it. Usually that still just means she's lying on a damp prefold which I throw across the room (no kidding) and replace with a dry one that I have kind of under my pillow. I don't *think* she ever pees in her sleep, so I guess that I'm just lucky there.

When my son was this age I didn't know about EC. I always changed him if he was wet in the daytime, but at night, no way, just diped him right up and waited till morning. If its not waking them up, it just can't be bothering them that much!