Bed Wetting - Wareham,MA

My oldest son also had an issue with bedwetting. He was 'daytime' potty trained by 2.5 and was about to start kindergarten while still wetting at night. I was very upset and felt like I failed at this stage of parenting because everyone else his age (it seemed) was completely trained.
I brought it up to his pedi, and told him how we were wakng him at night with no avail.
His suggestions-do NOT wake him at night. You're not actually teaching him anything. His body needs to get the signal himself. (I didn't like that suggestion at all). Secondly, and most importantly, he'll be ready when he's ready. I got him back into the pull-ups with different tactics (mostly, he just didn't want to keep waking up wet and was not a fan of helping me change the sheets at 2am), and put a protector on his bed. He didn't earn special rewards for keeping dry, just a neutral 'good job, keep it up'. He can't control the bedwetting. His body will be ready when it's time.
Hang in there-it'll fix itself soon!

It is fairly common for 4-year-olds to still wet the bed - some children aren't physically ready to make it through the night at this age. In fact, 1 out of every 5 five-year-olds still wet the bed, and this is more common for boys than for girls. Your son probably just needs to grow up a little more and then he will be big enough to not wet the bed. You could try explaining this to him, and if he still wants to try big boy underpants at night time, just make sure he has a waterproof mattress cover and keep some towels and clean clothes stocked in his room for nighttime accidents. You can change his clothes, put a folded bath towel over the wet spot and have him sleep on that and then change the sheets in the morning.

Wikipedia has a good article on bedwetting if you'd like to learn more:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bedwetting

I looked it up online for you and "Goodnights" now has sleep shorts: "GoodNites® Sleep Boxer for boys come in two sizes: S-M: 38-65 lbs and L-XL: 60-110+ lbs. So unless your son is over 110 lbs., here's your answer! Here's the website. You can even buy them online if you don't want to buy them in the store.
http://www.goodnites.com/NA/products/BuyOnline.aspx
Good luck and God bless!

I also had this problem with my oldest son. He went almost two years being dry through the night and then when he turned 5 he started wetting the bed. We tried everything from rewards to punishments(making him clean and change his own bed, puting him on the bottom bunk, earlier bed times) limiting his fluid intake, making him go before we went to bed, etc... Our pediatrician suggested a bed wetting alarm, he said some kids dont get the message they need to pee until its too late. It worked well, and I am happy to say he's been dry for over two years now. He had a couple set backs initially but he got it and now its a distant memory. Hope this helps.

Hi D.,
This can be frustrating so don't worry if you feel that way. We went through it with our son until he was eight!

Our MD recommended nothing big to drink after 4pm. With dinner we'd give him a very small amount of liquid. Literally, about two sips' worth. Nothing to drink before bed. (We think he might have "cheated" by taking sips of water when he brushed his teeth.) I know that sounds harsh. He learned to accept it because he realized how horrible he felt to wake up wet. I think you're doing the right thing by waking him up to pee in the night and having him pee right before bed.

You could try a bed-wetting alarm but for us it didn't work because my son slept so heavily that he didn't wake up, it just woke the rest of the house. If you do decide to go that route, we got a good one from an online source called the bedwetting store or something like that. It does work for some children, it just didn't for ours.

As I said, we went through this until our son was eight. We were very frustrated and worried, especially because our MD kept telling us it was still within normal, and we didn't see how it could be. But he did just stop one fine day. So take heart. Keep doing the things you're doing, and it will be fine. Best of luck!

When I used to work in daycare one parent told me that her dr. told her that mild and dairy products make you pee so at night maybe try giving your son a little water instead of milk and also think about no dairy after dinner. I try it with my daughter but she still pees but she just turned 2 so I'm not concerned about it working. It is worth a try.

My four year old also wants to wear his 'big-boy' pants to bed, but is rarely dry in the morning. As a compromise, he can wear the underpants but has to wear a pull-up as well. I prefer the pull-up inside the underpants, less mess. But the wet underpants inside the pull-up help him to be aware of when he wets. Also, he sleeps through anything. I expect we'll be working this issue for a couple more years.
Good Luck!

My four year old has been day trained since 25 months and still needs pull ups at night. We've tried going without and the subsequent nights have been....very damp.

Because I'm lazy, lazy, lazy and don't feel like doing laundry, I went back to pull ups and figured the cost of the pull ups was worth the aggravation of washing pee-drenched blankets. LOL.

He's not ready. He's too young. There is a developmental stage that kids often don't reach until they are 6 or 7. All kids go thru developmental milestones at different points - yours is bright and creative but that doesn't mean his bladder is fully developed yet. It's not a question of choosing to go - his bladder and brain are not connected enough to wake him up at the "full" feeling. Meantime, he's not getting enough sleep! He's up at 12 to pee, then awake at 3, soaking wet. This is no way to go thru life. I went thru this with my son - we did those "wet alarms" for months (very unsuccessfully) and he finally was given the medication to keep him from peeing at night. Your words from a few months back are, in your own words, backfiring - underwear does NOT teach a child to know when he is wet. This is NOT within his control - do you think he enjoys waking up at 3 am with a soaked bed? He will only feel badly about himself if this continues. Talk to your pediatrician and, if necessary, a pediatric neurologist. I'm guessing they will tell you to put him back in pull-ups or those new night-time pajama things, and to tell him you were mistaken and now you know that the underwear isn't going to teach him anything when he is fast asleep. All you have now is an unhappy little boy, sleepless nights, and a lot of laundry. Take the arguments out of it, and let him grow up on his own. Good luck.

Hi- I don't have any personal experience with this, but I remembered seeing this product, the "Nite Train'R" from Leaps and Bounds (http://www.leapsandbounds.com/catalog/product.jsp?product...) that may be helpful. If he is reluctant to wear pull ups and wants the choice to try to wear regular undies 24/7, this might be a good tool to provide him (?). Once again, I have not used this etc, but I trust the brand and there are a number of reviews of the product you can read and see what you think. I searched their site for "bed wetting" and a few other products came up as well that you might want to consider. Good luck!

D.,

As a nurse I am surprised that you don't know the statistics. I believe it's 15% of children whose bodies are just not ready yet for overnight potty training. I believe it can be genetics. My nephew is 10 and is still in Goodnights and it is not uncommon. He is a very normal, healthy, active boy. He just sleeps so incredibly deeply that it is not waking him. His father is a doctor and although a bit frustrated, knows full well that when the body is ready he will be done with pullups. I think you might just want to back off and leave him be. You can try the alarm, etc. but none of that worked for my nephew, it just made him depressed. So give your son a break. My 5 year old is no where close to being night time trained, although my almost 4 year old is. I am not worried!

Good luck!!!

H. Z. (SAHM 5, almost 4, 15 month boys)

Honey, you are the mother.
If the child needs pullups at night to keep bed dry, then use them.
You do not need to explain or justify yourself to this boy.
You could say he simply is not ready to go all night without them if you feel you need to but you do not need to consult him on the issue.
Night dryness is a lot different than day dryness. He is doing well to stay dry all day every day.
And I dont think he goes in his pullups in the mornings because he feels comfortable in them, perhaps because he cannot get to the bathroom in time?
Now, you could have a bedwetter there. It happens. From seven children I had one girl and one boy who were bedwetters. My daughter stopped at about eight years old but the boy went to pubescence before stopping.

I have a 12 year old grandson who still has occassional night wetting. When he comes here I have night thingys,I try different brands and types. Unfortuneately they do not all work.
The grandson has been tested for every possible thing that could be causing it but all tests come back fine.
Who knows why?
He is a very active child ...my two bedwetters were very active too.
Other than that, use a tincture of time. I dont know any adults who are bedwetters.
Relax. Happens in the best of families. You are doing nothing wrong to cause this. But you may need to back off some on the HUGE ISSUE thingy. I am sure it makes him nervous and feeling like a failure. Treat it like a runny nose. It happens, wipe it up until next time it happens.
Best wishes
God bless
Grandmother Lowell

Its very common for children this young to still wet the bed especially boys their little bladders just aren't big enough and most sleep so deeply they just don't wake up when they need to go. If you try explaining the pullups again he might go for it those underjams that pampers make feel more like underwear and you get more for your dollar if he still doesnt go for it you could try cloth training pants http://www.heinyking.com/store/c/20-Training-Pants.html they look just like underwear with the exception that they are lined and water proof you would only need a few since its just at night. Good luck.

I also want to add that they make a water proof pad that goes over the bed sheet you could also try that it will save you from having to wash everything. They sell them at most medical supply stores.