Bedwetting!! - La Habra,CA

Do not despair... My son did the same thing until maybe 6- 7,,, until a friend told me about an alarm system that has a sensor that attaches to their underwear and has an alarm on their shoulder that rings when the underwear begins to get wet... It worked like a charm. Maybe 2 nights and the problem was history. I was kicking my self for not learning of this sooner. Now, this was back in the dark ages... my son is now 23...but maybe such a product still exists... Here's hoping!!

Sidebar: My son still sleeps very deeply.. some times even sleepwalking...

Chiropractic. I'm telling you....it works for nocturnal eneuresis. It allows the brain to send messages properly to the bladder and then message back to the brain...so it sounds like that may not be happening. This works for my son and we know when he's out of alignment, because then he wets the bet again. We'd go for months without and accident and then 4+ nights in a row until I'd get him adjusted. I'd get him adjusted by our chiro and then no accidents.

A bunch of my firnedsss do the same thing and they all have the same results. Sometimes it's one adjustment and sometimes i't s few to get the vertebra to stay put.

Here's some research for you:

http://icpa4kids.org/Chiropractic-Research/Bed-Wetting/

For kids like this (including my daughter who is 5!) this is a chemical imbalance in their bodies. Making her clean it up or making her feel like she did something wrong will not solve it! It will only make things worse and give her a complex.
There is medication that you can use... it's best if you wait for her to be a little older. We tried it on our daugher and it helped a little bit but did not solve it. We also are in the middle of a yeast infection so I know exactly what you are going through!!
The other mom's are right on with the sheet protectors, cutting off the liquids, taking her potty before you go to bed , etc. This will for sure help but don't be discouraged if it does not solve the problem!

My almost-4 y.o. son is very similar. He is so deeply asleep that he just does not wake up to nature's calls.

We physically take him to the bathroom in the middle of the night. Through trial and error, we found that 10:30 pm works best. He's getting heavy so it's helpful if my husband and I do it together.

We also stock up on pads similar to these: http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2953540. It covers most of his toddler bed. We keep an extra blanket, PJs, and pads near his bed in case he needs changing.

My younger brother was like this and I remember waking him up to remind him to go the bathroom even up to the age of 8. Some people it just takes longer.

It's not her fault she is wetting the bed, making her clean it up seems wrong to me. The yeast infection can be a real issue but she needs to make sure she is not keeping the wet pull up on any longer than needed. When K forgets to take hers off in the morning on the weekend she will get red and nasty too, I always give her a shower instead of a bath, if she takes a bath we don't add soap, then she stand and washes with soap and rinses standing up, and we got rid of the yeast issue. My grandson, 11, still wets occasionally, he is reaching adolescence and is growing and his brain is finally getting the wiring needed to feel the urge and wake up to go or hold it all night. K is 6 and still uses pull ups and will until she stays dry for a period of time. F has stayed dry all night since she was about 20 months old and is 7, every child is different.

It is a biologiacal brain wiring-body issue that only age and growth can take care of. Please use the pull up and just make sure she goes to the bathroom right before she goes to bed. Resricting fluids does nothing but make her dehydrated and cranky, the urine also gets stronger. A lot of people stop milk after dinner and just let the kids drink as much water as they want until bed time. that may help her to not get the yeast infection again. Those alarms do nothing but wake everyone up and usually not even the child that has them on.

Unless a Urologist finds a biological issue the there is nothing you can do to make her stay dry at this point. It is stressful to make her wet the bed several times a night, but then again if you have the time to wash that many sheets and blankets every day for years to come....

Just wanted to say that you are not alone, I have a 5 year old son who sleeps just like your daughter! He is wet at least 4 times a week, it seems that each month he is wet less often then the month before. Like you I wll not force him to do all the work in the middle of the night, its useless anyway becuase I cant wake him up =) Thank you for posting this question, I am going to get some of those waterproof sheet covers ASAP. My son is on the top bunk and changing his beds is a pain, so those protectors are going to be great! Currently we are using nighttime pull ups, stopping the drinks early, going potty right before bed....ect. Let us know if you find anything else that might help while we wait for these heavy sleepers to stay dry at night. =)

My son was 12 and we finally put him on medication to stop it. That is the only thing that worked. Since she is still young I would continue to diaper her at night. Get her up and dry as soon as possible in the am and just have her help with sheets.
She can't help it.
You can try the no liquids after a certain time and the alarms and waking her up to sit on the potty. It really doesn't matter, none of that worked for us.
Some day she will be dry. I'm pretty sure it'll happen before she walks across the stage at graduation.

I was told by a pediatrician friend that it can take up to age 6 for children to be able to be night trained. And that it is perfectly normal. That being said I don't think making her try to wake up in the middle of the night and clean herself up at age 5 is the answer either nor is letting her sleep in urine all night.
There are some things you can do to help her. We had a routine for my son-he pees before bath, after bath, right before bed and we take him again before we go to bed later in the evening. It didn't completely keep him from wetting all night but it did help. He was 5 in October and right around that time he started staying dry at night but will occasionally have an accident.

Try looking into something like the underjams as opposed to pull-ups. They might have better wetness protection. You can also explore cloth training pants options that use stay-dry type material and the abosorbency can be adjusted. pinstripesandpolkadots.com has several varieties and the owner is super nice and would be very helpful in helping you make a good nighttime choice for your daughter's needs.

Please, reduce her liquids at night, make sure she pees 3 times before bed thus reducing the amount she is peeing while she is asleep and let her wear overnights. This is not a choice she is making, her body is not ready to stay dry at night. The idea of waking her to clean it up is penalizing her for wetting the bed and like a puppy, sticking her nose in it. This is not her choice, it's her body. Trying so hard and making her wake up at night to change her sheets will only be unbelievably frustrating for both of you.

When my daughter was 5 we ended up geting a alarm that attached to her underwear. It sensed the wetness when she was starting to urinate and sent out an obnoxious alarm which woke her and us up, and we rushed to take her to the bathroom. My daughter was really excited to try it and we used it for 2 nights and then it "disappeared." We found it a couple of nights later, used it that night, and she hasn't had an accident at night since.

It wasn't an easy few nights. but it did work. Good luck!
Stephanie

2 of my kids were 10 before they could hold it through the night. Its not her fault. She will stop when she is ready. I would put her back in pull ups and not make her feel bad about it. My kids were deep sleepers too.

It can take even up until 7 years old, for night time dryness to occur.

I would, use waterproof bed pads under her. Not under the sheets, directly under her. I got mine from www.amazon.com and it makes clean up real easy. I just change out the pad, put down a new one, and that's it. Don't have to wash/clean the entire bedding.

Pull-ups leak. It does not hold much. I used night time diapers for my daughter, Huggies. Try that.

Or, try putting a portable potty chair IN her room with her... making it closer for her.

Good luck,
Susan

one of my kids had a problem. i went so far as to see a few specialists to make sure everything was physically correct on him. It was. The Miren alarm was great! But, at 5, she is still so young. I'd wait. Ask the ped when girls should be done wetting the bed, and then do the alarm. there is also a pee med that can help. I always said my son could sleep through a marching band-so I get the heavy sleeper thing.

I have ordered products from here with great success: http://bedwettingstore.com/

I was 10 when I finally stopped wetting the bed. I can tell you it was beyond mortifying even though my parents were cool about it and didn't blame me. (I'm 44 now, lol.)

We tried the usual: no water after dinner, kegel exercises (recommended by the doc -- start & stop when peeing), mom waking me up and walking me to the bathroom. I still woke up in pee almost every day.

Then they got a machine that made a loud noise when I wet the bed. (They're much better now. This one was HUGE, lol.) It started waking my parents (not me), then it would wake me as they came in, then I started waking after it went off, then I would wake as I was peeing and finally I stopped.

But remember, I was 10. It just takes longer for some to mature enough.

I haven't even TRIED to make my sons (6 & 4) sleep without a diaper. Regular diaper. They let me know the nights they want to try, and we have plastic sheets so they can. It will happen when it happens.

BTW, if you want, the contemporary machines like the one I had are available at the URL I mention above. And it did work for me, so many years ago, so I recommend it. I don't know if it will work at 5, but if it doesn't, you'll still have it for later, right?

So much good luck to you.

I have 4 step kids and 3 of them had the same problem. My step-daughter could never wake up! They went to a specialist and she actually took medicine. As she got older she stopped all together. My step sons took longer. It isn't about her being unwilling or defiant. She doesn't wake up and her body can't control it. No matter what type of punishment, and I think that making her get up and clean up after herself is a punishment, will cause/help her to stop the behavior. She isn't choosing this behavior. See a specialist for another opinion. And follow your own instinct.

Hi, I’m D. M. from the GoodNites NiteLite Panel. Mamapedia is partnering with GoodNites through September and your question is relevant to what I talk about with the NiteLite Panel- so, I wanted to ask how things have been going since you posted this question?

I agree with you that it isn't fair, or the best solution, to wake a child and make them clean their beds after wetting in the middle of the night. First, it's important to understand that bedwetting is not a child's fault, nor is it something they can control. The goal is to make sure your child is comfortable, gets a good night's sleep, and is self-confident, while knowing that they will outgrow their bedwetting when their body is ready.

You can accomplish this by assuring your child that it isn't their fault and letting them know you're not angry about it. Then, get your child very absorbent and disposable underwear like GoodNites, so they're comfortable and can sleep through the night (plus, it will cut down on the amount of laundry you need to do). Make sure they change out of their GoodNites Underwear upon waking. And be sure to visit GoodNites.com for more information and helpful articles about bedwetting and tips on managing it.