DD is 3.75 and has been potty-trained during the day since she was 2.25.  Potty training was relatively quick and painless.  She's been using pull-ups overnight since last summer.  A week ago she announced she was not going to use pull-ups overnight anymore.  Great!  Of the last 8 nights, 6 have been completely dry, she's had one accident overnight, and one morning "oops" where she got out of bed in time but didn't make it to the potty (we've got her little potty in her room to make getting up at night easier). 

The issue is that the last 3 days in a row she's had accidents during the DAY.  Friday she just let a little pee out and ran to the toilet to let the rest out.  Saturday she was brushing her teeth and talking (mumbling) to me nonchalantly while I loaded the washing machine and she just peed while standing there in front of the sink.  Then yesterday we were at the park and she just squatted and peed mid-sentence.  These are days she's stayed dry overnight! Weird, right? 

She hasn't had an accident in public like that for over a year!  Does anyone have any ideas? 

Could she have a UTI or a low-grade virus that might explain this? Other than that I'm thinking she's just gotten overly confident and needs more reminders to go?

Yup, ditto ml!  Get her checked for a urinary tract infection. 

And if it's not that, then remind/tell her to "try" more often, because at this age they start to think they can hold it "forever" and yet, they can't. You used to focus on having her visit the potty lots at the beginning, and now you think "she knows when she needs to go, I don't need to focus on that anymore" and yet, you do!  Not that she shouldn't call the shots quite a bit, but just think about it - when was the last time she was in the potty?  And absolutely insist that she tries before you leave the house and after you've been home for a few hours and you notice she hasn't gone.  Don't fight, but don't leave the house until she sits on the toilet and "tries" (and you run the water a trickle in the faucet, if she has to go, she'll go!)  cool mommy trick.... :)

Also some girls get irritated badly from bubble bath, sitting in the tub with soap or shampoo for a long time, etc.  which can act like low grade UTI. 

Not to pry so this is totally rhetorical, my first thought was UTI, but if that's not it, my second was has there been an increase in the stress level in any portion of her environment that started 3 days ago, one you might not assume she's picking up on or over something that might seem fairly innocuous or unrelated to potty training?  Has there been an upsetting change (favorite teacher left) at daycare she's internalizing, for instance?  

See, this is why we need these boards!  a UTI hadn't even occurred to me!  She's never had one (I've never had one either, so it was no where in my mind).  I don't think it was a change in routine because the second and third accidents were within 30 minutes after she went to the bathroom. 

The hubris might be part of it,although she's good about going on her own usually and we make sure to remind her before we leave the house. She said something the other day like "I can hold my pee a long time like Daddy" (ha.  apparently mommies have to go all the time--wonder why? haha).

She's gone two days without an accident now so maybe it's cleared on its own?  She hasn't complained of stomach pain or pain while urinating and she hasn't had a fever.  Is there anything I should beyond keep an eye on it?  Call the doctor and ask what they think? 

Yes, call the doctor, and also see if she's red, chafed or cracked in the "down there" department.

Does she seem to be itchy, to always at herself, scratching or seeming to be bothered? 

I could have written this post! I am going through the same thing with my 3 year old right now. She has been wearing underwear since July and has had very few accidents and all of a sudden she is going in her pants sometimes twice a day. And I also didn't think of a UTI.

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Lissa, I'm eager to hear the follow up on your DD. Did she have a UTI or just a phase?

My 3 y/o is also having potty regression this week.  She has been trained for several months with no issues at all and she's had three accidents in the past few days. I am wondering if its a UTI or just a phase. 

lissa and rama, we had my DD checked out for a UTI and she did not have one. After a few weeks of wetting herself it all just stopped. Just a phase for us. HTH!

I called and triage nurse over the phone said it sounded like it *could* be a low-grade UTI but they wouldn't be able to tell without more symptoms (like a fever), and even then it would be hard to confirm.  She said to wait and see if it resolved itself and then if DD spiked a fever or started to complain of lower abdominal pain to call again.  DD never did and didn't have any more accidents.  So it's still a mystery!  It's tough because DD is NOT a feverish kid.  She has literally had a fever twice in her life, and one of those 2 times it was only a fever of about 100.1.  I'm like that too; I just don't get fevers.  I didn't even get a fever when I had mono in high school.  It's great for daycare not sending her home with nondescript feverish symptoms, but she's probably sick more frequently than we realize ha.

I'm glad this resolved without further action, but if you ever suspect a UTI, again, they can always definitively confirm it with a urine culture.  Sometimes by the time there is a fever she could actually have a kidney infection which is much more serious because the bacteria can travel up those tubes from the bladder to the kidneys.