Bedwetting at 8 - Dixon,CA

You are not alone. I have four boys. My oldest are 9 & 10, I also have a 3yr old and a 2 yr old. My two oldest both wet the bed. They finally stopped about 6 months ago, at the same time. We tried everything as well and nothing worked, since there was nothing medically wrong we left it up to them.
My husband and I told them they were too old for this and that they needed to change it.(Not harshly, lovingly) We wanted them to know that they were in control of their bodies and they could change it if they wanted to. We then said we weren't buying anymore pull ups. We would finish what we had and that was it. They went to bed about 10 pm so we were very strict about the new rule of "No drinks after 8 pm. No exceptions." We made sure they went to the bathroom 30 minutes before bed and again right at bedtime. If they wet the bed they had to wash all the sheets and blankets themselves. They had to get the carpet cleaning machine and clean the mattress themselves (this was a real pain)and then spray the area with urine spray (they have a pretty good one in the pet section at the dollar tree).
We never said anything negative about it, just reminded them very matter-of-factly to do these chores each time it happened. They hated having to clean it up themselves, they also hated not being to have a drink when they saw everyone else in the house with one. So I told them when they stopped wetting the bed for 6 weeks straight we would remove the "no drink" rule. Within a month they were both staying dry 90% of the time. Every time I heard someone get up in the night to go to the bathroom I would get up too and praise them, let them know they were doing great and they were really growing up.

Within another month we never worried about bedwetting, the boys were able to spend the night at friends' houses without a second thought. I know two months of bedwetting without pullups doesn't sound fun, but it was worth it. My 3 year old doesn't wet the bed at all. When his brothers quit, he quit. We don't even think about it if he has a drink before bed. That's nice!

I hope this helped.
P.S. We bought them a new mattress when we were sure they were done having any "accidents".

Try this,

Stop fluids 2 to 3 hours before bed.
No pullups, only underwear,
wake him up to pee 30 Minutes after he goes to sleep
wake him again to pee right before YOU go to bed
start to wake him 30 minutes before he usually wakes up in the morning, to go again.

do this for a few nights it may take a little longer. It should re-set his brain to not pee in bed. good luck.

When I was that age I had the same problem. I kept dreaming that I was using the toilet and it wasn't until I started to go that I woke up (apparently this is pretty common.) Ask your son if he dreams of anything in particular when he has accidents. If he does help him figure out a way to identify that he's dreaming (for me it was super bright in my dream) and have him focus on that being his cue to wake up at night. It's not easy, but he can learn to wake himself up.

Good luck

Take him to a urologist (they specialize in that area), he might have an underdeveloped bladder or a hyper active bladder. Both are treatable. Something your regular doctor isn't trained to see. There is not harm in checking it out biologically.

Of course this is assuming that you make him go potty before he goes to bed, whether he thinks he needs to go or not. I can only assume since you mentioned you have tried everything.

Then again if it's behavioral, maybe it has something to do with little brother in his bedroom. I don't know, I'm not a psychologist. :-)

Good luck.

L., I agree with Bettina... take him to a urologist. A very good friend of mines daughter had the same issue and my friend took her to a urologist after the Pediatrician said she was fine only to find out her bladder was under developed.

Hi L.,

Love the spelling of your name! Bedwetting is a totally normal, usually genetic, issue. I bet if you were to ask extended family, you would find that someone somewhere wet the bed when they were a child. I myself wet the bed till I was 13, my father till he was 16 and my uncle till he was 15, so I got hit with it from both sides.

The best help you can give your son is to help him understand that this is not his fault and it is something he will grow out of. There is a lot of research and updated information out there right now on bedwetting and lots of helpful tips and tools out there to help him socially and physically deal with it. This could also have a great deal to do with his ODD, although I have never heard of ODD before related to bedwetting.

I know it can get frustrating always cleaning up urine, but that is part of dealing with the problem. He is 8 so he is old enough to understand what needs to happen if he wets the bed, like changing his sheets, and taking a bath/shower. Haveing him help out should not be treated like a punishment though but rather a responsibility. Use a water proof changing pad, limit drinking after 6pm, make sure he goes potty before going to bed and wake him to go again when you go to bed. Juice and soda weaken the muscles and fill the bladder faster, so absolutely no juice or soda. I agree too that having him checked out by a Urologist to be sure nothing major is wrong is a good idea too. All these tips help keep him dry, but do not fix the issue that the brain bladder connection is not working correctly, or that the muscles are not developing fast enough. Be patient and give him time to develope.

Here are some links to some help and relief for the two of you…
http://www.kidshealth.org/kid/health_problems/bladder/enu...
http://www.bedwettingstore.com/index.htm?gclid=CJmJ16bQ25...
http://www.dri-sleeper.com/cgi-bin/runisa.dll?sb:drisu::c...

Good luck!