Sudden relapse in potty trained child

[sarahmck]

My 2y11m old son has been fully reliably potty trained since December.  He was pretty solidly good for pee by October and the poops took longer.  Since December, his nighttime diapers have been very frequently dry.  Three weeks ago was the last time he peed in one.  A week ago I switched him to waterproof training pants at night.

Two days ago, he peed at 8am, just as we were about to get up (later than usual because of school vacation).

Yesterday, he peed a ton at about 5am.  Then, just before bed, he was playing and suddenly said "mama, there's pee on the floor!" and had completely emptied his bladder on the floor for the first time in months.

Last night I put a diaper on him and he peed in it at some point.  Enough even to make it leak very slightly.

The only thing I can think of that's different is that I made a chocolate cake the other day and his first piece of it was the evening before the first pee (the 8am one).  He has proceeded to have one small piece after dinner each night.  It's gone now.  There was nothing strange in it.  The only things in it that he doesn't eat regularly are coconut oil, which he occasionally eats when I bake, but this had uncooked coconut oil frosting, too, and cocoa powder.

What could cause this?

[Llyra]

I don't think I'd worry. In my experience (all mine are potty trained now) the process of potty-training is a back-and-forth one full of setbacks. Even months or years after training seems complete, there are often slip-ups and bad days and "oopses" and accidents. A lot of kids continue to have the odd accident until about age 5, from what I've seen as a teacher, too. And nighttime "training" is often particularly marked by setbacks.

I'd handle it patiently, and if it becomes frequent, go back to a nighttime diaper for the sake of my patience and the child's self-esteem. To be dry at night before three is really unusual anyway.

One thing I might do, though-- if he is also having daytime accidents, I might have a urine sample tested for a urinary tract infection. Just in case. Because sometimes a sudden onset of accidents is a symptom of an infection. But with such a young child, this wouldn't be my first thought, honestly. Even my earliest potty-learning (DD1 was 19 months) there were a lot of periods where she started wetting again for a short time.

I wouldn't go blaming diet. The evidence for a dietary component to night wetting is anecdotal, and inconsistent, and mostly about long-term bedwetting in older children.