Preemptive nighttime pee or no?

[inkandpaper]

Ok, so I just started full-time ec with my dd who is 8 months old.  We'd been casually ec-ing since a couple weeks old, and I felt like we were both ready to move it up a notch.  So we're doing ok during the day (except for not cuing when on the floor ), but I hadn't been planning on trying night times yet.  But when I started offering the potty right before bed and first thing in the morning, dd started being dry most nights.  

This made me wonder if her frequent "wake-ups" where she squirms, tosses and turns and barely nurses (we cosleep) are due to a full bladder and being uncomfortable.  Last night, there was one time early early in the morning where she was very squirmy/agitated and I thought (in my half-awake state) that she probably was going to pee.  Sure enough, she was wet in the morning.

So now I'm wondering if I could eliminate the frequent stirring by offering her the potty sometime during the night.  Part of me says no because she can already hold it most nights and her bladder will grow into it.  Also, she is not the greatest sleeper and I'm kinda afraid that offering her the potty will wake her up and I'll have a hard time getting her back to sleep.  On the other hand, maybe if I do a preemptive potty offer around 10-11 when dh and I go to bed, maybe she would sleep better after.

One problem is that the way I have her dressed for the night is not conducive to easy access.  She is in a cloth diaper (dream-eze or a padfolded flat inside a disana tie nappy) under a disana soaker with a wool sleep sack over all that.  It's hard enough to take it off in the morning - wouldn't work at night.  What else could I dress her in that would keep her warm at night if I do decide to offer the potty at night?

So I guess what I'm wondering is - do I change what I'm doing at night?  Do I offer the potty every night at 10ish preemptively?  Do I offer if I think she's getting too squirmy?  How do I keep her asleep?

[chel]

since she is dry most nights, I would stop diapering at night and potty before and after sleep. I wouldn't wake her at night, but if she get squirmy I would Deffinately take her to the potty

You do need to get her sleeping area pee proof.

[EchoSoul]

When you say potty.. are you talking adult  toilet, or her own kid potty? I think making her wait to get to the toilet would definitely rouse her... but if you put her on her own little potty right on/next to the bed you shouldn't have to worry. I put my son on his potty during the night, and he doesn't even open his eyes. Squirming is definitely a sign. My son will squirm and cry and wake frequently until the light bulb turns on in my head and I potty him. He'll even sit bolt upright if he's about to burst(will not pee himself laying down). About how to dress her... can you do legwarmers?

Y'know...some nights, my son can hold it all night, other nights he needs to pee once, other nights he needs to pee every time he stirs. It's all individual. I don't think you should make her wait...  but pottying her when she's squirming I'd definitely do that.

[flyrabbitfly]

For us the nighttime squirming was WHY we nighttime EC'd and it did fix the problem. Can you make or invest in some wool chaps to tuck the prefold into? There is a DIY EC site with lots of patterns, or Continuum Family and EC Store have them to buy. Or wait for warmer weather, protect the mattress and let her sleep naked! We use a thick wool blanket under the sheet, and kept some towels nearby in case of a night time miss. I would potty him once or twice a night until recently, now he usually goes all night (32 mo). I still will potty him once if he is unusually squirmy. Definitely need a bedside potty, or even a little tophat potty I think would be good for a girl at night- then she is in your lap, not really sitting up... Good luck!

[inkandpaper]

By potty i do mean a little kiddy potty - I have the Baby Bjorn little potty and smart potty.  The smart potty insert kind of works as a top hat.  I think I would put a potty cozy on it so it isn't too cold at night.

flyrabbitfly - wool chaps is a good idea.  i'm thinking that with a prefold tucked in would be easiest to use at night.  Maybe combine it with legwarmers and socks to keep her toes warm.  I found the pattern for making split-crotch pants, but I'm not sure if that would be as easy to use at night as chaps.  Or would it?

So should I potty her only if she is squirming?  Or should I offer the potty at a particular time each night (3-4 hours after she goes to sleep)?

[seraf]

Our boys sleep in a shirt and diaper belt with a diaper tucked in front and back. I posted a video in a recent night thread. Our guys sleep under the covers with us, so I don't worry about warm clothes much besides camping. We usually use a wool nightgown or these overalls for that kind of cold weather.

It can't hurt to try offering and seeing if you can get a better night sleep.

[flyrabbitfly]

Think chaps are easier when misses are more likely than not.
We only offered at squirms, but if you go to bed later, offering when you go to bed would probably get you the longest interval of uninterrupted sleep...

[inkandpaper]

Thanks for sharing that overall pattern, Seraf!  That might me what I end up using if i can get my hands on a wool sweater.  I like to dress dd warmly at night because if I share my blankets with her, she either kicks them off me or pulls it over her head.

I ended up offering the potty last night even though I hadn't intended to yet.  She woke up and began to kick me and poke me in the face, so I thought - why not?  She's already totally awake.  So she peed a ton, but then didn't fall asleep for a long time because the cat came to sit by her and she loooves the cat .  Ah well.  She didn't wake up for the rest of the night, but I can't read much into that yet because I don't know what time she finally fell asleep.

I do think I will try offering her the potty at night preemptively because my goal is to maximize the sleep.  Not sure what time yet, probably when dh and I go to bed.    

[AndreaOlson]

I think the 10-11pm thing is a great idea and you should try it for 2 or 3 nights and see how it goes. If you don't see it helping *everyone* get more sleep, then nix it and trust your intuition that she'll learn to hold it as her bladder strengthens…it's totally true that this is how it happens. As for night dressing, do you live in a super cold climate? For us we just used a CD with cover and elastic-topped pants and a blanket and he was warm enough. I would usually have long socks on him as well. And a hat when super-newborn. But since we co-slept too, my body heat kept him plenty warm and the room was warm enough to EC at night without him getting too cold and fussing about it. Also, if you do a night potty, use a potty cozy. I have a blog post on my site that shares how to make one out of an old tshirt. Remember, with nighttime EC, just do what gets everyone the most sleep at night. If it's not broken, don't try to fix it. And nighttime dryness does follow daytime…in time…so don't feel like you have to unless it ends up working for everyone! A little squirming is WAY better than not being able to get baby back to sleep. ;o) xx Andrea

[Babysdailywork]

Hi - this a great thread!  Thanks everyone for sharing.  We have practiced EC with DD since she was 3 days old, both at night and during the day.  She is 7 months now, so we have been through many changes.  At night, she went from sleeping over the potty after waking, to having a long nurse to go back to sleep after potty wakes/wiggles, to what is true now:  when she moves into a lighter sleep for more than a few minutes, I offer her the potty and she pees reliably, eyes still closed, and nurses for a few (3 - 15, depending) minutes, then back to a sound and still sleep.  Better sleep for all of us.  There are many nights now when she doesn't move into a lighter wiggly sleep for 6 hours, so then we offer the potty only once or twice a night.  We used to do it more preemptively, but it doesn't make sense anymore.  My point is, over these months, we've all adapted our responses as she has changed, and will continue to do so.

For sleeping, she wears a long open baby gown to cover her all the way down to her toes for warmth, and a sleep sack on top.  Easy to unzip from the bottom and gently lift her gown up.   

[inkandpaper]

Alright, I have updates from nighttime ec experimentation.  I've been doing some partial elimination diets and food trials at the same time, so I've have a lot of confounding variables to work with, and there was a week and a half of sleep from hell.  It seemed to coincide with reintroducing gluten, and sleep is better now that I've removed it again...

So dd wasn't thrilled about the preemptive peeing when she really just wanted to eat and go right back to sleep.  Now I am just taking her if she is tossing and turning and fussing.  She barely wakes up, and sometimes will be asleep in the middle of putting the diaper back on!  The trick is to stick a boob in her mouth as soon as she is on the potty, and she'll pee immediately.  

I've been dressing her in a big, cozy cotton thermal shirt, socks, wool/cotton legwarmers and a snappied prefold.  I tried split crotch pants (I cut a hole in some regular pants) with a loin cloth prefold tucked into the waistband, but of course she peed that time and it went right out the side and got all over her leg.  i've snappied so many prefolds that I can do it easily in the dark.  it looks a little wonky in the morning, but it works :)  Some nights she needs to pee more than others.  Last night not at all.  I'm guessing this will all change over time as she gets older, but it is working for now!

[rumi]

Wish I had thought to try this.  

(No longer ec'ing - mine grown up!  I am just cruising here after a long time just to see how it is going.)  I used to change dd's cds at night roughly btw 8-14 months - before and after that she used to be dry till morning and only go right after waking.  But those few months in between i used to change her cds (as well as her clothes and  the big towel we put her to sleep on (with a rubber sheet below that) ) ... there were a couple of times I put her on the potty without waking her up - this was usually if we were transferring from car to bed and so she was being moved anyway ... but in retrospect I think I could have tried putting her on the potty after nursing her at night. 

She did go to the potty at night before sleeping but I guess during those particular months that did not pre-empt needing to go again.