Nightime Potty Training - Baltimore,MD

This is most likely something that cannot be fully controlled. My son also wets the bed, and it is not something he can control at all. Often, children who experience this have a bit of an underdeveloped bladder that just hasn't caught up with the rest of the body. In time the bladder catches up, but it's understandably a struggle until that time comes. You might try restricting fluid intake in the evenings (after 6pm or something relative to her bedtime). Some people have found that helps. We use GoodNites and will continue to until he's able to control his bladder at night.

This may be a silly question, but... how much does she drink in the evening? Try cutting back. If she's drinking up until bedtime, cut back the fluids a couple hours before bedtime. If she's "dying of thirst" let her have just a couple sips of water. I found that to work with my second daughter(whose older sister woke up dry long b4 potty training). If you're already cutting back, cut back more. I've heard of people not letting their kids drink anything after dinner. Good luck. I know it can be very frustrating.

You have probably already tried this, but limiting any drinks after dinner (5:30-6:00) helped us a lot! My daughter was having the same problem, and although she hated giving up the before bed milk, we weaned her of it, make sure she goes right before bed and then I get her up right before I go to bed. When she does have an accident, I stand her up next to the bed and change all the sheets etc which is also no fun (getting up and waiting), so that motivates her to "go" before bed and when I get her up. Worked for us. Good luck.

K.

Hi U.,

I understand that this is a very big concern for you and it is something that you need answers to because this can continue on in adult life if not addressed by someone who can help.

Dr. Laurie Dietzel is a child development specialist. Write her and ask for her advice.

Her e-mail address is ____@____.com

Hope she can help. Good luck. D.

I would try to cut off any liquids at night at least 30 minutes before she goes to bed. Then right before bed make sure she uses the potty. This worked for us. I hope it helps you!

Hi! Frustrating, isn't it??? My neighbor went through this with her daughter. The pediatrician told her that her bladder just needed to grow. The girl is the heaviest sleeper I have ever known; she just didn't wake up! Just before she turned 6, she had had a few weeks of staying dry all night and stopped wearing PullUps. Happy ending! (And her son was day/night potty-trained at 3 1/2, too). Good luck!

I've read in a recent foreign article that night time potty training takes time because it has something to do with the development of our brain. We can control our urine on our own during day time, but it is fully impossible to do so during night time because the body part which functions urine system exists in our brain. I recommend you to relax and wait until she will grow eventually. If she still has wet diapers in a year or so, that is the time you should consult a doctor. I have a nephew who still has night time accidents even if he is 12 years old. I heard that it's not his fault, and his body part is not functioning well, and he needs to be hospitalized once or twice a year. How about giving her less water and go potty before going to sleep and see what happens? Good luck!

I went through the same thing with my 2 older boys (now 12 and 14). I am currently going through the same thing with my 3 year old. They both grew out of it around 7 or 8. Just be patient, there really isn't much else you can do. I have heard there is also a heredity factor. Hope that helps somewhat!

We have the same problem with our little girl (turning 5 in a couple of months). I think the key here is to not shame them or make them feel like it is their fault. I removed all drinks after dinner (aside from 2-3 sips after brushing teeth) and it didn't matter. Now, I make sure she goes just before bed and then when I go to bed, I take her again. That has worked pretty well for us. We occasionally have accidents, but them seem to be only occasional. Good luck.

Liz

Try not letting her have anything to eat or drink 30 minutes before bed time. Hopefully her last bathroom break before bed will empty her bladder.

I know that must frustrate you to battle potty training longer than you thought it would go. There are two things you can try or consider. To consider: "normal" is different for everybody. Someone has to be on the extreme ends. They are "normal" many times, too. Just different. To Try: is there a chance that the nervous signal that she needs the toilet not reaching her brain because of spinal misalignment? I have heard great things for chiropractic adjustments helping with late bedwetting. My chiropractor helped my youngest with birth trauma (chord around her neck once, twice around the belly-led to her not sitting up correctly with neck to one side-now she is fine), another of my children is oversized and was starting some severe posture problems--getting better now, another was having tension headaches and is getting coached on ways to stretch, and where to massage. They take care of all kinds of things--even bed wetting. If it receives a signal from the spine (and everthing does) then, it can act badly when the info is not moving because of mis-alignment. I hope this helps!--L.

Most drs. and books seem to say try not to be concerned until 6 - 7 years of age. Little ones can have such a deep sleep that they are simply unable to wake. Even with you waking her, she is not 'fully' awake.

However, it is something you should speak with her dr. about if it is concerning you. There could be an underlying problem. Or it could be absolutely nothing at all. I had surgery when I was in first grade because the tubes between my bladder and kidneys were not functioning correctly and I was having bedwetting episodes quite frequently. I also had other symptoms which helped them determine it wasn't just a growing phase.

There's nothing wrong with asking your dr. what they think.

I think it is something she's just got to grow out of. I believe the medical term is enuresis. I have a 6 1/2 year old and a 4 1/2 year old with the same problem. Actually, my 6 1/2 year old is worse than the younger one. He is a HEAVY sleeper. I've tried alarms, I've tried letting him sleep on just the plastic mattress cover with a towel. Nothing is working. I've been told it's probably genetic. I do know that there are drugs out there that you can try but my Dr. doesn't want to prescribe them just yet. One of them is Ditropan. You may want to try the alarm (even though it didn't work for me)Here's a link http://bedwettingstore.com/Bedwetting_Alarms/malem_ultima... Good luck!

Hi U.,

I am a Yorktown mom of four girls. Reading your story brought back similar memories of two of my four daughters. I'm sure you've tried limiting fluids and waking her in the middle of the night to go potty. After visiting the pediatrician, I learned that my girls had underlying medical issues that made them fall into deep, heavy sleep. Have you brought this to the attention of her MD.?

I hope that it helps to know that someone else has experienced your situation.

S.

If she is a heavy sleeper(which is what it sounds like) there really is nothing you can do. My eleven yr old is the world's heaviest sleeper and we have tried EVERYTHING under the sun: doctors, timers, meds. you name it! I have learned the hard way that we have to just let them outgrow it. Don't be judgemental, or anything negative...keep it all positive and reassure her that she will grow out of it! At least that is what they keep telling me, I am still waiting for that and it is SOOOOOO frustrating on my end. My husband who had bedwetting problems is much more understanding/patient. But really there is nothing you can do, it is all a matter of her bladder/kidneys catching up to the rest of her body.
I would stay away from the meds. even the sprays that we were told were safe, didn't help(they don't usually with heavy sleepers)and now they are finding that they can cause seizures/death with prolonged use.

Hang in there!

Hello my lil girl will be 3 and we had the same problem, what i have found to work is an hour before bed time i do not give her anything to drink at first it was hard on her she wanted milk to lay down. So what we have done is take out special time at night an hour before bed we started to go to her room with her read a book play with some toys then take her to the bathroom she is worn out from playing so close to bed time and forgets about the milk. She may have an accident every once in awhile but it has gotten so much better

You are defintely not alone. My husband and I are going through the exact same thing with our four year old. She has been day time potty trained for a long time and even when she takes a nap during the day she wakes up dry but very rarely at night. We are going to talk to the pediatrician to see if there could be something that we are overlooking. I know this isn't much help but I just wanted to let you know that you are not alone.