nighttime potty training

[John&Timmy'sMom]

I am trying to help my 4 year old sons to stop wetting the bed at night... They want to wear underwear to bed, but have not had a dry night yet. I have asked around and have gotten some suggestions to wake them up in the mid of night... even when I do they are wet and then wet again by morning. Is this really letting them get the sleep they need? No liquids two hours before bed, and they go to the bathroom before bed. Any suggestions? I read in another post to put underwear over pullup... I think I will try pullup over underwear so they can still feel the wetness, but don't wet the bed. They are really getting disappointed in themselves when they wet... And we don't fuss at them or anything...just try to explain that their bodies have to learn to wake up and to keep trying... I do have two sets of sheets on the bed with a waterproof mat on top of each set...for easy changes in the night. I have the boys take their blankets to the laundry and help put them back on the bed... What else can we do?

[kewb]

My 6 year old still wears a pullup. Her body is just not ready. She knows she has to stay dry for 5 nights in a row and it just has not happened yet. I did put the pullup over her underwear for a few weeks but if the underwear sticks out even a little it wicks the urine right out and onto everything else thus defeating the purpose of the pull up.

I would just keep explaining that everyone is ready at different times and it does not mean anything.

[annethcz]

Just want to agree with the PP. Sometimes kids are just not physically ready to stop wetting the bed until an older age.

My first child was night trained at the age of 2.5- I didn't do anything to encourage him, it just happened. My 4.5yo DD, on the other hand, is nowhere near close to being dry at night. I just believe that her body simply isn't ready yet. She also wants to be dry at night, but doesn't know how to stop herself from wetting at night. I honestly think that her younger sister (currently 2.5) will be dry at night before the 4.5yo is.

[faithnj]

There's actually a bedwetting alarm that some people use. It goes off as soon as it senses the beginning of wetting. That might help, but I don't know. I have no experience with this except my own....and in my case, somewhere around kindergarten or 1st grade, I simply started recognizing when I said "I have to go to the bathroom" in my dreams, it meant I was about to pee. One day I just woke up in response to the dream! And the bedwetting spell was over.

Faith

[jkpmomtoboys]

Goodnites, Goodnites, Goodnites...

My ds is 6 and goes in his Goodnites majorly every night.

My younger ds is 3 and has been dry for over a year.

Every kid is different and nothing you do is going to change that.

Our ped. once told me that there is nothing you can do until they are at least 7, if not later.

[mezzaluna]

i don't know if this will help - we've been EC'ing and i notice a connection between some foods and peeing unexpectedly at night. especially melon and sometimes corn. this might explain differences between kids trained the same way - if one has a certain food sensitivity they might take a lot longer to be able to recognize and control their urges while half-asleep!

[bugmenot]

Originally Posted by mezzaluna

i don't know if this will help - we've been EC'ing and i notice a connection between some foods and peeing unexpectedly at night. especially melon and sometimes corn. this might explain differences between kids trained the same way - if one has a certain food sensitivity they might take a lot longer to be able to recognize and control their urges while half-asleep!

Good idea! Sometimes, we'll consume high quantities of liquid without even realizing it.

My idea -- Maybe you could wake your child up before you go to bed so he can use the bathroom again?