Many daughters first learn about the night trips from a fall. Her mother is on the floor, or bruised along one hip, and the bathroom walk becomes the thing you now watch. Some of the clearest signs come before any fall, and they show up in the room she sleeps in, not in the hall.
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What to look at first
Start at the bedside, in the dark, the way she would. Look for a bucket, a plastic jug, a covered cup, or a pot tucked under the nightstand or behind the chair. Look for a towel rolled on the floor near the bed. Look for a small trash liner in the bedroom that does not match the liners in the kitchen. Any of these can mean she has stopped walking to the bathroom at night and is handling the need where she lies or sits.
Why it matters
A container is a shorter trip, and that is the appeal. It also moves the risk. The bed-to-bathroom route you may already have measured is no longer the route she uses. The trouble now sits at the bedside, where the floor may be a different surface, the lamp is farther away, and she may be reaching or leaning over the edge of the mattress. Nobody has checked that spot, and the stops you have been setting up do not include it.
Ask her, then check
Ask her directly, in daylight, without making it feel like a test. Ask what she does when she wakes up needing to go, and whether it is harder than it used to be. She may answer the second question before the first. Then go and look. Write down the answers in separate columns: what she told you, and what you saw. Note what container she uses, where it sits, how often it gets emptied, who empties it, and whether she is getting up at all during the night.
What to write down
Keep one line per night for a week. Note whether the container was used, whether she stood up or stayed in bed, the rough time, and whether anything was on the floor. When you check the room, write down whether the lamp is on or off, the bed height, and where her slippers sit. Keep these notes where the next person who checks the room can read the same thing you did.
When to bring it to the doctor
If she has stopped getting up on her own, or has started using a container because the trip hurts or feels unsafe, tell her physician. Why she is no longer walking to the bathroom is a clinical question, and the doctor is the one who should answer it. Bring the week of notes. Ask whether the change in her trips is worth looking into, and what she should do in the meantime. Those answers belong to her physician, not to a plan you build alone at 3am.
If you find it
Put the container where her hand lands when she sits up, not where it is easiest for you to reach. Choose a light she can find without standing. Empty and rinse it at a set time each day, and write that time down too. A container left full overnight is its own hazard, and a container moved across the floor is one more thing to trip on, so leave it where she can reach it and keep the floor clear around it.