Still Wearing Pull-ups at Night

when my son was 5yr2mo old we stopped using pullups and got a potty alarm with regular underwear. It took 40 days but he started out with the alarm going off 3 times a night (it was like having a newborn again!) to him being completely dry by the end. I think it's been about 5 weeks since he started being completely dry and he's only had 3 accidents in that time. I'm so glad we tried the potty alarm!

I just asked my sons doctor this past Monday the very same question. She said that 10% of first graders are in the same position... and they'll grow out of it.

Boys often take longer than girls to be completely potty trained - and your son's sound sleeping contributes. My son was always so immersed in what he did during the day he still had "accidents" in first grade and wet the bed at night until 2nd grade. Pull-ups would've been helpful 20+ years ago! Guess I don't have advice - just empathy - been there, done that, they do grow out of it - some just take longer than others. Best of luck!

Rough. Wondering. Would he wake up if he feels wet? Are the pull-ups keeping him dry?

S.

I used to have a bed-wetting problem as a kid, and it was humiliating and embarrassing. It was something I grew out of when I was 13 years old -- a normal process, one my brother & father went through too! I only wish they had pull ups when I was a kid! My parents tried waking me, doing everything so I didn't wet -- and so did I! But my bedwetting wasn't because I wanted to wet the bed -- I had a legitimate problem! Love your son and use the pull-ups, and help him work through this in his own way, at his own pace, with your pediatrician. I think I'm still emotionally scarred, to this day, from the pressure & pain to stop bedwetting when it was something beyond my control at 5.

HI S.
My friends son is 6 this christmas,he's still in pull ups at night. My daughter's 5 and will wake up just as she's started to go, so there's only a dime size wet spot. I sometimes carry her to the bathroom sit her down and say simon says go pee, and that works for us.
Good luck, A. H

My daughter is 6 and in first grade. She still wears pull-ups at night because she is a heavy sleeper. I prefer the pull-ups to waking up to a wet child and bed as well as having to get up in the middle of the night to tear off the sheets and clean her up. The pediatrician has assured me that this is normal. I do not reprimand her, but I do make sure to praise her when she wakes up dry. I was told I was a bed-wetter til I was 6 years old. The pediatrician stated that this is something that can "run in the family". I understand your frustration, but I have learned to not let it stress me out and not to stress out my daughter over it as well.

I have a five year old daughter that is the same way. We were trying to think of a way to do away with the pull-ups, they get so expensive!! You're on the right track, because I do the same thing. First of all, I have her go to the bathroom every night before she goes to bed. Then before I go to bed, I take her to the bathroom. When I take her to the bathroom, I pick her up out of bed and take her. Talk just enough to let them know it is you and what you are doing, while they rest their head on your shoulder. Keep lights off, especially in the bathroom, to avoid waking them up all the way. I have dim nightlights. One in the hallway, one in the rec. room right before the bathroom, and one in the bathroom. Place them, one at a time of course, at the toilet, and let them do there thing. Make sure, at night when you do this, stay in the bathroom with them! My daughter actually went potty and then before wiping, she fell asleep on the toilet!! I had to wake her back up so she could wipe. Then just take them back to bed! Needless to say, she has not been in a pull-up since we started this process!

Good luck!
A.

S.,
Not to alarm you, but sometimes it's a genetic issue. My daughter also was potty trained but wore pullups at night until just before her 10th birthday. I found out later that her dad, aunt, and grandfather on my dh's side all had these problems. We just called them "night" pants and didn't make a huge deal out of it. She was a very deep sleeper when she was younger and also had night terrors. I'm happy to say she grew out of it. You might want to check with other family members.

Talk to his Ped Dr. don't give him anything to drink after dinner, around 2 hours before bed. Also insist he use the bathroom, before bed, if he still says no, have your husband help. This can become a life long proplem, anything you can do to stop this he will appreiciate for the rest of his life. Mom of 4 grandma of 3, my nephew has this problem, he is 25 now and has to were garments to sleep. Best of luck to you, stick to a routine. B.

S.,

I had the same thing with my daughter. I went to her pediatrician for advice. She told me to get her out of the diapers (pull-ups really are the same as diapers). She said she may be waking up because of needing to urinate, but she doesn't have to because of the pull-ups. She said try taking her to the bathroom before I go to bed and if she does wet the bed, make her help me change the bedding. Well, I was getting her up and if she had peed already, I made her help me change.

Well, I don't think she ever was fully awake and knew what she was doing. So, I quit getting her up and just let her go if she had to and helped her clean up. Well, she got smart and if she peed, she got up and changed her clothes and put the blankets over it and slept on them (it was summer so she didn't need them over her). When I realized this, I took the blankets off the bed so she had to get up to change sheets at least. Well, it didn't take long after that, and she was sleeping dry all the time.

By the way, later I found out that one time she had a good friend spend the night and told her to ask to wear a pull-up so she didn't have to get up at night to use the bathroom.

Hope this helps.

L.

My kids were the same way - I finally decided to go 2 weeks with no pull ups. It means they would wet - I would have to get up in the middle of the night and change the bedding and wash complete bedding everyday - but at the end of the two weeks - no more pull ups. We thought the Pulls Ups might actually be giving them a "crutch". It was nice to not have to deal with the bedding and extra showers in the morning - but within 2 weeks the problem was gone. Every kid is different. We had our son tested and found his bladder wasn't developing as fast as it should have - but it eventually caught up and all was well. That was years ago when the pull ups first came out - but something to try. If it doesn't help the situation than you at least know maybe the timing isn't right. We tried the alarms the kids can wear, etc... It isn't cheap buying the pull ups. I was glad when a friend suggested we just give it two weeks and see what happens.

My son is 6 and still wets the bed almost once a week. You could try putting him in underwear to see if that gets him waking up, but if he's not ready then you'll just be changing his bed and clothes everynight and having him take a bath in the morning or sometimes even in the middle of the night. I waited until my son was dry at least half of the nights during a week before putting him in undies at night. We are going for a 2 week vacation in December and I plan on buying him those UnderJams to wear at night while we are gone. You don't want him to feel bad about it and you don't want to make yourself anymore frustrated about it. Try the undies, but don't stress if he is still wearing pull-ups at night at age 5. :)

I have the same problem with my 4 1/2 year old son. I can wake him before I go to bed and then during the night and he still has a problem. He doesn't like wearing the pull ups and begs for underware. I can't get through to him that he has to get himself out of bed and go to the potty. Hopefully this will all work itself out but I'm tired of washing the sheets and pajamas constantly.

Have you tried putting him in regular underwear at night? When my son was potty trained, he would pee in his pullup at night, but not underwear. The pullups feel like diapers.

I responded to someone about this a few days ago - heavy sleeper, undeveloped bladder control. It is a physiological thing - perfectly normal. Kids develop at different rates.
Yes, you could give him an alarm to wake up in the middle of the night, or you could let him wear undies and get up and change the sheets alot. My son was day-trained by 3 but wouldn't even wake up when the bed was wet (that heavy of a sleeper)so we had pullups until he was 5 and one month, then it was DRY sailing from then on.

Hi S.,
Our son did that as well, but our 2 daughters did not. I was told that it might be because his urine did not "concentrate" at night. I am trying to remember it correctly - but I was told that our urine thickens at night making it possible for us to "hold it" more easily through the night. We tried bed wetting tablets at the health food store - they were all natural. We were very blessed, it pretty much worked the first night and he only took one before bedtime. I am not sure if it was a placebo effect, because it worked so quickly, but it worked!? The health food store we went to was Panacea's (I believe it is on 14 mile). Hope all goes well!
T.

don't worry about it it's perfectly normal! Aren't you glad you have a normal kid?