4 year old bedwetting

[MarieP]

My daughter has been potty trained since she was 2, but still wets the bed.  She will be 5 in Feb.  She wore pullups at night until she was 4, but started being dry at night and asked for underwear, so we made the switch.  The problem is she wets the bed almost every night.  I don't mind getting up, changing sheets, etc, but I'm wondering if maybe there is a problem that we need to address or figure out.  Either that or she just has more trouble at night and will grow out of it.  We've always followed the lead of our kids with potty training and haven't pushed anything.  In fact, she decided that she wanted to use the potty at 20 months when we brought home her baby sister (I wanted to wait until she was after 2).  My youngest (who is 2.5) just recently potty trained and is has been dry all night for a while.  I'm not sure if they just have different bodies and we just need to be patient with the older one or if there is a medical reason that we need to get her checked out.  Thanks!

[lauren]

I think it can be wise to check in w/ a dr. just in case there is something like a UTI going on. That said, I think it can be common for this to occur whether or not there is something new adding stress to her and causing regression. One of my kids wasn't able to be dry at night until well over 7 and we used one of those buzzer systems to get there. It's pretty individual. I think I might use pullups until it became important to her to be dry at night.
 

[Steve Hodges]

At this young age the simplest thing to do is rule out occult constipation. Stay with me. It's the cause in many kids, often with normal bowel habits. Google "bedwetting" and "slate.com" for more info. or pull all the scientific papers on bedwetting by Dr. Sean O'Regan. Good luck!

[MarieP]

Thanks! I'll check out the information on constipation.  It may be related.  She just had two good nights and I've been trying to pay attention to see what makes a  dry night vs a wet night.  I am reluctant to go back to pullups particularly since her little sister doesn't wear them.  

[nanamar]

I would visit a pediatric chiropractor.  If his sacrum bone (S2) is misaligned, this could be the cause of the bed wetting at night.  The nerve that innervates the sphincter comes from this nerve root.  If its out of alignment, when she is asleep, she won't get the message to hold it in, and therefore releases and opens the sphincter (this is not the bladder that holds the urine, but like the gate that opens to let the urine out of the bladder). I hope that made sense, I had a long day...  I recommend looking for one ICPA certified.  These doctors have done additional certifications and specialize in pediatrics and wellness.  There is nothing to loose by trying it and lots to win..

Good Luck!!

[mkksmom]

I have read that most kids can stay dry all night by age 6. However, around 13% of 6 year-olds still wet the bed. For my dd, it was just a matter of time. I had to explain all of this to her. It helped that we had some very honest friends, so she knew she wasn't the only one her age in pull-ups. So for many kids, it's just a matter of time, not a physical problem at all.

[tbone_kneegrabber]

Ds will be 5 on Tuesday and still wears pull-ups to bed.  He doesn't always pee in it, but when he does he is totally asleep.  I don't expect him to be able to hold it while totally asleep at this age.  Frankly sometimes he can't hold it if there is too much fun to be had!  I figure he'll get it when he gets it.  I've been told that until 6/7 it is not even worth talking to a doc about.

[4evermom]

Originally Posted by mkksmom 

I have read that most kids can stay dry all night by age 6. However, around 13% of 6 year-olds still wet the bed. For my dd, it was just a matter of time. I had to explain all of this to her. It helped that we had some very honest friends, so she knew she wasn't the only one her age in pull-ups. So for many kids, it's just a matter of time, not a physical problem at all.

Yes, there is a hormone that people produce while they are sleeping that suppresses the production of urine. But kids don't all develop it at the same age or in the same quantity. Most kids produce a sufficient amount by the age of 6 to not wet the bed.

Avoid feeding her watermelon late in the day. It's a major diuretic which I didn't realize until recently.

[Peony]

It is very, very common, and NORMAL for this to occur. Like another poster said, it is hormone related. Some kids are able to stay dry from a young age, others are not. There really is nothing to do but wait until her body matures. Limiting fluids, all that type of stuff isn't going to work if her body is not ready to decrease urine production at night. I have a almost six ear old who has to wear Good Nights every night. The majority of medical professionals are not going to consider it a problem until ages 6-7.

[MarieP]

That makes me feel better.  I haven't done much about limiting liquids because I feel if she's thirsty, she's thirsty.  We did stop the water in bed, but she can have a drink while we do stories and bedtime routine and then she goes to the bathroom right before bed.  Thanks for the feedback!

[caseykn]

My daughter turned 5 in June and I think that only in the last few weeks she's really headed towards staying dry every night. Like your child, mine was totally day-time dry just after she turned 2. She totally initiated potty learning herself and it was a breeze. But the night-time wetting has been a different story. Night-time peeing really is a totally different thing. She stopped wearing pull-up type undies for good maybe 6 months ago. Before that we went back and forth with it because she'd decide she didn't want to wear them and then would get tired of having wet sheets so she'd wear them for a month or so and then stop again. Starting around age 4, she would actually have fairly longish stretches of staying dry (a week or more) and then she'd wet the bed every night for several days so it felt like there wasn't a lot of forward progress. We have tried to stay neutral on the subject with her, letting her know that it's normal and won't happen forever but not spending a lot of time on the topic. We have mentioned it at well-child visits and have been assured it's normal, which is what we felt all along but thought it good to mention, just in case the doc had some tips. Also, my husband wet the bed well into his childhood so we were preparing ourselves for that scenario. It's been a gradual process and finally now, at 5 yrs & 2 months, I realize I can't recall the last time she wet her bed and it really feels like we're nearing the end of her bed-wetting.

FWIW, we tried a lot of things like restricting water after a certain time, trying to wake her up to pee when we went to bed, which was several hours after she did, putting a little potty in her room that she could use herself at night, visualizations, etc. and nothing seemed to make much of a difference. Ultimately we just had to wait for her body to mature a little more.

[nyssaneala]

Originally Posted by Peony 

It is very, very common, and NORMAL for this to occur. Like another poster said, it is hormone related. Some kids are able to stay dry from a young age, others are not. There really is nothing to do but wait until her body matures. Limiting fluids, all that type of stuff isn't going to work if her body is not ready to decrease urine production at night. I have a almost six ear old who has to wear Good Nights every night. The majority of medical professionals are not going to consider it a problem until ages 6-7.

It took my DD 1 1/2 years after being potty trained during the day to be able to stop wearing pull-ups at night. Like so many other things with her development, it seems like something eventually just clicked. She often goes the whole night without going to the bathroom, but she does occasionally get up to use the bathroom in the middle of the night. This only happened recently, a few months after her 4th birthday. I was starting to get concerned as well, because she had been potty trained for so long, but her pediatrician said at her 4 yr check-up it is absolutely normal until around age 6 for girls.

[prancie]

We always take my 4 year old to the bathrroom before my DH and I go to bed.  The 4 year old goes to bed around 8PM and we get him to the bathroom around 11PM.  If we don't he sometimes wets the bed, if we do, he never wets the bed.  He has recently started to get himself up to pee and take himself back to bed, around 11 like the routine.  

[~cassie]

My youngest will turn 4 next month and hasn't ever stopped peeing at night.  He usually goes through 2 diapers! 

[nanamar]

I guess I have been really lucky, both my girls now 3 and 5 stay dry all night and have been since they were 2. They both have been getting adjusted regularly since they were babies.

Good Luck, hope they grow out of it soon!!!

[anj_rn]

Some kids hold it better than others, it can be genetic.  it can also be a sign of a heavy sleeper.  My DS can (and has) sleep through a hurricane, so a full bladder is not going to wake him.  However, we naturally become very thirsty at the end of the day if we have not had enough fluids, so if you push fluids until afternoon snack time, then do not serve any salty foods at dinner, your child will drink less in the evening and might have more success not wetting the bed.  Also, your kidneys are the most effective when you are laying down (hence you frequently need to pee after laying down for half an hour.  We lay in bed together and I read to DS, then after 30 min of reading, we go potty, which has made us more successful.