8-year-old suddenly bedwetting again.

[redpajama]

My son will be 8 in a couple weeks.  He wet the bed pretty consistently (wore pull-ups to bed) from the time he potty-trained (around 2) until last spring.  Shortly after his 7th birthday, he started having a lot of dry nights, we stopped putting him in pull-ups, and it has gone relatively well (he had an accident every 4-5 weeks, but he had previously been wetting nearly every night).  It's been almost a year of this.  Now, in the past couple of weeks, he's wetting more often than not.  

Nothing has changed, that I'm aware of--no drastic dietary changes, his bedtime is the same, et cetera.  We taught him to wash his own sheets when it happens (not at all in a punitive way), which he does (he doesn't love doing it, but it's not a fight, either).  He's very distraught about it, does NOT want to start wearing pull-ups again (nor do I want him to), and keeps saying, "I'm doing everything you tell me to!" (because I had previously suspected that he wasn't peeing before bed, and that was causing the wetting, but he ASSURES me--and we've observed--that he IS peeing before bed).  

Any thoughts?  He's a heavy sleeper, for sure.  And his dad wet the bed as a child--he was older than my son when he stopped.  But I don't understand why he's wetting *again* after so many months of (mostly) not.

[Red Pajama]

No idea why, either. I've got a nearly 8 year old who is in pull-ups at night, too.

SInce your son has been dry, and now isn't, try working together to see if different things work. He could limit water in the hour before bed. You could offer to wake him to go to the bathroom when you go to bed.

We haven't tried them, but I've heard good things about the alarm systems.

[np23]

If a child starts wetting the bed again after being dry for 6+ months, that's called secondary enuresis. Make sure that your son doesn't have any medical issues, like an infection, that might play a role in bedwetting. Make sure he's not constipated, he's well hydrated, and he's not being bullied in school. Also, keep in mind that bedwetting is hereditary - children are likely to stop bedwetting on their own at about the same age as the parent who used to bed wet. Lastly, considering how your son is very distraught, you can try using a bedwetting alarm. They sound when they detect moisture, waking up your son to use the bathroom. Bedwetting alarms are the only curative method to bedwetting; you can read the reviews at the Bedwetting Store. My sister bought one for her son and it worked wonders! I hope all that helps. Good luck!