Night Time Bedwetting

I am a Mother of three kiddos ages 8, 7 and 3. It may be the Pull-ups. Many Toddlers (like my first did) will treat them like diapers The Pull-ups act in the same way where it pulls away the wetness...why use the potty when they work so well?! Try undies instead, she'll feel it more when she wets, and hopefully not like that. everything else you are doing, like limiting her drinks is good. Keep that up. If the underwear move doesn't work, you CAN take her in to the Pediatrician, but I doubt there is much he/she can do. Good luck!

My son is 4 and although he is completely potty trained through the day, we also still use pull ups at night. He usually wakes up dry, but on occasion, still wets through the night. He generally does not soak through them, though. I have read in similar posts about putting maxi pads inside the pull up, or across the inside top of the belly part, to help absorb more. Never tried it, so not speaking from experience, just read about people doing that. I also wet the bed well into my elementary school years, and eventually did outgrow it. Wish I had had the big kid pull-ups. :)

My sister's daughter wet the bed until she was 12. She wore goodnights and was quite embarressed about this. They would try to help her conceal this when she would go to friends houses. I know my sister talked with their doctor about it and was assured there was no problem. My sister also wet the bed so I'm wondering it it hereditary. Her daughter is now 16 and has long forgotten the little "problem" and it a brilliant very self confident girl. Also, keep in mind it's very common it's just not something that most people talk about too much but your daughter is still pretty young and probably a sound sleeper.

Teneill,
Our kidneys produce an antidiuretic hormone at night, to help our bodies retain more fluid and make less urine. And until that starts working, you can do everything and anything till you are blue in the face and it wont really solve this. Time, chemical and muscle control all have to work together. You could teach her about her kegles and how to strengthen them. Make sure that she can walk up the stairs using every other leg, this helps her nerves and muscles all work together properly. You could have her take all the responsibility for her pull ups; she puts the pull ups on, she cleans herself and puts underwear on, she throws the pull up away. That way you are dealing less with the mess and she is taking charge of herself, similar to if she were able to make it to the bathroom. The tablets that Marriah spoke of might be worth a try, but again its not their body doing it so when you stop they might go back to how they were. But just remember its not really her fault, so keep the patients:) Her body might be mixed up with when it is producing more urine, more in the night less in the day. Your best bet if she is peeing through the pull ups is to get her on the toilet a couple times a night or at least change her pull-up before it is too soaked. Doctors generally don't become concerned until around 7 or 8, then they can do some testing. But I am sure if you are determined you could get those test done now. Time most likely will be the cure. Just love her and help her take responsibility.
Good luck
E.

I would try switching her to goodnights instead of pull-ups. It sounds like she pees more than a pull up can hold. I don't think this is a medical phenomenon.. just her little bladder outgrowing a toddler product. My son wet the bed until he was 11, he had a tilted and small bladder he was put on medication for it when he was 7 but most of the time doctors don't like to do much with bedwetting until they are much older. It is a very common thing and one that they typically outgrow. I agree with getting her up before you go to bed and putting her on the toilet, half asleep is fine, just make sure she doesn't fall off. Best of luck and just remember that she won't get married a bed wetter... this to shall pass...

I have two kids (out of 3) who wet the bed. They both turned out to have a slight milk intolerance. When we took the milk away (say after 5pm) they both stopped wetting the bed.
I learned the trick from my mom, who dealt with a 12 year old wetting the bed for the same reason.
I hope this will be helpful to you.

It's very common that kids just don't have bladders developed enough to hold it all night. Find pull ups/good nights that work best and then use this trick that I read on this site--layer a sheet, a waterproof pad, a sheet, a waterproof pad, etc so that changing the bed is easier. Try not to make a big deal out of it, she most likely can't help it.

My five-year-old still wears pull-ups overnight. Luckily, one does the job though! ;-) I read that about 15% of kids around this age will outgrow the problem each year, so just hang in there, I guess. I think starting at age six there are therapies to try since they start wanting to go to sleepovers and such, but I think that about 20% of kids wake up wet at this age. They just take longer to develop. I'm sure it wouldn't hurt to run it by the doc at her next check-up though. They'll probably take a urine sample to make sure everything is okay--that's an interesting experience for a little one!

Of course she would be disoriented if you wake her up, but that doesn't matter. Wake her up as late as possible, whenever you go to bed. Ideally, around 11 o'clock. Just pick her up and tell her it is time for a pee. Carry her to the bathroom and put her on the toilet. Put the water on so she can hear it running, and sit in front of her to support her so she doesn't fall off. Keep saying to her that it is time for a pee. Even if she is very sleepy, she'll be able to hear you, and if you wait for a couple of minutes, it will happen.
Once her bladder is totally empty, she should be able to sleep through the rest of the night without an accident.
Then, you do the same thing first thing in the morning, as early as possible.
I used this method when my daughter was 2 1/2 and refused to wear diapers at night, even though she wasn't potty trained, and it worked brilliantly! I think she only had a couple of accidents, and that was that!
Eventually, I was able to stop waking her, and she held it through the night, but it takes a while, because you are dealing with habit.
If this doesn't work, you might consider using homeopathy for the problem. I can do consultations via email, if you are interested. You'll find my info in my profile.

My son will be 5 in June and just these last two weeks he had FINALLY stopped with the massively wet pull ups (day 8 and counting in a row). There are two things that work really well to stop night wetting, one is a medication but that has a high relapse rate - when you stop taking the medication kids go back to their old ways. Another is a pad/bell method in which when a pad under the child gets wet, a bell rings. They eventually learn control over time, but your daughter is still pretty young to be needing anything too much more than reminders and maybe some incentives! Good luck.

Good chance that it's just a developmental thing. Bed-wetting isn't considered a problem (unless there are other indicators too) until children are 7 or 8. It doesn't hurt to mention it to the doctor, but her nervous system and her bladder and all just might not be coordinated yet.

In the mean time, try out the night-time underwear made for older kids. They are more absorbant that pull-ups and look more like real underwear.

My friend's daughter is 7 and she still has to wear pull-ups to bed every night. She took her daughter to the doctor and the doctor just told her that she would grow out of it, so she's left it alone. I was worried about that happening to my twins so once they were potty trained during the day and still wetting at night then I went to Fred Meyer in their natural section and got bed wetting tablets. Within 2 weeks the twins no longer wet the bed at night. I would try those, they are all natural, non harmful and use safe natural herbs that help the problem if it doesn't work, then I would take her in to the doctor.

Did you or the child's father wet the bed as kids? How about one of either of your siblings?

The most common pattern is that it will stop on its own for your child at about the same age that it stopped for the near relatives with the same problem.

It seems to relate in many cases to the eventual maturation of the gland which produces the substance which suppresses the need to urinate during sleep. If that is what is going on with your child, the best you can do is to find things to help you cope until then like waking, extra padding around the waist, double layers of making up the bed with waterproofing layers so you can strip a layer off quickly if necessary and go back to bed, etc.

That said, it's always a good idea to at least call your doc and ask if you should bring her in for evaluation in their opinion. But if there is family history, that is the most likely cause and chances are it will resolve itself about the same age it did for the near relative with the same problem as a child.

I would suggest taking her to a urologist. I did that for my oldest daughter. They found out her bladder wall was 3 times too thick. They put her on some meds and a plan to correct that. After a year, she was cured. Good luck.

http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/children/par...

I found this link helpful. I have been wondering about this myself as my daughter is almost 4 1/2. she just potty trained because of emotional stuff with her dad deploying all the time, I was curious about when I should worry since I wet the bed until I was 8 (although I had quit for a year at the age of 5 so my continuing after that was emotionally based) my husband wet the bed until he was 6 or 7, my siblings kids wet the bed up till 6 or 7--anyway I wanted to know if/when I should be concerned. this website was one of the most helpful for me.
I appreciated esp. knowing that its normal for kids to wet the bed up until around 6 and that most docs won't treat until after they are 7. try a reward system but don't stress about it if it takes a little bit longer.

We had this with ALL our kids. They all had to wear Pull-Ups until they were at least 8. They sleep SOO hard at night, they just can't wake up to pee. We took our oldest to a pediatric urologist to be sure and he was fine. There is a bedwetting alarm called Wetstop. We used it with the boys with fairly decent results, but my daughter had anxiety about it. If you do invest in the alarm, we would put the alarm on the underwear (it can't detect wetness with a PullUp), then we put a PullUp over the underwear. The alarm senses the wetness, but by that time, the underwear are wet-not soaked, but wet. We were told that kids sometimes need to "grow in" to their bladders. I'm sure she can't help it, so the pad underneath is a good way to go. Put to layers of sheets/pads on the bed, so that if she does wet through the sheet and pad, there's another layer underneath ready to go. Just a thought. Again, be patient. Sometimes, the kids are just as upset about it as you are. Good luck!

My last daughter did that also. 2 things, some kids are very deep sleepers and my daughters pediatrician said not to worry about it at this age as it is very normal. My daughter is now 5 and has been "accident" free at night since starting Kindergarten. Also, Everyone sheds extra fluid at night, that is why you have to go to the bathroom first thing in the morning, even though you didn't drink all night. So your daughter will naturally have to pee at night. You could bring her to the doc to test for urinary tract infection (UTI), but it sounds normal and she should grow out of it within 1 year. Be Patient!!

Hi...limiting the amount of liquid at night; going potty before bed (sometimes twice if there is some time in between going to bed and "going to bed", lol); and then waking up in the middle of the night is what worked for our two girls. I thought my oldest would never grow out of it, but now she is 8 and hasn't wet her bed in well over a year I think. Gets up on her own, everything. 4.5 is a little young still so patience on your part is the key.