Nighttime Potty Training

Hi D., so many responses just means that this is a common problem. My boy now 6 had the same problem until we decided no more, no more pull ups. We bought a plastic cover for the mattress and started waking him up every night when we went to bed. If my husband went to bed later, he would wake him and take him to the toilet. Then we would mark the calendar for every day that he was dry and we promise to buy a tent for camping because he wanted to have one and you can't sleep on a tent if you will wet it. Find something that he really likes and mark and celebrate every little progress, it is very hard and take time, just don't loose hope and temper.

Good luck, J.

I dont have boys, but my question to you is this...
why would he get up and use the toilet if hes got a pullup? take it off! get a mattress cover, and be willing to wash the sheets a couple times. once he realizes that its uncomfortable, he should stop. it worked for my kids.
and of course make sure he has nothing to drink or eat right before bed, and goes potty.
does he pee a lot during the day? maybe he has a small bladder?
good luck, i know its hard.

I think that problem is pretty normal for boys. I had the same problem with mine. He had accidents up until he was around 8. I also had the same problem that he slept really hard and would practically sleep through the event. Now we pretty much stick to the same routine and he is old enough to recognize the need to go. He gets no drinks 2 hours before his bedtime and I make sure he goes to the bathroom before going to bed. Have you tried the new pull ups that give a cool feeling when they get wet. Maybe that would help him wake up. Hang in there, my son is now 9 and we have been accident free for over a year.

Hi, D.. My son is 7, turning 8 in May, and he still wears "nighttime pants." I, too, have asked the pediatrician, who has explained to me that it is very common and is caused by somewhat delayed development in the part of the brain that produces a chemical that tells our body to produce less urine at night. With immature development of that chemical, our (or in this case, our sons') bladder fills up with urine as rapidly as it does during the day, causing it to "overflow" at night, and children who sleep heavily, which my son also does, don't wake up and make it to the potty in time. It is frequently inherited and is something he will grow out of. I was a "bed-wetter" until I was about 9. My parents were very supportive and understanding and didn't make a big deal out of it, just dealt with it like it was normal (which it truly is), and it wasn't hugely traumatizing for me. That's what we're trying to do with our son, too. We've taught him how to manage himself discreetly when he sleeps over at friends' houses, and he does a great job of it! Rest assured that if you've consulted a pediatrician and there is nothing physically wrong with your son, it is very normal, and he will grow out of it eventually. All I have to say is thank goodness for pull-ups! My poor mother was changing sheets on a nightly basis! Hope this helps!
B.

D.,

I have a 13 year old step-son that still wets the bed almost every night. My doctors have told me that boys have a tendancy to do this more than girls and can last into their teens. They also said that it can sometimes be inhereited from a parent. My husband did the same thing and so did his brother's son. The only suggestions that I received from the doctors were (after ruling out anything physical first) nothing to drink after 6 pm or nothing but water and try setting an alarm to wake him up around midnight to go to the restroom. The alarm thing works when my son actually gets up, but again he is 13. I hope this helps.

I had the same problem with my 7 year old daughter, posted a message on Mamasource & got lots of suggestions. The one I tried (and the one that worked) was using a bedwetting alarm. I researched them and found they run about $100 or so. Instead of buying one (because I knew I'd only need it a couple of weeks), I posted a request for one on my local Freecycle website (if you've never heard of it, it's a great way to get rid of stuff that you don't need anymore plus find occasional stuff that you do). www.freecycle.org

I would also wake her up when I went to bed (usually 11pm or so) to go to the bathroom to help her make it through the night. We also reinforced the dry mornings with a smiley face on the calendar and occasional trips to the dollar store as a reward. I did wash the sheets a lot those 2-3 weeks however!

Good luck!

I can definitely relate my friend! I have a six year old boy (he'll be seven late October) and within the last six months I'd say, he is staying dry at night. I went through the same things: no matter what he'd drink/not drink, he'd still wet the bed. At first, I thought it was because of his allergy medication he'd take at night. But once he was off of those, he would still sleep so hard you could drop a bomb next to him and he wouldn't wake up! So trying to take him to potty when I went to bed at about 11pm wouldn't help either. Sometimes it would make a difference, sometimes he'd end up wetting the bed anyway. Needless to say, it was a very challenging time for us: we couldn't find any rhyme or reason to his bed wetting. He just wouldn't feel it and wouldn't wake up! All of this to tell you that one day, it just clicked! The pediatrician told me the same things that your doctor has told you, and many of my friends said the same thing: just wait. After seven if it's still going on, then we can talk about it being a problem.

My encouragement to you is that someday, it will click for your boy too! It just clicked for my son one day, after many many many months of wetting for no apparent reason! He went from completely soaking the bed and letting all of the pipi out in his bed, not even feel it or know he had to go, to feeling the pipi and having minor accidents in the bed and then doing the rest of the pipi in the potty, to now he has the occasional little bit that comes out in his underwear before he makes it to the potty, but no wetting of the bed or sheets or even his pj's. What I do now is: I don't give my son soda or juice late in the day. He has half a glass of water with dinner, before 6:30pm. Nothing else to drink after that. And he understands and we remind him every so often when he'd like more to drink, etc. "Son, if you want to stay dry, we can't have a lot to drink at night" and he's taken ownership of that and wants to stay dry so he complies very happily! Because I limit what he drinks at night, during the day I give him lots to drink, whenever he wants! So he's not thirsty at night because he hasn't had enough during the day...Every child is different, so try different things to find what will help things "click" for your son!

One more thing, I found that the training pants at night prolonged the process. There was no incentive for him to stay dry, there was no discomfort to him. He wasn't wetting his bed, so everything was cool. I know it's a pain, BELIEVE me, changing urine-soaked sheets is one of my least favorite things to do!!!!! I dreaded every morning when I'd have to do it. It gets old SOOOOOO fast....But, there's something about the discomfort of them feeling wet that helps to train them. Can't explain it, but I'd encourage you to try and stick that out for a little bit. I know it helped us. And just talk to him a lot, encourage him. Tell him you love him no matter what, whether he wets the bed or not. I would just talk to my son, explain that it's okay we had an accident. Tomorrow we'll try and get up when we feel the pipi needs to come out. You know how when you have to do pipi during the day you feel the pressure, same thing at night. We need to learn how to feel it at night. The more we talk about it with them, the more it helps them realize it and internalize the need to wake up at night. And us waking them up when we go to bed, and them feeling the pipi on their clothes at night - somehow it all works together!

Sorry for the incredibly long response, but when I read your request I just wanted to encourage you!!!! This is very fresh for me so I can so relate to your struggles. If you ever need to talk, my email is ____@____.com

"This too shall pass..." my friend, so keep the faith! Be encouraged, you can do this!

: ) Becky

Oh wow! I am so with you on this! My son just turned 8... over the last 3 months we finally have a handle on it. I tried everything.. but what made the difference was waking him up.. it took over Christmas break.. 2 weeks of hard work... waking him up at 11 and then again about 2-3ish.. making him walk to the bathroom.. then we started setting his alarm and he work himself up... I can honestly say he has not worn a pull up in 3 months. YEAH!
Feel free to email me with more questions.

My oldest son had nightime wetting until he was 9. It was very embarrassing for him and stressful for me. But, I was told by his pediatrician that it's not uncommon for boys to have this issue. It's just not something that people talk about a lot. I think the most important thing is to be supportive and realize that he has no control over the problem. We had a system: first, get a mattress cover (plastic coated), keep axtra sheets next to his bed and a change of jammies/underwear, teach him how to change the sheets and reassure, reassure, reassure! He WILL outgrow this problem. OR, let him continue with the pull-ups as that is the least messy solution. Most of all, don't scold him! And, limiting his late night drinks may help a little but time and patience will go a long way. I think there may be some type of medication now for this problem, my son is almost 20 now!

hi D., i went through the same thing with 2 of my boys for the exact same reason [very sound sleepers].nothing worked until the doc put them on imipramine. it was a God send !! it worked for both of them. it can take a couple of years before they can stop taking it but shortly after starting it they stopped wetting the bed with very small amount of mistakes. of course we ruled out any medical problems that could've been the cause. good luck J.

I don't get why your doctor is so "surprised" -- my brother and father both wet their beds until 7 or 8. I'm not sure it's so abnormal for boys. If there's nothing physically wrong with him, just get a plastic mattress cover and try to be understanding!