So, no. You don’t have to dive into night training if you don’t feel
up to it yourself. Or if your child has been struggling with sleep. Or if
you’re struggling with sleep. But I can’t say it enough: Do not go past
three and a half without attending to it.
Completely random side note to end this chapter. If you are over
thirty-two weeks’ pregnant with another child, it’s so totally cool to
put off night training until the baby is around four to six weeks. You
need to rest, save energy for labor and birth, and adjust to life with a
newborn. You can attend to night training when you are waking for
night feedings for the baby. There is no reason to stress yourself out
with night training right now. Unless, of course, you want to. Then
go for it, Mama.
Nighttime Accidents
Nighttime accidents are inevitable. Some nights your child might
drink too much fluid, and others, you might simply forget to wake (or
sleep through waking) your child. As these accidents are inevitable,
I’ve found a pretty good way to deal with them: while your child is
going through the transition from diapers to diaperless at night, keep
an extra pair of pajamas and a thick fleece blanket near the bed.
Should your child have an accident, change her pajamas and be sure
to ask or sit her on the potty in case she has more pee—often she
won’t have emptied her bladder completely. Instead of changing
sheets in the middle of the night, simply place the fleece blanket
over the wet sheet. The fleece will keep the pee from soaking her dry
pajamas. This may sound gross to some, but it sure beats having to