Accidents..at wit's end

Kristen - posted on 11/02/2009

In the same boat!!



We went from being 100% trained (even wearing panties to bed) to having typically 2 accidents a day and ALWAYS waking up at least once a night having wet herself.we have reverted to pullups at bedtime because I can't keep up with the sheets being wet and having to change them twice a night.



We even went to a urologist because of this and she told us that a lot of kids at this age do not 'void' completely (meaning they pee enough jus to ease the sensation) and gave us some helpful suggestions:



1) put a stool by the potty so their feet touch something...this increases the length of the sensation making them 'void' more volume



2) get a neat timer (we have an egg shaped kitchen timer...you know the kind with sand in it...maybe 1 minute?) and have them sit on the potty till the sand runs iout (usually my daughter will pee again or at least trickle some more out)



3) make sure they poop regularly (i know this sounds gross, but it has helped us tremendously!) If they hold their poop in too long, it will press against their bladder making them feel urgency and ultimately causing accidents.



These things have helped us a lot...we still have a few accidents, but most of the time it's just a drop or two, and not a full bladder release.



Worth a try, right?

Danielle - posted on 11/01/2009

My daughter went through an accident phase too at about 3 1/2. It was extremely frustrating ecspecially since she has been potty trained since she was 18mths. her accidents occured at school and mostly during nap time but still frustrating. I talked with her pediatrician and after really thinking about the accidents and when they occured it appeared to me that it was the changes that were occuring in her class room. She was moved to an older class and had a few different teachers over the course of a few weeks who she was not familiar with.. So it seems to me that your daughter is having trouble adjusting to her big sis being at school. Were they close? If so maybe set up something special for the two of them to do! Good LUck!

Shannon - posted on 10/23/2009

My older daughter had accidents a lot after a time of none. I took her to the pediatrician and the first thing they did was ruled out a urinary tract infection. Girls are extremely prone to them. Especially if you give them the fun bubble baths. We had to cut bubbles out for her completely and my almost 4 year old only gets them occasionally. Rule out medical first and if it isn't that then focus on step 2. UTI's are pretty easy to fix with antibiotics. Good luck. It can be frustrating.

Priscilla - posted on 10/23/2009

I know how you feel!! My youngest daughter had a kidney disease that she couldn't control her bladder. I got so upset. I was about to go crazy.When I was trying to potty traine both of my girl i used a reward system. I started out with a poster board that had their name on it and let them put a sticker on it each time they pottied. I had one for poopy,and one for peeing. Plus they would get a sucker. As far as the accidents, i would try making her go every hour to every two hours. That is what the kidney dr told us with our daughter. It might just be just because she is upset because sissy is gone but it will help get her in a process of going to the bathroom. Hope this helps. Lets us know .

Tanya - posted on 10/20/2009

I totally get it. We went through the same thing for a little while. Some children can be VERY sensitive to change and it certainly sounds like your little one is. She was used to having her sister around all summer and now suddenly she's alone. I get needing time to yourself... I'm going back to work early from maternity leave just so I can get out of the house! But I found that when my daughter was training... and regressing in this absolutely awful cycle, it helped if I made her go to the toilet every hour. No kidding. I would time it on our activities or even set the timer on my cell phone or microwave. Then I would have her sit on the toilet and we would read a book. Potty Time With Elmo, to be exact. It's one of those ones where you press a button and it makes a specific sound. She loved it. Now, she will sit on the toilet and "read" it all by herself. There are the occasions when she still has an accident, like when she's having a playdate with her cousins and she's having too much fun playing until that very last second and she doesn't quite make it, but she's been doing good. I realise that your husband is frustrated, but he does have a good idea. Keep her in pull-ups again and then reward her with praise when it's dry when you get to the bathroom. Right now she's getting a reaction for the negative behaviour (having an accident) and attention is all she really wants. If you spend 5 minutes every hour with her on the toilet, soon she'll be going by herself again and you won't have to pull your hair out anymore. Good Luck!

Melissa - posted on 10/16/2009

It sounds like she is reacting to her big sis being gone all day. I have 3 year old triplets. I was told anything stressful that happens in their lives (not stressful to us but to them) would more than likely cause them to regress. And it did. Even things like my DH being off work more days than they were used to him being home. I moved each of them into their own room. We had accidents. It would take me awhile to figure out what was causing the accidents and then I would talk tot hem about what I thought was bothering them, but I never said anything about the accidents. I got to where when it happened I would tell them to go to the bath room and strip. I would go in and wet a wash cloth and hand it to them for them to wash off. I would get them clean under ware and then I got a bottle of vinger and spry the accident and they would help me clean it up. And that was the end of it. I didn't say anything else about it. I had some problems with my DH. He would get mad and yell at them about it, and it got worse. I got to the point I told him he was part of the problem. He didn't help clean them up or the mess they made so I really didn't think he had a voice in it. If he had not of let up on them I would have made an appointment with their pedi. so that she could tell him he was part of the problem.
OK - I wrote a book - sorry - but maybe something I wrote will help you.
Good Luck!

Joyce - posted on 10/16/2009

OMG...nice to hear I am not alone. I have no clue what to do either in a somewhat simular situation...my son who will also be 4 in Nov is/was potty trained, he has an 8 month old brother and jealousy has finally appeared. He pees in the potty for the most part, freaks out about pooping and when my husband is here with the boys he has wet the carpet...he holds in his poop for days and has pooped in the middle of the night twice now as he can no longer hold it...my husband comes unglued and gets upset with him and I get mad that he gets so upset...how can you get mad when he is half asleep when it happens???

Have you tried bribing her? I totally understand about the preschool...I went part time after my 1st son and we are only doing preschool for a short while, so ridiculous the price and they have to know so much for kindergarten...crazy.

Good luck! Joyce