Need Encouragement for Battling Night Wetting

My children are 12, 10 and 4 years old. The oldest two are boys and quit using pull-ups about a year ago. Their bodies simply weren't ready before that. We tried taking away the pullups but they would wake up drenched every night -- deep sleepers!

My 4 year old is not ready. She often wakes from naps with a wet bed. She has been day trained for quite some time, but her body is not ready for night time.

So, each child is different. And each parent is different. You do what works for you. The laid-back approach works for me. :)

Good luck!

Oh, and yes, we have had mattress covers since they were infants. :)

waking them up to potty at night just causes lack of sleep. A child will stay dry when their body is mature enough to hold it through the night. For some this happens young, my son at 2. For others it takes longer, my nephew was 6, my cousin was almost 12. Now normal in between the ages of 2 and 6. Forcing them to sleep in undies when their body in not ready to hold it or wake them up is just setting them up for frustration and embarrassment.

I would talk to her doctor before you put a ton of pressure on her for the night wetting. Sometimes there is a chemical imbalance in kids that causes this to happen. Before you put too much pressure on her (or yourself!) I would have a quick chat with her doc just to make sure you are doing the right thing for her medically and emotionally.
Good Luck!
MB

I would say to try what you are doing for a few nights, but don't get too discouraged if she's not ready. We've tried that with our daughter, but went back to pull-ups after she was getting frustrated and we were getting tired. It never worked for her. So, I figure her body wasn't ready. I'd rather have her think it's no big deal, than have her worry about what she can't control. Hope it works for you though!

Hello,

Just wondering has she had a physical done to rule out urinary medical problems like a bladder infection? Urinating multiple times in a night seems excessive to me, but I didn't have much of a bed wetter, so maybe not.

If all has been ruled out medically, then I'd say you are doing everything right. I would really try to keep emotion out of it, especially at night. Try not to grumble and moan. Just clean up and get back to sleep.

Positively,
M.

It's worth it. :)

To not have to wash pads you can get puppy pee pads, or hospital incontinance pads, that just toss in the garbage. Course, the kids don't always make it easy by being pointed in the right direction. But every time they DO, it makes it easy peasy.

Another trick too, is to give them a whole bunch to drink right before bed after they've gone potty, instead of restricting fluids. They'll have to get up in the middle of the night...but there's no mistaking the "gotta pee!" feeling from a full bladder.

We did that on accident (my son is HUGE...growing like crazy...and hypoglycemic to boot...so he's always drunk about 20oz of warm milk right before bed. When we took the pullups away he had a couple of accidents...but was night trained in just 2 or 3 nights.

Why I say on accident, is that I've run into few people on this board and a couple of people IRL, who do this on PURPOSE...so that the "gotta pee!" feeling links up quick. Everyone i've talked to who has done this (on purpose or accident), their child was night-trained FAST. Makes sense.

But yes. Worth it. Worth it. Worth it.

:) Keep up the good work :)

I can't tell you if you're doing the right thing, only you can know that for sure. But I can tell you that we went through all the same frustrations and sleepless nights with our first. What it boiled down to for our family was that regardless of what we did, none of our children were potty trained at night until they were six years old. After all the stress and headaches of trying to force our oldest to "fit into the norm" we just let it go with the younger kids and let them do it in their own time. They did, at about six, and never had anymore problems.

C Marie,

You ARE doing the right thing! If she is getting up to go potty at night, maybe start phasing out the 10pm waking. My son was 4 1/2 when we finally got him potty trained. One thing we did with him, and still have to do, is go potty last thing before climbing into bed, and first thing when he get up in the morning. We also made it clear to him that if he had to go potty at night and Mom and Dad were asleep he could go.

Hope this helps, and keep trying it will get better!
Melissa

Don't battle it. If she hasn't got a urinary infection or an incompetent bladder or a kidney disfunction, you can wait it out for a few years. Forget about giving up the pull-ups. Some children a very emotional but they hold it all in and it comes out through bed wetting.
Many girls who have weak kidneys cannot control the flow of urine at night or when asleep until they are six or seven.
Many boys wet their beds until the hormones kick in and they can maintain control.
Homeopathy done by a very competent homeopath can work. Chinese herbal doctors usually can help when the kidneys need to be strengthened.

I know it's hard to cope but really Mom it is not your little daughter's fault. She is doing the best she can.

They did not have Pull Up when my kids were bed wetting and I thought diapers were a little much after the toddler age. I went as far as an alarm system for any little moisture on the mattress and nothing changed the accidents. My kids just slept so sound that bed wetting happened and I had many extra pads and loads of laundry for many years. We just did what we had to to keep up and yes some nights it was multiple changes of the bedding. They will get good at making the bed and they WILL grow out of it. Keep up the good work. Pull ups or not. It is hers and your decision. Here is an inexpensive laundry soap recipe. It is hypo allergenic also.
http://www.duggarfamily.com/recipes.html

You are doing the right thing. My 4 1/2 year old son started bedwetting again while we were camping. My doctor said a change in environment, schedule, or stress can cause that. Don't go back to pull-ups; just stick it out and she will decide not to wet anymore. Remember to not give drinks after dinner and the rest you are already doing. Hang in there!

HI There!
I know these things are tough! My situation is a bit different, in that my daughter has autism, but I never pushed it at all. She just recently decided she did not want a diaper at night, all on her own! She is five and has been potty trained since 2 1/2 poop trained just in the last 6 months and just now gave up diapers. for me, I just did not want to fight that. Choosing battles can be hard at times, but if you really want to sleep and let her try again in a month, then do that. Limit her drinks a few hours before bed and have her potty just before getting into bed! Good luck! I know being a mom (or dad) is the hardest job!