Night bed wetting, need suggestions!!!!!

19 years ago

Our 4 year old DD has been potty trained since right before her 3rd birthday (during the day). She continued to bring a sippy cup of water to bed with her every night so we let her sleep in a diaper until about 3 1/2. I think this was a mistake, because now she has just turned 4, doesn't bring a sippy cup to bed (we also cut off liquids after dinner) and she is wetting the bed every night!

She says, "I can't feel it," and is a very heavy sleeper. I've tried waking her up before I go to bed, but it's almost impossible and ends up with her screaming and crying and refusing to go potty. Sometimes, it's like she doesn't fully wake up and is only half awake. We recently went for her 4 year old doctor appointment and I asked her peditrician about it, but she said they don't start worrying until they are 5, as long as she goes on the potty during the day. Also, she just continues to sleep wet until morning. She always goes potty before bed as well.

I am changing sheets constantly and I don't want to go back to a diaper or pull-ups because I feel like it would be a step backwards. Is it time to bring in one of those alarms? (not sure I'm ready for that!) I really want her to learn to wake up and go to the bathroom, but so far I'm not making much progress. Suggestions????????

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Comments (5)

lindac
19 years ago
I would continue waking her before you go to bed. Make it gentle...no bright lights...gently tell her..."you need to go potty so you don't wet the bed" and carry her into a dark or very dimly lit bathroom and sit her on the toilet and wait until she goes. Praise her and carry her back. And lots of bells and whistles the next morning.
OR...you could do the water proof sheet and the no diaper thing and let her sleep in a wet bed for a few nights.
Or you can get one of those things that fits under the sheet and rings a buzzer with the first drop of moisture, waking her to go on her own.
My thoughts are when a child can't feel wet or uncomfortable, there is no incentive not to pee in their pants.
Linda C
gw:gracie-2006
19 years ago
I had a good friend's son do the same thing. She went to a Urologist to get advice. If you rule out any physical problems then what he suggested was to make sure her son drank a lot of water during the day. I do not think you should wake her up during the night because that forms a un-natural habit for her. Take away liquids after dinner and make sure she uses the potty right before bed. It still might take awhile for this to work.
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Vickey__MN
19 years ago
You are not taking a step back by putting pull-ups on her at night. It takes a while to become dry at night, sometimes a LONG LONG LONG Time. Doctors do not even get concerned about it until it reaches the teen years (SeRIOUSLY, I know this for a fact). Each year 1/2 of the kids who wet the bed stop, that means that 1/2 of them still do, this continues on for a long time. Now when they become, I think it is around 8, there is medical interventions (when we were going through it there was DDAVP i think it was called, a nasal spray that didn't interrupt their sleep). SO....

1. Put the pull-ups back on, remove the stress from you and her. Let her body mature naturally to not wetting at night.

2. Stop liquids after supper.

3. Have her go to the bathroom before bedtime.

4. Start a "Star" chart as soon as you notice she is having dry nights (Don't do it now as it will be discouraging, do it when she has her first few morning with dry pull-ups). Then each morning she is dry, she gets a star. After X number of stars (5 or 7 say, not in a row, and no taking any away for accidents or bad nights or anything) she gets a trip to the dollar store and can buy something for a dollar...I know I'm cheap, but you're not giving big rewards, and pretty soon there will be lots of rewards, that's the goal.

She will eventually be dry, and the pull-ups will save your sanity. It really isn't encouraging a bad habit, reverting to an old habit, it is more saving your sheets, and making her feel better about things. Don't make a big deal out of it, just tell her...honey, since you are wetting the bed, and it's uncomfortable sleeping in a wet bed, let's pick out some pretty pull-ups for you. But remember you ahve to take them off right away in the morning and go potty ok, they are not to pee in when you're awake, they're only for incase you have an accident when you're asleep.

Vickey-MN (yes I had a bedwetter, testing and all, nothing helped...until he went on anti-depressants at 17..yes 17 years old)
happycthulhu
19 years ago
Get one of those pads that give a nice mild electric shock whenever she wets the bed. That'll wake her right up so she can go potty. ;)
Just kidding. I wet the bed till I was about 10 or so.
She'll grow out of it, I did.
arcy_gw
15 years ago
My brother grew out of it too...with the help of one of those pads that had an alarm. Get one.

Night bed wetting, need suggestions!!!!!

Comments (5)

lindac

gw:gracie-2006

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