My daughter just turned 5. She has been day-time potty trained since she was about 2 1/2, but has always wet at night. She was also premature (born at 32 weeks) so I don't know if that may affect bladder control. I have not been too concerned because I know that all children develop differently and know this is a common issue and that she will eventually outgrow it. I have tried letting her wear underwear to bed, thinking that if she wet she would wake up, but she still sleeps right through.
My 2 boys were both potty trained at 2 years old and woke up on their own when they needed to go at night right away, so I did not have to deal with this with them.
My concern is how to comfort her about wetting at night. She has started to tell me that she wants to wear underwear to bed because she knows younger kids who do not wear Pull-Ups at night and that makes her sad. I have told her that when she wakes up to go potty at night and stays dry, she won't have to wear them anymore. I also told her that it is not her fault that she sleeps very sound and does not wake up.
Is there something more that we can do to help her stay dry or to set her mind at ease about wearing Pull-Ups?
Thank you for all the great responses. I took her to the dr. today for her pre-Kindergarten physical and talked to him about the bedwetting. He said it was nothing to worry about at this age. I think I will give her a little more time and if she doesn't outgrow it, we'll look into an alarm. I was glad to hear that had helped a lot of your children. Thanks again!!
My almost 7 year old daughter was potty trained at 22 months but not at night. We used Goodnites and now we just buy pull-ups because they are cheaper and she thinks they look the same anyway. Recently she has been going a couple of days staying dry and then maybe one of not. She only has had sleepovers with one friend and she wears them too so they think it is cool.
Good luck.
Prematurity can be a cause of bedwetting. My twins were premies born at 34 weeks. They are seven now. Both of them wore the goodnights until a few months ago when they started being dry all night by themselves. Goodnights look more like underwear than pullups do. Goodnights has a website that may help her fell better by knowing other kids have the same problem and there is nothing to be ashamed about. Check it out @ http://www.goodnites.com
You could also let her wear underwear over them if she wants too. Good luck!!
P.
I completely understand where your coming from. My son and daughter both had (have) bedwetting problems long after they were potty trained. I was told that it runs in the family (which my husband did have problems with when he was younger), and that it can be due to a combination of things, either their bladder has simply not matrued enough, or they just sleep too hard and their body doesn't receive the signal to get up when they have to go. That being said this is what has worked for us.
I used a Malem brand bed wetting alarm for my son when he was about 6, or a little under. It worked great! He was done wetting the bed within a few weeks (avg time is 6 weeks). For my daughter I am usuing a Rodger wireless alarm because the sensor placement is a little better for girls and it is working great!
With the alarm, a little beeper goes off (sometimes vibration too) when they start to wet. They are then supposed to stop going, get up and go to the bathroom to finish. Eventually the amount of times that happens slows down and then stops. The first couple weeks you are supposed to be in the same room, or near then so you can help them when the alarm goes off because either they don't hear it (amazing, but true-my son had to be woken up several times in the beginning)or they just don't know what to do. this has worked great for both of my kids.
To go along with that, I try to make sure they have their last meal/snack at least 1/2 hour before bed, and drink only water (small amounts) after that. Milk and soda can actually make you have to go more. And the last thing we do is called "double elimination". It simply means you have them go potty about 1/2 hour or so before bed, and then once again right before they get in bed. This ensures their bladder is empty when they get in bed. Just that one step has helped my daughter have dry nights!
Sorry to go on and on, I just know how frusterating this process can be and want you to have lots of ideas to try from things I know work. Hope you find something that works for you. Good luck!
Out of my 4 children, 2 were bed wetters. My oldest daughter was almost 13 before she outgrew it. We put her on a nose drop D.D.A.V.P (lowest dose) and that worked wonders. Dr. said when she went through puberty, she should outgrow it. She did. Our youngest son (also a 28 wk. preemie) just recently outgrew it. (almost 8 now). Just be patient, remind them to go just before bedtime and cut out all drinks except water later at night. Lot of kids have the same problem.
My daughter was a pre-teen before she stopped wetting. Start with a bed alarm. There are many on the internet. The one I got was great. I have let several people use it with great success. IF that doesn't work (it didn't for my daughter) then you need to talk to your dr. Some kids don't produce the hormone when they sleep that stop urine production. They put my daughter on that hormone (DDAVP). She was then able to go to sleep overs, etc without wetting. When her body and hormones changed when she went through puberty it all stopped. My nephew was the same way. Your daughter is only 5 and there and many kids her age that still don't stay dry at night. The alarm trains them to get up as they are going.
Here are a couple of things my doctor suggested to me. One is to try the GoodNites brand of "diapers". They have a boxers type one that looks more like underwear. We call them here disposible (spelling, sorry) underwear instead of diapers. If she is dead set against that, then buy a moniter that you hook to her undies. When she starts to wet, it sets off an alarm. It may take a few tries on her part to wake up quickly and get to the potty, but it works wonders, especially for self esteem issues she might have. Its give them confident. I am told eventually they will stop relying on the beeping and start recognizing the symptoms themself. I found one at our local medical equipment store for about $70. You can find them on the internet too. Good Luck!
PS if it is because of how hard them sleep, then the not letting them drink after a certain time and so on, does not work. Also I was told by the doctor to not get up myself and wake him, this can lead to him depending on me to take care of this problem and it is something he has to do his self. My son is 8.
Hi S.,
When I was 5 I was a bed wetter too. I slept so soundly that I wouldn't wake up to go the bathroom. This was in 1951 (about 53 years ago) so we didn't have disposables only cloth diapers that were no good in this situation. My mother bought a piece of oil cloth and put it under my bottom sheet so the I wouldn't ruin the matress.
My mother didn't know what to do so she took me to our pediatricion. He told my mom not to let me have anything to drink close to bedtime. This would reduce the amount of fluid in my body. He also told her to have me hold going to the bathroom a little longer each day to strenthen my kindney's sphinkter muscles. Don't over do it, just a little will have in remarkable results. This helped me and it might help your daughter too.
This is just advice and I would suggest going to your Dr. to find out more of what you can do, if you haven't done so already. It might be more than just the strength of your daughter's kidneys.
Don't compare the boys with your daughter because boys physiology are completely different from girls. (I think that boys can hold it much longer than girls because they have an additional sphincter muscle in the penus that girls don't have.)
R. C.
I would suggest speaking to her periatrician. It usually is a part of the brain that does not talk to the bladder while sleeping. I had the same problem as a small child. Back then they were using a steroid to control it. I am not sure what they use now. But definitely talk to her dr. The only thing I would do to help her at night is limit liquids before bedtime and wake her through out the night to make sure she goes. Good luck
S. - I've heard that chiropractic care can make a difference for bed wetting. Being born is one of the most difficult events on our body and many of us end up with misaligned spines that leads to all types of ailments and events in our life. Check out a good pediatric chiropractor. I know of 2, one in Savage/Burnsville area and one in Lakeville. Contact me for more information if you need their numbers.
D.
We don't allow anything to drink after supper and make sure they go to the bathroom right before bed.
You might want to try waking her to take a potty break before you go to bed.
Two things that I know of that can contribute to bed wetting are family history and also large tonsils. I know that one sounds weird but it does. Does she snore?
J.
Mom to 4, soon 5 through another adoption and hopefully more :o)
I went through this with my daughter until she was 7. After testing her for everything, including diabetes, I finally went to see a Naturepath. What she told me worked immediately to stop the problem...
The Problem: The bladder releases when blood sugar drops so keeping blood sugar levels up is the key to kids sleeping through the night and having more awareness around needing to pee during the day.
The Solution: Making sure your child is eating a high fat, high protein diet, low sugar diet throughout the day and giving a large high fat/low sugar snack before bed. Water should be given liberally throughout the day and before bed also because dehydration releases the bladder as well (the brain thinks it is starving and blood sugar drops when dehydration sets in).
Bedtime snacks: Cheese with bread or crackers (or just cheese), peanut butter or nut butter with bread or crackers, bean and cheese burrito, fish ~ tuna on toast... what ever you child will eat that is high in fat/protein and low in sugar (make sure your peanut butter is not sweetened).
Water, water, water ~ the more water your child can drink the better.
You won't believe how well this works. Start today and she will be all over the bed-wetting and daytime accidents by next week.
We bought a bed wetting alarm for my daughter. It worked like a charm! The first couple of nights, she slept through the alarm...she's a heavy sleeper!! But she finally started hearing it and waking up. Within 2 weeks, she was waking up dry. Some nights she held it, others she got up and used the bathroom. I found it on Amazon.com and it cost about $10.
