Potty Training - Night Training

Walmart has pads for the bed - which are HUGE!! They are over by the pillows - and the pillow covers. We used them for my dad right after he got out of the hospital.

Hi Laurie!

We had a similar problem with our son who was still wetting his bed at the age of 8. He was a very deep sleeper and would not get up for anything. He would wake up wet every single morning--which was extremely frustrating. When he was 6, we took away the pull-ups and put him in big boy underpants with the hope that he would want to be a big boy and keep them dry. (In fact, our child psychologist told us NOT to put him back into pull-ups because that would be regression)..So, we kept him in big boy pants...and he kept wetting the bed, every single night... I got so tired of washing the sheets everyday that I gave him the responsibility of washing his own sheets whenever he woke up wet. He got pretty good at doing the laundry. Every once in a while he would wake up dry, but not too often...
Our child psychologist told us about a "bell and pad" to use on the bed. It is very much like a waterproof pad that you place on the bed, but it also has an alarm on it that goes off at the least amount of moisture. We spoke with our son and gave him a pep talk about being a big boy and staying dry...and about this special new item we wanted to buy for him that would help him learn to stay dry during the nights. He seemed eager to try it because he was also getting frustrated that he could not wake up dry. (He finally reached the "ya-gotta-wanna" phase where he actually cared whether he woke up dry or not)

Here is the link to the store where we got a special bell and pad system for our son:

http://www.bedwettingstore.com/Bedwetting_Alarms/malem_ul...#

Anyway, we bought the cheapest package that this company offered (I think it cost around $85.00 for the special pad and alarm) . We started his "training" on February 16, 2008 and finally have a boy who sleeps through the night dry by the end of April, 2008. We are so proud of him. he is so proud of himself. :-)

In fact, since he does not use the pad anymore, I can let you borrow ours. Give me a call sometime. My cell number is ###-###-####. (I'll want it back in a few months to train our 3yr old to stay the night dry...he is just learning to stay dry through the days now, so I won't need the bell and pad for a few months)

Good luck with this challenge. It is quite rewarding when your son learns to stay the night dry...

Huggs,

L. Williams

Laurie,

I went through the same thing with my son. On some nights he would wake up dry and on other nights he would wake up soaking wet. It didn't seem to bother him so of course I was getting very frustrated with always having to wash and change the bedding. I to would not get my son home until around five or six so cutting out his liquids after seven was tough. I just started cutting back the amount of liquid and at bedtime I would make sure he went to the bathroom before bed. I would then wake him up to go to the bathroom before I went to bed no matter what time it was. Sometimes if I woke in the middle of the night I would wake him as well to go to the bathroom. That really seemed to help. I did that for a few months and now I don't even wake him anymore, he just wakes up in the morning dry.

W.

We were in the same situation with my 5 year old son. We finally just stopped putting a pull-up on at night. He wet the bed the first few nights and has stayed dry since. We make sure he goes potty right before bed. We also used a sticker chart to reward him, but didn't need it for very long. I think the pull-up was a security blanket. Good luck.

We were having a hard time with night training with our son when he was 3. He would get so upset because he didn't understand why he was wetting the bed when he was able to stay dry during the day. So my solution was to ease the pressure. I told him that it was his brain that had some growing up to do. So every night I would have my son go to the restroom before bed, then when he climbed into bed, I would have a "talk with Brain". I would put my lips to my son's head and tell "Brain" that my son had helped Brain out by going to the potty and now he needed "Brain's" help to wake him up and help him get to the potty during the night if he had to go pee. Then I would have a talk with my son and tell him that Brain said he would cooperate but Brain said that my son had to help to by "listening" to him and getting up. I know this sounds really silly but it worked! There were the occasional accidents (usually when my son was too tired/busy day) but it took the pressure off and it let my son know that it wasn't his fault. P.S. Know that some of the backlash from this method was that my son tried to blame "Brain" for some misbehavior but I was able to tell him that he couldn't blame Brain for breaking the rules because he was the boss of Brain.
I hope this is helpful. Have a great day and goodluck!

When my daughter was 3 1/2 I figured that most of the time she used the pull up first thing in the morning when she woke up. So I took the pull-ups away. Taught her that when she wakes up she has to go to the bathroom 1st thing. The only time she seemed to have accidents when she drank juice after 5pm. So now the rule is that after 5pm she can only have milk and water.

Laurie,some kids just sleep deeper than others, I think. I raised my one son when we didn't even have pull-ups (I'm a grandma) and I changed a lot of sheets in the middle of the night (always keeping an extra pad on his bed). I did check it out with the dr. and mine was not concerned, either. Finally, after tapering off significantly, it stopped totally at 8 yrs. old, and not because of anything I did. I was glad I didn't cause additional stress in his life, because he was such a sensitive kid anyway. (I didn't really limit drinks either, although I didn't encourage them) He was actually tested for "adjustment" later on in school, and they said they'd never seen a kid so well adjusted. I was really glad we hadn't placed any additional stres on him. The only thing it ever affected was that he didn't stay overnight with anyone but family who understood, and he didn't have any friends over until after it stopped. Incidentally, his brother never had the problem. Love him lots!

Hi Laurie,

I just took my 3 1/2 year old daughter out of her night time pull ups (about 3 weeks ago) and so far we are doing great.

I always have her potty before bedtime and then I get her up and take her to the potty right before I go to bed. So far, I haven't limited evening fluids. We also talk about what a big girl she is that she no longer needs diapers and if she needs to go potty during the night to "call mommy". I make it a HUGE and proud issue that she now wears underpants to bed.

In regard to protecting the mattress. I have a vinyl waterproof cover that zips over her queen mattress - I found it at JCPenney for about $19. I also have a waterproof mattress pad on top of that so if she does have an accident, the mattress is fully protected. Just always have a spare mattress pad and set of sheets available for those "accidents".

Good luck.

L.

Bedwetting is an all-too-common thing. Some people struggle with this issue even into adulthood. It is generally something the person cannot control. Food sensitivities are often the culprits. Sometimes chiropractic adjustments can be helpful, as can be herbs and dietary changes. Since he is potty trained, you can be assured he WANTS to stay dry at night. When he is able to, he will. The reason your doctor wasnt concerned indicates how common this issue is. Try eliminating dairy from his diet for a month and see if that helps. Other common problematic foods are wheat (including "white" flour and all foods made with it, other gluten grains, eggs and chocolate. Environmental toxins can also be the culprits. (Read Dr Doris Rapp's book, "Is This Your Child?") While this is a pain to deal with as the parent, know that this is an embarrassing thing for children (and adults). I suffered from bedwetting until I was about 12. I ache to remember all the sleep-overs I missed as a child because of it and the humiliation I suffered every morning I woke in my wet bed. Today, as an adult, I have discovered many sensitivities that I wonder about.....did any of them cause the bedwetting, which everyone said I had finally "outgrown"? If so, while they dont have that effect on me now, they do weaken my system and I am healthier when I avoid them.

My husband wet the bed until he was 12. Boys have a harder time especially at night. You really need to call it quits on the drinks at 7pm no matter what until he gets used to not peeing the bed. Schools make sure kids have plenty to drink especially when it is hot out. If your sons school doesnt find a different one.

We do no drinks after 7pm and make sure they go before bedtime.

Both of my children 4 & 2 boy and girl sleep through the night with underware. Some nights they get me after 7 and we have small accidents but they are usually dry all night even with that quick drink. Plus they have been night trained for quite sometime now.

When he gets better at it you can give him a small sip before bed.

Many boys I know have had this issue and just like anything else, it will come to pass. It might even be another couple of years until he is dry consistently.

When he is a bit older you could try a little alarm that clips to his underwear and a recevier that attaches to his pj top. It goes off (loud and vibrates) at the first sign of wetness. It wakes him up and then he is truly being "trained" to not urinate and avoid the sound. Worked for one of my kids and the other just got dry on his own around 1st grade.

Some of my friends boys were still having accidents in 2nd-3rd grade. Do what you can but don't spend too much time worrying about it - it will happen!

Hi Laurie -

A friend of mine told me to give my son raisins before he went to bed. I know it sounds funny, but I did it for a solid week and he was dry every night. I don't know how it works but it worked for me.

M.

I think the best thing you can do for your children is to take them out of daycare. Your son is probaly using the pull-ups as security.

This is normal with boys. I went through the same thing and I remember my sister telling me "Do you think he will be wearing a pull up to bed when he is Eighteen"? needless to say my answer was "no" so she basically said give him time and he will grow out of it. (She was right) he was six when he could wake up dry. Good luck and give him time:o)

Our son went through the same thing. Kids may be ready for potty training during the day, but their bodies may not be ready for going through the night. One day, he will be ready.