Potty training regression

[AbundantlyBlessed]

DS has been potty trained except for naps/night time for almost a year now. But the past few weeks, he has had some regression. We are wondering if it is from the stress of changes with the pre-term labor we've been dealing with (I have been really restricted in what I can do, not formal bedrest but my doctor advised to take it easy). I also have to lie down and monitor for 2 hours every day. This has left DS with a lot of change in what used to be "normal routine" for him.

Thing is... he does not have "big" accidents, no peeing in the floor with it running down his legs kind of thing. He does fine in the morning. It is afternoons following nap where we are having problems, and it seems he is just not taking time to go when he needs to, but instead peeing a little here and there. Sometimes if we check his underwear, it is damp and we tell him to go use the potty then. If we do not check it, by the end of the day, he's gone here and there in it so much it is pretty wet by then.

We've taken his DVD privilege from him as this is usually what works for him when we're working on behavioral issues. I told him after he gets 5 stickers (5 days of keeping his underwear dry) he can have his DVDs back. He usually gets a certain amount of DVD time a day, and he would rather watch a DVD than do about anything else. Sometimes he'll go play while it's playing and stop to watch but have it playing in the background, even though we don't really do this as a rule.

It's not working with these potty issues, but maybe I'm going about it the wrong way. Maybe 5 days is too much for a 3.5-year old? Or maybe if it's due to the stresses of everything going on it's too strict of a way to handle it?

Any suggestions or ideas of things that have worked for you? I really wish we could get him back on track before the baby is born, but I know that's going to be stressful also, so maybe just wishful thinking on my part...

ETA: Forgot to say that the times we have checked his underwear and if it's damp, we've told him he needs to go use the potty then, he has not always "wanted" to...

[His butterfly]

Well, it's pretty normal for kids that young to regress during major changes and times of stress. He's having to deal not only with you having to take it easy but also with the fact that there is a new baby on the way. I would ease up and instead set a timer to go off every 30 min to an hour and have him stop and go potty. Be positive about it and focus on when he does go in the potty and not on when he has an accident. I've always found that negative reinforcement (ie discipline) with potty training never gets you anywhere. But that's my personal experience.