Wetting the Bed at Night

I also have a 3 year old boy and he does not wear a pull up. Here is what we do: my son goes to bed between 7 and 8pm, some nights around 8:30; right before my husband and I go to bed, one of us carries him to the bathroom and put him on the potty. We do not wake him up; usually he is half asleep and falls asleep right after

If I had to wash sheets everyday, pull ups would be
non-negotiable. Then i.e., if she days dry say two
nights, you can try panties. Some kids just are not
ready to night train until much later. Good luck.

Hi D.,
Day training and night training are two different issues. Night training isn't about teaching her to wake up and pee, but waiting until the bladder grows enough that she doesn't need to pee at night. If she isn't able to empty her bladder before bed, then she really does need to be diapered before bed, like it or not. It's something where I wouldn't offer a choice. I wouldn't wake her up or bring her to the bathroom before you go to bed, as some parents do, since it trains them to empty their bladder during the night rather than training the bladder to hold liquid for longer and not need nighttime emptying - interferes with the natural process. It's really just a matter of waiting, and I would use diapers until it happens. Good luck.

Her bladder may not be large enough to hold her through the night--especially if she is sleeping 8 or more hours straight. If she's light enough to carry to the potty, sit her on it a few hours after she falls asleep (I often put my 2 year old on the potty just before I go to bed (around 11 pm) and she'll pee on the potty and never wake up ;)

Sometimes it's all a matter of what is eaten/drunk before bed:
Do a trial period where you don't give her any liquids except water after noon. See if that helps.

And there are some people that have trouble because of food sensitivities:
Dairy sensitivity and gluten intolerance (as well as celiac) have also been linked to enuresis. (Other food sensitivities can also cause bedwetting, but are not as prevalent. Personally, I don't bedwet, but have to get up 3 or 4 times a night if I am consuming significant amounts of soy--Didn't affect MY potty training, because we didn't have any soy in our house when I was a toddler :D)

If all else fails get her some cute cloth diapers instead of pull-ups. Have her pick out the designs (check out some of the WHAMs that sell cloth diapers there are a lot of really cute designs and prints) and explain to her that they are her night time undies. Don't call them diapers and don't think of them as diapers, they are NITE-TIME undies to protect the bed if there is an accident, you should still try to be proactive about taking a night time potty break anyway.

You are the parent and you have the final say no matter what she wants. Tell her she must wear pull ups at night until she learns how to wake and go potty. You can tell her she can either wear a pull up or a diaper. Or you could just get her up several times during the night to train her how to wake herself.

When we first potty trained our daughter, she didn't want to wear pull-ups at all anymore...even though she really still needed them at night. So, I let her wear "big girl nighttime underwear" (cloth training pants...just in case there was an accident) and made her go potty right before bed. I don't limit liquids, but you really do have to enforce the potty before bed rule...tell her that even you need to go potty before getting into bed for the night. Then, before I went to bed around 11:30 or 12, I'd go pick her up and carry her to her potty. She'd barely wake up, she'd just stay draped over my shoulder, I'd pull her pants down and sit her down, whisper to her to go pee....she would and then I'd fix her pants and put her back in bed. I don't even think she was aware that we did this, but she'd wake up dry every morning. We did it for maybe a month. The last time I did it, she woke up and told me that she was sleeping and didn't have to go. I put her back to bed and she's been dry every night since. She still wears her "big girl nighttime underwear"...she loves them and she doesn't know that they're training pants....just in case there was ever an accident, they would prevent it from being a complete disaster.
Good luck

I don't know if this is technically right or not but it worked for me. With my kids before I went to bed at night I used to take them to the bathroom while they were half asleep. After a while they get used to the idea. It sounds strange but it worked for housebreaking my dog throught the night too. I have to tell you my kids are 9 and 6 and I very rarely had a problem after that. I did it for a couple of weeks. They are usually too tired to fight you about going to the bathroom because they are half asleep. But my kids also went back to sleep very easily. If your child doesn't it might be a problems.

Make a deal with her for a toy or something after she wears her pulls ups only at night and wakes up dry for a week. Keep a sticker chart so she sees her progress. She shouldn't have the choice of wearing the pull up at night. You both need your sleep. Good luck.

Take her to the bathroom right before you go to bed and see how she does for a few nights.

I agree w/ others. You tell her she has to wear pullups until she goes a full week where they are dry in the morning. When my daughter was 4, she told me she didn't want to wear pull ups any more, but I knew the pullup was wet every morning. I let her sleep in underwear and put a waterproof pad on top of her sheets (that way, if she wet the bed, I wouldn't have to pull the sheets off...) Surprisingly, she was fine and hasn't ever wet the bed.

So, one thing to do is get a waterproof pad... kind of like what you used in the hospital when you delivered (I think I took mine from the hospital.... don't tell on me!) Other than that, just tell her she must use the pullup.... make it fun. Get her a dora one or something...

Mindy said it all.
I still take one of my twins potty before I go to bed. I don't even know if she needs it, but it is a habit i picked up when i potty trained my twins almost 2 years ago. they're almost 5. i potty trained them for day and night at the same time. I noticed one of my twins was not able to wake herself up when she had to go potty at night so i started taking her in at around 11 pm. she has never had an accident pass that one week which took me to potty train them.
also, make sure she doesn't drink a lot before she goes to bed. she may not be able to go potty then but her tummy will get filled in a few hours. make sure she drinks plenty until let's say 6 pm, and then after six give her only if she asks and that, if you can, just warm milk. but offer plenty of fluids during the day. then take her potty when she's asleep before you go to bed.
now if your daughter is a light sleeper and shows signs of being able to wake up wanting to go potty, then place a potty with a lid and a box of wet wipes in her room, explain to her what she's supposed to do if she needs to go potty, and tell her it's ok if she calls for you for help.
good luck

I agree with Kathy M. It isn't an option that at 3 she should have. She either wears the pull-up or diaper to bed OR she sleeps in wet sheets. Don't ask about using the potty before bed either. Make it a routine: storytime, brush her teeth, potty, pull up bed. Matter of factly state that this is what is next. She will stop fighting you once she realizes that this is not the thing that she can control. Let her pick a story at night, her toothbrush, etc. NOT wether she wears a pull up to bed or goes potty before night time.

We're not there yet with my toddler, but here are some ideas that might help if you haven't tried them already. There are vinyl "diapers" that are meant to go over underwear or training pants while children are learning. This might help at least at night with soiling bedding. Children can wear them over normal underwear or cloth training pants. You might also just have to give your daughter an ultimatum, like she has to wear a pull-up to bed until she wakes up dry or to use the bathroom every night for a week. You could even make her a sticker chart so she can feel included and emphasize all the exciting changes and developments she is going through. She could participate by choosing her pull-up before bedtime and the chart might help keep her positive about it and reinforce it during the day. About bed wetting in general, it is NOT UNCOMMON for children to sleep deeply and wet the bed into adolescence. Wetting the bed as a 3-year-old does not mean that will happen, but if it is an ongoing trend as she ages, do not panic. It is more normal than we think and your pediatrician can give you more information on that if it becomes a problem. Good luck and I hope you get some advice from moms who've "been there."

D. I am so glad you posted this i am having the same problem with my 3 year old as well...some nights he stays dry other nights not and I do the same thing every night...He is a twin and his brother once trained has never peed in bed since...I am at a loss as well...hope you get some helpful responses so I can get help as well

This is likely to be purely a physical developmental issue. Her bladder probably isn't large enough yet at this age to hold her urine for the night. With both of my kids, I would wake them up when I went to bed, around 11 or so, and bring them to the bathroom. It worked beautifully and they would wake up dry. Don't worry; she'll get there. It will just take some time.

Make sure she goes before bed. Then around 10:30 or right before you go to bed.. Pick her up and put her on again.. They are usually half asleep.. But once they sit down.. They usually go again.. I did this for about 6 weeks.. And now they usually go on their own at night.. And have never wet the bed again... Good luck...

Who's the parent here? You should not allow a child to dictate rules for anything, especially this. First of all, she is three, and obviously her body is not ready to hold it overnight. When she is ready, she will do so. Holding off on liquids helps only slightly. I also would insist that she go to the bathroom before bed, period.

She should wear a pull-up until it's dry in the morning for several weeks. But if you refuse to take control of the situation, then put it on her once she falls alseep. Otherwise, stop complaining about overnight wakings (not to mention and all the extra laundry!)

Sorry to be so brusque, but truly this is an easy problem to fix. She is too young to be reasoned with at this age so you have to be firm and in control.

A mother of a 7 year old boy and 5 year old girl

get potty scotty's overnight underwear. they feel just like underwear. she will probably still wake up if she pees in them, but at least you won't have to change the sheets every night. you can find them online. also, i would tell her that if you want to be a big girl and not wear pull ups to sleep, you HAVE to go to the bathroom before going to bed. we do all of our reading books, singing songs and so forth, then we do "last pee" before we tuck him in for the night.

D. N.

You are not alone. My daughter use to do the same thing, and I tried everything. Then it occured to me. I purchased a few pair of rubberized training pants and made her wear them at night. In the morning, her sheets were dry and I didn't need to use a plastic or rubber sheet to protect her matress. I took her to the bathroom and put her in a dry bath tub to remove the pants. Then I put water in the tub to wash her down. She wasn't to happy about this but it was either this or stop wetting the bed at night. She elected to use the potty before bed and she was a much happier little girl. Needless to say so was I. The pants were a little pricey but what I saved was worth it.