Hello, My son is 6 years old and he is potty trained except for at night, he almost always wakes up with a super wet pull up. Its hard because I can't really yell at him if he doesn't wake up to go. It is so improtant now becasue he has been getting really bad skin infections from him being wet. I have in place that he doesn't get any liquids after 7pm and he uses the potty before bedtime which is 8:30 pm. Please help, I am all out of ideas.
I have the same problem & would like any help as well...?
My daughter is so smart--she can spell every one in the family's name & even do it backwards--like she has a photographic memory--but cannot go more than 1 night without wetting her pull-up.???
My sons are 5 and almost 9 and they both wet at night. We have taken our older son to the doctor about this and he said sometimes bladders just aren't mature enough yet at this age. His father also had a bedwetting problem when he was younger, and that contributes to it. We have tried an alarm that is put inside his underwear, prescriptions that you spray up his nose, and the waterproof pad - none of it has worked. He is such a hard sleeper that not even the alarm would wake him up but it would wake US up (in another room), and we tried just the waterproof pad for 3 months and every morning we were washing sheets. We use GoodNites for both of our sons and just let them know that it is nothing to be embarrassed about, but that we need to keep working on it.
The pull-ups may be the culprit. Your son may not be motivated enough to learn to wake up because he knows the pull-ups will cover for him. You may consider replacing them with a good waterproof mattress pad. I know it will mean some wet sheets and blankets until it sinks in for him, but I am a big believer in 'natural consequences'. If the discomfort alone is not enough for him, then have him help with stripping the bed and doing the laundry. If the message still isn't sinking in, do that task instead of something fun, like having a play date or going to the park. It is important to avoid shaming him for his mistakes, just communicate that this is a big-boy responsibility and it can be difficult to learn. It really helped my son to know that lots of other boys & girls struggle with learning this. The pager thing is a good idea too, if you have the money for it - but the bottom line is (pardon the pun) it is important for him to understand that it is his responsibility to learn to pay attention to his body's signals - even when he is asleep.
The Potty Pager may work for him. You would have to have a doctor write a prescription to order it, about $70-80. It's a pager that you put in the pocket of his underwear at night. When it senses the slightest bit of moisture, it vibrates to wake him up. The vibrating is loud enough that if you are sleeping in the same room it would wake you up too. My son is such a sound sleeper that the vibrating wasn't enough, but as long as I woke him up at the right time, it worked. It works by training him to associate the sensation of a full bladder with waking up.
You might also try to just set an alarm for him to get up and go to the bathroom at 1 or 2 am.
Sometimes their bladder doesn't grow that fast so there is no room for the urine at night. If you are really concerned talk to your doctor. My daughter saw a urologist for the first 6 years of her life and had two bladder surgeries. She didn't potty train until she was almost ready to go to school. She had bed wetting issues until she was about 6 but grew out of them.
She recently had a sleepover where one of her classmates was wearing a pull up and everyone acted like it was no big deal.
I assure you bed wetting is something most children grow out of. There is medicated powder or ointment your doc can prescribe for the skin infection part. It is most likely a yeast type infection on the skin. You can also put a bit of powder in there to prevent moisture.
I used to wake my son up again before I went to bed. I didn't usually go to bed until 10 or 10:30pm. He would get up and use the potty one more time for the night. He was usually fine then until morning.
This is just a normal thing. My SS is 12 and still wets the bed. But at his age, he changes his own sheets. We've been dealing with this for years and have just let him feel the wetness on his sheets and have kept a mattress liner on to protect the mattress. The pull ups just pull the wetness away so they don't feel it as much. We only resorted to pull ups when on vacation. I did try a book called Dry All Night: The Picture Book Technique That Stops Bedwetting by Alison Mack a couple years ago. But my SS was too old to really be into it. When we started using the book, it did work for a week. But then my SS stopped reading it. Try limiting liquids after 6PM. Try waking him up to go before you go to bed-we did this for awhile and helped. We also tried an alarm clock.
B.,
My son is 4, almost 5. He is still wet at least 4 nights a week. I have talked to numerous friends about this issue. Many of them spoke to their pediatricians about it who all told them to not worry at all. They said many boys cannot consistently stay dry until they are 6 to 8 years old, especially if they are heavy sleepers. They also said not to worry unless you think there is some medical issue. Perhaps if he is still working on it at age 7 or 8, you could talk to his doctor to see if any tests are necessary. I have tried on and off to not use pull up for a few weeks at a time. Perhaps this will work with your son. It has not so far with mine. I think it was worth a try,and I intend to try every other month or so. However, the first failed attempts just seemed to make him feel so bad/ guilty even though I didn't scold him. He just didn't want to disappoint. I decided to relax about it with my son, and just praise him when he is dry.
Hey B.,
I read your request and I have a brother who had the same problem as a young boy and my mom took him in and it took a little while but the flap that controls the bladder wasn't working and it was a minor surgery but it helped and to this day he is happy it was taken care of. I hope I have helped you. Good Luck
Hi B...my sister used to do that up until age 8 or 9 when she was younger. I would try waking him during the middle of the night, and if he still doesn't get it, maybe consult his pediatrician. I am betting it is a physical issue and not a conscious choice. My sister eventually grew out of it.. Hang in there!!
I would try as someone suggested letting him feel himself wet at night. I would not however take away consequences, as it maybe a medical issue/ bladder. My cousin wet his bed until he was 16. It was super embarassing for him, as you can imagine. He would do just fine during the day but did not have a large enough bladder to go through the night.
Try waking him up once during the night even to see if that helps with the problem. Good luck!
