Bed Wetting - South Lyon,MI

I did woke both of my girls up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom. I would wake them and just carry them to the bathroom, I kept the lights off and just had a nightlight on. It seemed to help them get through the night and also now they get up on their own in the middle of the night if they have to go. My daughters are now 7 and 8, and we have no issues anymore.

hi there,
did you take her to the doctor, bc my husband had that when he was little and it was something about his underdeveloped bladder muscle or something? i think his brother had that too???

First, this is not that uncommon or unheard of... (Some will do this until they are ten years old.)

Second ~ have you checked in with your pediatrician to see if there are any conditions she has - Some kids just sleep so soundly, that they do not 'feel' that urge until it is too late while others could have an actual medical issue. It is worth checking into.

If all is good with her health, then I would recommend using 'Good Nights' - the overnight underwear as they do fit and they hold up better to wetness. They are made for kids that do not wake up in the night to go. We used them in place of pull-ups and never had an issue with our son. (And he was 4/5 years old when we did this.).

Next - I would not wake her up! Everyone needs their sleep, especially this time of year when illnesses are at the highest peak. Interrupted sleep can affect the immune system. Or you can end up throughout her off her sleep cycle, meaning if she sleeps through the night now, then if you continue to wake her - she will end up waking up anyway or unable to fall back asleep. And it doesn't guarantee that she will have to use the bathroom, so it is not really worth it.

Don't stress over it if it is not a health issue~ Take her in though to be checked over as she more than likely is a heavy sleeper that is unable to feel that urge.
(Oh, and I really do not agree or believe in the alarms to put on kids~ Not only that, but they have do not have the success rate after being used as the child does regress after no longer using it.)

Make sure her routine is normal and that nothing has changed as depending on stress levels, it could also affect her in her dreaming state. (Nightmares can trigger a bladder release.).

I will say that I wet the bed growing up, I was probably close to 9 or 10, when I stopped. not something I would have ever attempted before being a mom. But i do know, that about the age of 8, the doctor put me on meds. It was a nasal spray and i took it every night, and that helped out a lot. I was around 9 or 10, when i went off the spray and was fine. I would definatly talk to your doctor. Her bladder is probably not growing at the same rate as everything else.

I would not wake your duaghter up in the middle of the night. It will mess with her sleep big time, and you will see a difference in her after doing that.

I would try moving the no liquids up to maybe 5, and let her have one glass, or half a glass with dinner, and then starting at 6, make her go use the bathroom every half hour, and see if that helps.

My step nephew is going to be 9 in march still wets the bed and doesnt care at all. He uses pull ups, and has no problem with them. he isn't embarrased at all. But for him, they have said, his bladder is still on the small side, plus he drinks right up until bedtime. but he sneaks it in the bathroom, so no one knows what that he is doing it.

This is a biological issue with most late bed wetters. There is nothing that the child can do about it, almost all will outgrow it, sometimes not until they are 14. Don't shame her or anything. It is probably a good idea to discuss it with her doctor the next time you go in. They have special underpants for kids with this issue. Ask the doctor about waking her up, this could cause sleep issues on top of the bed wetting issues. Good Luck.

we have a 7 year old boy who still pees at night he gets up at 2 am and 630 and still wet the good night. Just buy good nights so you don't haave to do sheets everyday until she grows out of it.

Hi D.
I have a seven year old son who still cannot get through the night without being put on the toilet. I have done the same things as you...last drink at dinnertime etc. I also remind him to use the bathroom two to three times after dinner, before bedtime at 8pm. At bedtime he goes to the bathroom. I then put him on the toilet at about 10pm before I go to bed. I don't know how heavy your daughter sleeps, but my son does not even wake up for this, he does not remember in the morning that he has been put on the toilet. He's such a heavy sleeper that some nights when he still wets (occassionally) I can get him up, wash him and change him, and he still doesn't remember all that by the morning.
I did not want to get my son up to toilet him either but he got to the stage where he was asking not to be in his goodnights anymore so i thought I would give it a try. Maybe you could give it a try and see if it works. it did take a week or two to get him peeing easily on the toilet without waking but I think it is worth the effort. It definitley makes my son happy to be out of pullups, and when he has the occassional accident we clean him up and don't make a big deal of it.

my stepdaughter is 8 and she pee the bed to so i understand what you are talking about,but the doctor put her on pills and didnt seem like was working,so we decided to change the pills,and the pills she has right now is expensive,and still not helping her,but i believe they are the one who have to decide in stop peeing on bed,but anyways I would go with your husband advice,my stepdaughter goes to sleep at 7 because of school,and i tell her to go to the bathroom before go to bed and i was waking her up around 11pm and 2am,to go to the bathroom and she got used to get up during the night and going to the bathroom so we have about 2 months without any problems,hope it helps,good luck and happy holidays...

Don't wake her up every night. What happens is you then condition them to go to the bathroom when they are still half asleep. Neither of mine had may problems until I started working afternoons. I would have to wake my kids up at about 12:30 1:00 am to go home. Now I have problems on a regular basis. When the problems started to get worse, I did some research and some checking.

Sometimes it is a natural problem they will outgrow. But if you wake them up in the middle of the night, they don't truly wake up completely. When you do this on a regular basis their internal systems get screwed up and won't work right.

Good luck, buy the pull ups and let their bodies learn how to regulate themselves.

Chel E

I didn't read any other response before posting so please forgive me if I repeat something.
First is she getting enough sleep at that age they need 10 to 12 hours of sleep a night. That means if she is up at 6 for school she is in bed by 8 pm at night at a min.
Second have her checked for a bladder infection and talk to your doctor about the bed wetting.
If these two fail then here is my advise is to wake her at 11 or 12 do not use the pull ups. here is why
I have two boys both wet the bed the oldest wore pull ups till he was 10 when he out grew the largest you could find. He continued to wet the bed tell 13 we tried waking him up but you had to do it before he wet the bed and most of the time it was before midnight. The brain needs to be conditioned to recognize the bladder is full at night and signal the child to wake up (per the doctor). Part of the problem was he was/is a heavy sleeper the other part we tried medication (I don't recommend that either) The youngest wet the bed off and on from 5 to 9 stress was part of the reason I refused to use pull ups he would wake up when he was wet and change, then remove his sheets. After a few days he wouldn't wet the bed again for a few weeks then months etc.
They make plastic protectors for the bed buy one there around 15 dollars or so. She will condition her body more quickly if you are waking her and allow her to get wet unlike pull ups they not only protect the bed but the child from knowing. I don't even advise new mothers to use them to potty train they are a great stand by for trips and where needed but horable for potty training.

Actually letting her drink as much as she wants before bed, along with waking her up to use the bathroom in the middle of the night will help train her bladder. Make sure that when you wake her up at midnight or 1 am that she is actually awake. Eventually, she will wake herself up or feel when she needs to go to the bathroom and catch herself before she has an accident. I would not buy pullups or tell her to wear them. Once they are out of pullups never go back! I know it is frustrating and tiring but waking her up in the middle of the night is a lot less hassle than changing sheets and pajamas in the middle of the night! By the way, this was advice given to my sister by a pediatric specialist who treated my nephew for bedwetting. Good luck.

You could do what my parents did to me. There is this device that has a wire running from a box that is secured to the write down to the child undies and attaches there. It has a little metal piece that when it gets wet, an alarm goes off from the box alerting the child to wake up. I am not sure how long my parents had to use it on me, but it did work. I would consider doing it if I end up having trouble with my daughter as she gets older.

I know it looks like you have finished this posting but I wanted to throw my comment in the hat. It is not good to wake her up to go to the bathroom. You are correct...bed wetting is hereditary and it can happen well into a child's teens. Doctors will not treat bed wetting unless it persists well past puberty. It is upsetting to the child but the most important thing is to not make her feel like it is her fault. It is also a great idea to make her understand all the time that this is NOT her fault and that you are not mad at her when this happens. We are dealing with bed wetting with our 8 year old son and our 3 year old son. Our daughter has never had a problem and the boys get upset about it. We stress to them that this will go away and that it is not their fault. They seem to be okay but it has taken a lot of time to make them feel better about it. I hope you are doing well with your daughter. I am sure she will overcome this in time. Good Luck!!

D.; pull ups dont help, most kids in pull ups keep wetting, and then know you change them and get used to that, buy a plastic matress cover, is using a reg mattress, and i would try waking her up or taking her to the bathroom right before bedtime, also by 6 most kids have this down, and sometimes they wet the bed due to some stresses she may be having around the home, also if you cant figure it out, you may need to take her to a dr, but she may be thriving for more attention as well, and it could be a call to pay attention with me, have a bedtime routine, and since she is a bit older have her help change her bedding help wash it as well, and then have her help to make the bed, dont yell at her, but have her help and she may get over it, but buy her big girl panties, dont revert back to pull ups, you are sending her a mixed message that its ok to pee your pants, they also make plastic pants you can put over her underware, this wont stop the liquid from escaping but it will allow the moisture to stick to her, and also she will need a bath or shower too once peeing, or teach her how to wash it all off, either way be patient, and keep the stress low, and give her attention she needs, they are awesome girls as you said, so im sure you have been doing a good job with them, so keep up the good work, and its great you can be a stay at home mom, it takes a few years of your time, but its way worth it, so keep up the good work, D. s