NWMR: Nighttime bed wetting

jlaOK · December 2014

DS is 4.5 and has never ever had a dry night. We put him in pull-ups but he has even started to leak through those. Does anyone have any suggestions for how to get him to wake up to pee or to hold it all night. He doesn't even realize that he's peeing because he asks us every morning if his pull-up is dry. Help!

alli2672 · December 2014

Can you get him up to go to the bathroom when you go to bed at night? It helps my son.

jc&cat · December 2014

DS is 6 and never had a dry night. He wears goodnites every night. One of us carries him into the bathroom at about 10pm when we go to sleep to pee. It helps alot. I talked with the pedi about it and she says its normal and it will come with time. He seriously does NOT wake up at night. Stinker didn't sleep as a baby but now sleeps like a rock.

mae0111 · December 2014

Ditto getting him up when you go to bed. We did that for DD for quite a while - whether it was 10pm or midnight, we'd get her up, walk her to the bathroom, sit her down, and turn on the water. She would always go.

The other trick was that we started putting the goodnights on over her PJs. We did it because she was allergic to pull-ups, but also because she would get really uncomfortable and would hate having to get up and change (PJs and her bed) in the middle of the night. It helped her to learn to wake up.

But I also know that every kid is different. My nephew is almost 9, and he rarely has a dry night. It's just the way he's wired. He sleeps so hard and doesn't wake up.

*sparky* · December 2014

We went through exactly the same thing with my DS. It did not stop until he was well into first grade. As the others said, we had him go to the bathroom right before he went to sleep every night, and he also wore Goodnights, and that helped a lot. He is just a really solid sleeper.

jlaOK · December 2014

Glad to hear that others have been through this. We haven't brought him to pee before we go to bed because he and DD share a room and the bathroom is literally right by her bed. We will be moving in a few months and will maybe start this then.

I see that people keep mentioning Goodnights. Are those more absorbent that pull-ups?

jc&cat · December 2014

Good nights are contoured for a larger kid and i find more absorbent than a pull up.

The potty visit before we go to bed really has helped. Keep in mind he is sound asleep during the entire process so it may be more quiet of a process than you think. I carry him in, he does his business and usually DH carries him back.

Sept07b2b · December 2014

Good nights are definitely more absorbent than pull-ups. We had this problem with my DS. Once we switched to Good nights, as long as he went to the bathroom before he went to bed (8:00pm), it was totally fine.

If you don't want to wake your DS up before you go to bed, I would try pee before his bedtime and Good nights first. That might do it.

2chatter · December 2014

DD is never dry and at seven, we just went back to the ped to have another discussion. Here is what the three peds who have seen her in her life have said

1) Some kids bodies process urine differently. They just go at night and don't wake up.

2) It's not a matter of sleeping hard; plenty of super hard sleepers are not bed wetters. It's about training their brain to wake up when they need to pee.

3) It can be caused by constipation and we are going to try Miralax as a long term solution.

4) You can buy an alarm that wakes them - I have the card to an online potty store somewhere; we aren't excited about waking DD/us being woken/DS or other DD being woken as a result of this process so haven't pursued it. I want to say you can google it - they have a whole internet presence for it - something obvious like bedwettingstore or something. LMK if you want me to dig out the info. One of the alarms vibrates, and apparently most kids just get up, potty and put themselves back to bed.

5) They don't worry about it until age 10 or more, and even then, they don't really worry.

jlaOK · December 2014

@jc&cat and @Sept07b2b - I will definitely try goodnight instead of pull-ups (now I'm mad that I just bought a box this weekend that DH opened)

@2chatter - Thanks for the information. I have heard of the different potty alarms and have a friend who has used the Roger with great success. I just don't want to pay the $80-$100 when DS is still on the young end of night potty training.

We already limit his evening liquids and make him go potty right before bed. I will see if switching to Good Nights are able to keep me from having to wash sheets multiple times a week.

litzo27 · December 2014

My 6 year old is still bed wetting every single night

while my 3 year old sleeps without good nights (doesn't get up to pee - just holds it). Clearly it's a physiology thing. We're waiting and hoping.

shannm · December 2014

Echoing PP, you are not alone. MIL had seven kids. Only one of them had trouble with staying dry over night. He was the smartest kid, yet wet his bed till at least 10. They tried the alarm which is like a big family joke now, 30 years later. I don't think it helped. He just eventually grew out of it. Today he is in his late 30's and extremely successful and unphased by that childhood issue.
I know, not much help now but maybe helps you not worry too much.

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