Hi,
Maybe you should join our email discussion group, perhaps this is a normal problem, with a learning curve attached. There are more people active there who have ostomies, recently this post was shared:
"At night I attach a Convatec gallon sized drainage bottle to the pouch with
the long hose and let it dangle from the side of the bed. It has never given
me problems. Except for an occasional failure to drain, in which case I just
straighten out the drain end of the pouch and it drains automatically. It's
a matter of learning, over time, to pass ones hand over the pouch without
even thinking abut it and reacting when there is a need. It becomes second
nature."
The Convatec site also discusses night drainage systems, maybe you can get some ideas there. Otherwise, if possible your mother could get some guidance from an ET/ostomy nurse.
www.wocn.org/patients/
We have a list of "ostomate" resources here:
blcwebcafe.org/ostomyresources.asp
Take care,
Wendy