Wet Diapers

[storybookending]

I have a child that is not quite two years old. The last couple of weeks or so immediately after she pees in her diaper she will start whining that she is wet and needs to be changed. She will go into her drawer and pull out a diaper and wipes and bring them to me whining “wet wet wet” over and over. I will feel her diaper and it will be warm as if she had just peed. She does this at home as well. Sometimes she’ll let it go and sometimes she screams until you change her.

Licensing states that we are to change a child as soon as we notice their diaper is soiled. My problem is that this particular child pees SO much. I swear this is happening every 20 minutes or so throughout the morning. If I honestly changed her every time this occurred we would have at least 20 changes in a 9 hour period.

She doesn’t drink too much. I serve them 4 oz of liquids at each meal (AM snack and lunch, milk and PM snack, juice) most of the time she doesn’t finish her cup. She doesn’t really care for juice and will ask for water or milk instead at PM snack.

I though about it being a sign for potty training readiness but I don’t think she is even close to that. It’s never before she pees that she’s whining, only directly after and her parents and I both agree that she has the attention span of a goldfish and isn’t ready for training. They sit her on the potty at home sometimes but she just thinks it’s a fun new game.

Has anyone ever had this with a child before?

[Cat Herder]

Is the urine dark in color? Strong odor? Any history of UTI?

Could also be a way to get your complete attention during times she might not otherwise have it. ::

[HappyEverAfter]

Is her skin sensitive? It could be that the wetness bothers her skin which is why she notices so immediately after she pees. I wonder if you did a thick barrier of A&D or Desitin Paste at each diaper change if she would notice so quickly?

Could also be that her bladder isn't growing as fast as the rest of her so it's filling too fast and emptying more often than it should. As a child I had this problem and ended up finally having to have my bladder stretched. This was over 30 years ago so I would assume they have better treatment options nowadays. Might be something to consider having her parents ask the pediatrician about. Maybe keep a log of all wet diapers and fluid intake for a few days and see how it measures up on paper.

[storybookending]

Is the urine dark in color? Strong odor? Any history of UTI?

Could also be a way to get your complete attention during times she might not otherwise have it. ::

Urine is normal. No UTI history. The attention thing makes most sense to me. Child in question is also my niece. I have 4 nephews and 4 nieces with one on the way but the bond between the two of us is unlike my bond with the others. I love them all equally but there’s just something special between the two of us. I can’t explain it. Not only is her dad my brother but her mom also happens to be my best friend. Needless to say we spend A LOT of hours together outside of daycare. She is a very spoiled and very particular child. She’s my biggest handful by far and I think a lot of her issues stem from the fact that at home she’s center of attention, at her maternal grand parents house she’s the only grand child so there she the center of attention. We don’t share well, we don’t play very nice with kids our age etc etc.

Is her skin sensitive? It could be that the wetness bothers her skin which is why she notices so immediately after she pees. I wonder if you did a thick barrier of A&D or Desitin Paste at each diaper change if she would notice so quickly?

Could also be that her bladder isn't growing as fast as the rest of her so it's filling too fast and emptying more often than it should. As a child I had this problem and ended up finally having to have my bladder stretched. This was over 30 years ago so I would assume they have better treatment options nowadays. Might be something to consider having her parents ask the pediatrician about. Maybe keep a log of all wet diapers and fluid intake for a few days and see how it measures up on paper.

She doesn’t really have too big of history of diaper rash. She had a lot of ear infections and later had tubes and every time she had one she would get a rash from the medication and get a doctor prescribed paste to apply. She also reacts when wearing Huggies Diapers but since we’ve made the connection they don’t put those on her anymore. Hasn’t had a rash of any sort since.

I think her mom mentioned the shear amount of wet diaper once to her doctor. When she was right around the age of 1 this kids liquid intake was ridiculous. She would have her normal amount of formula and then eventually whole milk but would also drink between 70-80 ounces of water a day. I am not exaggerating, This stopped after we took away the bottle and switched to sippy cups. She had a good month long span after taking them away where she refused to drink anything at all because she was so particular about her cup not being a bottle. It’s always something with this kid! I think it’s ingrained in her personality to always do things the hard way

[Play Care]

I understand soiled to mean poop. Diapers are meant to handle a certain amount of urine, so I wouldn't necessarily change a diaper if I thought a child just peed.

That said, recognizing they are wet/uncomfortable is a sign of potty training readiness...

[Ladybugs]

My first thought was type 1 diabetes. Has she been checked for this?

[Blackcat31]

I don't think her attention span should dictate her toilet training abilities or lack of.

I've had many kids that didn't seem to know up from down that were easily potty trained.

If she is truly annoyed or bothered by a wet diaper and brings you wipes etc, I'd just direct her to the potty chair.

Have her sit. Use a timer/bell if necessary so she knows when to get up and when to stay.

I'd also change her diaper every single time (even if it's ten times in an hour) but I would have her re-dress herself.

It's all part of the training process and if she's "aware" of her body functions ow at this age, she's onto something so yay!