Question
Hi John-
I'm still struggling to understand your stance on wearing diapers at naps/nights. I have read the chapter on night time bedwetting multiple times and it seems clear that you advocate no diapers or pullups... "wearing a diaper or anything that feels even remotely similar to a diaper will prevent the child from learning to stay dry throughout the night." But then I read through the FAQs here and it seems like opposite advice is given: "Put her in a diaper at night. Nighttime dryness follows daytime dryness, sometimes quickly, but oftentimes it's a few months or so. She won't be confused if you use a diaper (not a pullup but a diaper) at night for a while until she's waking up dry more days than not."
So is your advice to continue to use a diaper until they start occasionally waking up dry or is it to go cold turkey on the diapers prior to any night time progress?
My 22mo old daughter has been day trained since 16mo. I left her diaper free at night for a period of 4 weeks at around 19mo but gave up when the poop cleanup got too much for me. It's been a rough last few months, with her trying every nap and night time to remove her diaper and smear poop everywhere. I have come up with countless ways to keep the diaper on, but she "outsmarts" me every time. She can undo safety pins, duct tape, and even shimmy the diaper down when she's in backwards zipped pajamas! To me, this is all a sign that she is ready to learn to poop on the toilet. I removed the diaper again at sleep times, but she continues to pee while sleeping and poop in her bed while awake (and then play with it). I'm tired of cleaning poop out of the bed and carpet! How would you handle the poop training, and once that's tackled, how long would you continue to leave her diaper free at naps/nights before you decide that she's just not physically capable of not peeing in her sleep yet?
Thanks!
Cole Ramirez
