School-Aged Children
Bed Wetting HELP!
I'm at my wits end with bed wetting. We have been dealing with this for the last 2 and a half years with my 6 year old. I'm interested in getting an alarm but I also want to know if this will naturally just resolve it self. It seems like we have tried everything with little progress.
Do the bed wetting alarms work?
If you have used one let me know your experience and how long did it take to see results?
What brand did you use?
This is what I'm thinking about getting
https://bedwettingstore.com/malem-ultimate-bedwetting-alarm.html
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Re: Bed Wetting HELP!
I'm really interested in people who have used these alarms...
Yes, I'm sure she will eventually grow out of it , like most things! I would like to to help her along. Do they just snap out of it one day? or is it gradual?
BTW: We are not going back to pullups, they bother her and she gets rashes from them.
My son is 7 1/2, and he wets the bed from time to time. My pediatrician says that most kids grow out of it by late elementary school.
I'm pretty sure my son wets the bed because he sleeps SO soundly. We tried the trick of taking him to the toilet before we went to bed, but he did not even wake up when we picked him up. He couldn't stand, let alone pee! When his alarm clock goes off in the morning, it takes him several minutes to wake up, so I have never bought one of the bed wetting alarms.
Believe me, I know how frustrating this problem is. I get so, so, so, so, so tired of washing sheets, blankets, and smelly pajamas. Febreeze is my friend!
However, I will tell you that from around age 4 to 6 my son wet the bed about 4 nights out of every week. Between age 6 and now, it has begun to happen a lot less frequently. His typical pattern is to go for several weeks with no accidents. Then it's like a switch flips and he wets the bed nearly every night for a week or so. My husband and I have noticed that the bad weeks start when he gets really tired, or around times when things change in his life (start of school year, Christmas, spring break, etc.)
Another thing that helps is to have him MAKE SURE to empty his bladder 100% before bed. I suspect that sometimes he's in a hurry and he doesn't let all the pee out. When we remind him to let it ALL out, he does better.
I just remind myself: It's not his fault. He can't control it when he's asleep. He'll grow out of it. That helps prevent me from getting frustrated and taking it out on him.
I could not follow your link, but I was curious, so I looked up the Malem on Amazon and red many customer reviews. Basically, the reviews were overwhelmingly positive. But positive reviews emphasized a few things:
--be prepared to commit to this method and follow the instructions to the letter. Know that, although some kids do stop wetting quickly, others can take a several weeks. During that time, you will be getting up with your child when the alarm goes off, which could be 2 or 3 times each night.
--the child has to have some level of desire to use this method. If the child doesn't really want to stop wetting, it's much less effective.
--set up a baby monitor so that you can hear when the alarm goes off in your child's room and get there quickly to help take your child to the bathroom. What the alarm is doing is teaching them to hold back the urine flow when they feel the urge to pee. If they sleep through the alarm and let out all the pee before you get there, they don't learn to hold the urine back. Some customers even recommended sleeping in your child's room for a few nights, or having your child sleep on a mattress on the floor in your room so that you're right there.
--follow the instructions about wearing the alarm every night until the child has been dry for 14 nights in a row. Relapses can occur, but can be lessened if you follow the instructions.
HTH!
This is her exactly!
We're still in pull ups or goodnights here. DD is 5.5 years old. She's never been dry at night. I don't plan to do anything about it right now.
Charlotte Ella 07.16.10
Emmeline Grace 03.27.13
My pedi told me that they generally don't do any sort of intervention unless a child is around 10 years old. My friend who is a school nurse & works at camps in the summer said you would not believe the number of kids in 4th, 5th, 6th grades who are getting meds for the week of camp to help with this. I don't say that to make you run out & look for meds for your child, but rather to illustrate that wetting the bed at 6 yrs old is NOT outside the norm, by any stretch of the imagination.
My 4.5yo is still wet most nights in a pull up, even with limiting fluids. I try to get in there & "dream pee" her within a couple of hours, and if I do that sometimes she's dry. But I'm not regular about that. I wet the bed until I was at LEAST 7, and my DH did much longer than that & eventually went on meds when he was 10 or 11. Our oldest DD was dry at night by age 3.5. It will happen for your child when he/she is ready. And if they go beyond the norm, you can get help then. Quite frankly, I think it is ridiculous to make this an issue at age 6. Is it convenient when my DD strips off her pull up in the night & pees the bed? No. But I have a plastic sheet & a mattress cover, and it's all going to work itself out.
My son is 6 1/2 and still uses a pull-up.
Honestly, he'd sleep through an alarm (that's part of the problem -he sleeps so, so soundly) and I don't really want him getting used to waking up in the middle of the night.
His pedi said not to worry about it for a couple of more years. I think he said 15% or so of 6-year-old boys bedwet and the percentage only decreases by a point or so a year. So, there are definitely 11 and 12 year olds still with this problem.
He's of the opinion of not doing anything for now (we limit fluids, but that's about it). He also said that the biggest issue will be social. He's not interested in sleepovers or anything yet, but if it does become an issue, then I'll think about medication. I just don't think an alarm is the right solution for him.
What we did to help DC:
No drinks two hours before bedtime (so, no drinks after dinner). We do not limit drinks during the day at all, except in those few hours before bedtime.
Limits on caffine and chocolate.
Going to the bathroom right before bedtime.
I also had a friend who woke her son at night for a mid-night trip to the bathroom.
Honestly, we noticed a big difference when DC was physically ready. They stopped having accidents while napping (and would wake up instead). That was around age 8 (60 lbs.)
My DS is 8, bday in a few months. He potty trained with no problem at 24 months but has never been able to hold it over night. His Dr. always said not intervention until he was 9. He wets every night. Last month we took him to a pediatric urologist. His kidneys etc are all fine. They suggested a med and he is on it, but they said it usually takes 6 wks for results. We are also doing a fluid shift where he drinks most of his liquids between wake up time and 3:30. He can have a drink with dinner or if playing a sport, but not more than 12 oz. We have also had to do away with caffeine, citrus, and chocolate. They also wanted him to use a daily stool softener because having a full colon aggravates the situation. Long process and frustrating for everyone.