My son is 3.5 years old and potty trained. He was dry at night for 2 months, so we stopped using diapers at night. After about 2 weeks of dry nights, he started to wet the bed. He is still very young, so I'm not surprised at this. I wondering what options we have other than putting him back in diapers. Will waking him up in the middle of the night work? Will putting the diapers back on "ruin him psychologically"?
Thanks!
Thanks everyone. I forgot to mention in my original posting that we cloth diapered. When he was dry during the day, we started using the cloth training pants (Never leak, unlike pullups, and are much cheaper in the long run! Highly recommended!!!!) I tried getting him up 2 nights ago to pee, and it was like steering a very drunk friend out of a bar--he was dead-asleep and barely able to standup. Not very fun or something I want to make a habit of. I want to train him to be dry all night, not to have to get up in the middle of the night, right? So we offered him the option of wearing "night underpants" again, and he didn't seem to mind at all. And of course, he was dry as a bone last night. We'll try this again for a few months, and will see where it takes us.
He's done all this training all by himself, with no input from us other than high-5s that he was dry, so I don't think anyone feels bad about backtracking a bit.
Thanks!
Well at most websites where you buy cloth diapers, they also offer cloth training pants or night-time pants so they will look and feel like underwear but will keep accidents from getting all over the sheets.
http://nickisdiapers.com/catalog.php?category=16
http://www.jilliansdrawers.com/store/trainingpants.html
Here's an option I wouldn't have thought of but I just barely saw it.
http://www.drchristophers.com/Kid-e-Dry-Extract.html
My mom used to get my sister up in the middle of the night, and the poor girl slept through the whole thing.
Diapers or pull ups. Unless you want to get up and change wet sheets regularly (then make sure you use a plastic/waterproof matress pad). I've tried waking up my little one to go potty in the night -- not fun, he cried and wanted to sleep, barely did anything on the potty, and then couldn't settle down to sleep again without help. It's better to let his body learn to sleep, and give him time for his bladder and nervous system mature enough to be able to stay dry. That's the best way to not ruin him psychologically!
My second child had that same issue...just occasional wetting at night, so I bought those giant absorbant pads they use for the elderly in their chairs (disposable underpads) and put one under her bottom sheet. I changed it if there was an accident or each time I changed the sheet. It was simple and cheap AND she always knew when she wet the bed. I ended up using on half of a pack and the job was done.
When your child has been dry and usually is dry and seems to have good control and then steps backward I look at what is going on in the family. Is there a stress factor going on. You and dad arguing more. Anything? Not getting along well with kids who are friends. I suggest looking at all these things before going back to pull ups or something.
My 4 year old has been potty trained for 2 years and she still has the occasional accident. We have opted for the pull-ups. Expensive, yes. But we have done this. We put the pull-up over her regular underwear and reuse them to save on the cost. So that works. Good luck.
Waking him up at night would be miserable for all of you. Put pull-ups on. My oldest son was potty trained during the day at 3. He wasn't potty trained at night until 5. I tried everything. Don't shame your son for being wet. Don't even acknowledge it. When he has a dry night, celebrate it!
Try "pull-ups". My 3 year old doesn't view pull-ups as a "diaper". Be careful how you refer to and present the idea of wearing pull-ups. If I accidentally refer to it as a diaper she throws a fit! Maybe he could pick out the type of pull-up and there are even "nite time" only pull-ups. If he sees it is just for night hopefully he will still feel like a big boy. My pediatrician suggested they needed to wake up dry in their pull-ups for a full month before going without. Good luck!
3 1/2 is not too young!! Don't give him anything to drink for 2 hours before bed time, and leave him in underwear. He will feel wet, and know its gross. If he is in a diaper, he won't care if he pees, so he will have no reason not to.
I would advise against pullups as they feel too much like diapers, so they is no reason not to go potty in them. Plus the pull ups keep the wetness way so the child does not know that they went until the morning. The absorbent pads are very helpful or we just went to Walmart and got a waterproof matress pad. It was around $20 and worked great. It took my 2 year old about a month and he is dry every night now...unless of course, we forget to send him to the potty right before bed or sent him to bed with a juice cup. : P
This might not solve anything, but usually when my boys go backward in their potty training, it is because of something that changed in their lives. Sometimes it helps to sit down with them and ask them if there is something they are worried about or something upsetting them. Once they get out their feelings, they go back to better behavior/habits. Mine have changed potty habits (and/or acted out) for things as big as me having surgery or dad changing his work schedule to things as simple as me moving a favorite chair to a different room. My boys just changed from two toddler beds to a bunk bed. My 4 yr old was out of control the day before we picked up the bed until it occurred to me to ask him what he was worried about. He was worried about losing his bed and all the unknowns about the new one. Once he got that out and I calmed some of his fears, he behaved fine. Even though my 2 yr old had a blast with the bunk bed the first day and night, the following day he pooped in his pants all day long (he's been pooping only in the toilet for months). Finally I asked him if he was worried about something. He was a little uncomfortable with the new bed and also worried about his dad. He used the toilet the next time he needed to go. I hope it works for you too!
From someone who couldn't stay dry at night until after 8 years old -- pull-ups would have been nice to have. I was (and still am) a heavy sleeper and I wouldn't even know I wet the bed until I woke up in the morning. However, after 2 and a half months of dry nights, it probably isn't that. You know your son best; will he think it's a backwards step or be ashamed to have pullups? Or would he be relieved to have a solution that doesn't leave him dreading waking up? Like the previous poster suggested, if you decide to use pull-ups make sure you present them so they aren't diapers.
Hi S.,
I have a 7 year old boy and I had the same problem with him. I have a very strick schedule still with him he stops drinking 45 mins before his bed time. He goes to the bath room before he goes to bed. He goes to bed by 8:30 and I do wake him up before I go to bed around 10:30 and make him go to the bathroom. It was the only thing that worked for us, like your son mine was potty trained by 3 and during the day I had no problems but at night he just does not wake up. We talked to doctors and they all said eventually he would just grow out of it. He did not by kindergarten and was extremely embarrassed (thanks to his older sister :))so he and I came up with our own plan.
He is 7 now and going into the 2nd grade and still if he over drinks he will not wake up. He is very h*** o* himself about it so giving him the power to know how to avoid the accident has made him a lot more confident. Like I said all the doctors say some kids just take longer, your son is still so young that finding a time to stop him from drinking and waking him up a couple of hours to use the restrooom now will hopefully avoid him having to go through what my son did when he started school.
As far as diapers keep him out of them. I bought a plastic mattress cover to put over my sons mattress and under his sheets that way if he did have an accident we would just throw the sheets in the washer before we left for work and school. Going back to diapers is taking a step back and almost like telling him he can't do it. He can but just needs your help finding a schedule that works. Be patient it is harder on them then on us.
I've been through this with all 3 of mine. My oldest is 7 1/2 and on the advice of his ped. we got him an alarm, but this only works for older motivated children. Your son is too young. I have waterproof pads and an absorbent sheet, and just get used to washing sheets. They never really woke up so we didn't try that tactic too long. They get high fives and praise when they stay dry and when they don't we just say, Bummer, and they help change the sheets. I have pull-ups for sleep overs at Grandma's and for camping, though.
My son will be 5 next week, and still wears pull ups at night. He also regressed several times during potty training. I think it is somewhat normal. He also has had a waterproof mattress pad on since he's been in his big boy bed. I have an extra, so I can change the bed completely without having to do laundry first (pullups do leak sometimes).
