Since there a numerous moms here - bedwetting.

[JMM74]

Does your child stilll "wet the bed"? At what age?

Did you, as a kid? When did you stop?

I'll answer my own post, of course. My son is 5 and (even with being woken up to go pee before we go to bed, limiting liquids) he's still wetting the bed. Daytime is no problem at all, it's just when he's sleeping. My DH has been getting PO'd about it lately, to him, he should be "done with it by now". He yelled at him the other day for it. :(

??? When I was a kid, I had that "issue" until I was 8. I'm not up for the yelling until he's 8. (Nor will I put it with it, it's not his fault).

Are there any other parents or people that had this problem that can give me some advice?

[Goin' Coastal]

I had a daughter that had a problem with bed wetting. She's 26 now, so it's a little hard to remember back that far - :rolleyes: , but I know it lasted until mid- elementary school. It was a REAL problem on sleepovers. I would be concerned, but every time I talked to the pediatrician he said not to worry - a certain % of girls wet the bed at that age. I would limit fluids at night, make sure she went to the bathroom before bed, take her (sleeping) to the bathroom when I went to bed - but nothing seemed to help. She actually got to the point where she would wake up because she had wet the bed, strip her sheets, put new ones on and go back to bed without ever waking me up! :eek: As I said, I don't remember what age the problem stopped, but I can tell you she hasn't wet the bed in years! :) I think some kids sleep so soundly they just don't wake up. It is a nuisance, I know - but the kids really can't help it and it upsets them as much, if not more than it upsets you. All the yelling in the world won't help. He WILL outgrow it -it just take some kids longer than others. As hard as it is, just relax about it and deal with the inconvenience part. Talk to your pediatrician - maybe he can say something to convince yout DH not to yell or punish him for it. Good luck - I know it's not easy!

[cchhbb]

DS1 is nearly 5 and wets the bed. His doctor is not concerned. She believes that he is such a deep sleeper that he doesn't notice. He has been known to sleep in a wet bed all night and not bother him.

DS2 is 2 and is night potty trained. He doesn't drink the liquids that DS1 does and he is a much lighter sleeper.

I'm sorry this is causing stress in your family.

[sparrowgrass]

My youngest wet the bed forever, or so it seemed--til at least 8. He never woke up, never minded sleeping in a wet bed.

I bought a rubber cover for his mattress, threw his bedding in the wash every morning.

He is 24 now, and I think he is over it. :D

[clairea]

DS wet the bed occasionally until he was at least 8. Like Cheryl's son, he could sleep right through it, and would wake up in the morning with wet pajamas and sheets (yuck!). I think some kids are just really deep sleepers. I don't remember exactly when he stopped. I know it just became less and less frequently, and it hasn't happened for a couple of years (he is 10 now).

The best thing I did to help *me* was to "double make" the bed. Put the waterproof cover, then the bottom sheet, then another waterproof cover, then another bottom sheet. That way if he wets the bed, just pull of the first "layer" and there is still another sheet and mattress cover so you don't have to remake the bed in the middle of the night.

[HRJ]

I have two words for you: Good Nites. They have been sanity-savers at our house. In case you're not familiar with them, they are basically night-time pull-up style disposables (made by the same company that makes Huggies) for older kids who aren't able to stay dry at night. Yeah, I'm not thrilled to still be spending money on "diapers" (although we only need 1 per night, so a package lasts a long time), but, it's much, much better than dealing with wet sheets and pajamas on a steady basis.

My DS is 6; is a deep sleeper and wakes up wet in the morning about 30 pecent of the time. My DH and I aren't partiicularly concerned, and neither is DS's pediatrician -- she says anywhere from 20-40 percent of kids this age, particularly boys, are not able to stay dry all night. It's a physiological thing, and there's basically nothing you can do about it -- either the kids' bladders just aren't large enough yet to hold very much, or they are sleeping too deeply to sense when they have to go -- or, more likely, a combination of both. All the stuff like limiting liquids, etc. *might* work if the child's body is also in the process of changing, but won't help if things haven't caught up, physiologically speaking. Our pedi particularly recommends against waking a sleeping child to make them go pee -- she feels the uninterrupted sleep is much more important.

I would definitely recommend talking to your pedi. about this -- your DH should also be present, if he's having particular issues with it.

It's also my understanding that there is a strong genetic link -- so if your DS is your biological child, and you weren't dry at night until age 8, it's not too surprising your DS isn't , either.

BTW, a story about the Good Nites: when we started using them, I was afraid that DS would object, feeling he was too old to wear diapers. So I called them "night-time underwear." After a couple of weeks, when I told him at bedtime to put on his "night-time underwear," he rolled his eyes at me, and said, "Really, Mommy, don't you know what these are? They're just big diapers!"


Good luck,

Helene

[Debralynn]

I wish they had Goodnights diapers when I was a kid. I must have wet the bed until I was a teen. I'm serious. It was so embarrassing, I never slept at anyones house!! I finally out grew it and one day it just stopped. I was one of four children and I was the only one with the PROBLEM. I think that made it harder, my parents would get so angry with me! :rolleyes: It is not something that you can control! There was not magic cure, I was just a sound sleeper and the urge to GO never woke me up. I even tried to not drink anything after 6pm. :( That failed. Thank goodness my kids never wet the bed.
Thank goodness we don't have any secrets on this board, I think that's why I like it so much!!!! :) Debralynn

[wallingjan1]

I agree with the genetic factor. My cousins daughter is still wetting the bed routinely at 8 yo. Two of her aunts did it until they hit puberty and then it just went away. Thank goodness for the good nites.

Pam

[karen w]

My DS#1 wet the bed at night until he was 7 Y.O. In his case he was a very deep sleeper and experienced night terrors which he fortunately grew out of as well. My pediatrician was also not concerned. He said they do not evaluate for kidney problems unless it occurs beyond age 8 y.o. He did say that if he were motivated, to try a sleep alarm. We did go that route and for DS#1 it worked like a charm. The literature stated that it takes minimum three months for these alarms to be effective and 3 months to the date, he was dry without another accident. Best of luck to you.

Karen

[TKay]

I think it's okay to still be wetting the bed at 5. I know it's frustrating and takes a lot of effort (with the sheet changing and all), but I wouldn't worry that something is wrong necessarily. I wet the bed for a long time when I was little. I can't remember the age I stopped exactly, but I do remember going to a sleepover when I was in second grade and my brothers teasing me about wetting the bed (which I didn't do). So it must have been happening at age 7 or 8 still. My siblings were also bed wetters.
My oldest is now 7 and no longer has a problem. He wore night time diapers with liners added for a long time after he was day-time potty trained. He would soak through pull-ups. He's always slept deeply and he has a large and active bladder! Ds #2, on the other hand, was essentially night-time trained as soon as he was day-time trained. He's a much lighter sleeper than #1 and was also much easier to potty train. So I guess it just depends on the child.
I wouldn't be too hard on your ds. It's not like he WANTS to wet the bed. It is awfully nice when they stop though. I hope it resolves soon.
Good luck.

[Mlasley]

My DD just turned 6 and still wets more than not at night -- although we are having some dry nights!!!! I also get the Good Nites for her and they work well. DH commented that the size XL good nites transition right into Depends so no matter how long it takes we are covered! :)

Seriously, I'm just not sweating this one. I worried about when she would talk, walk, read, write, ride a bike...and it has all happened.

[MrsReber]

DD has been dry all day and night since turning 3. DS still can't stay dry at night. He's okay with it and so are we. Like Helene, I'm not thrilled to still have to buy Pull-Ups (the 4T-5T still fit my very skinny boy!), but I am not changing sheets all the time, especially since he falls asleep in different places- sometimes the living room when we're reading stories before bed. To keep the peace and my sanity, this is what we'll do for now and it works well for all of us. No stress on DS for something he can't control.

DH claims he wet the bed as a child until he was "pretty old." He won't fess up as to the age, but I believe it was at least 8. Good thing- he's very patient with DS about it and doesn't make a huge deal out of it, as he does with some other things :rolleyes: .

Good luck with your situation. Hey, they wouldn't make Good Nites if nobody needed them! I'm sure they make a ton of money off them.

[Goin' Coastal]

In leafing through a magazine today I ran across an ad for Good nites. They listed their website to get more info on bedwetting. Might be some useful info there - esp. for your DH

http://www.goodnites.com/na/index.asp

[GingerPow]

My DH has been getting PO'd about it lately, to him, he should be "done with it by now". He yelled at him the other day for it. :(
#1 - Tell your DH to lighten up. Your son has no control over this - is it logical to think that a child would enjoy having his p.j.'s, sheets and mattress, not to mention himself doused in urine? Of course not. Inform your husband that this is not a case of your son being too lazy to get up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom. All he is doing is adding stress to his son's (and your) already distressful situation.

#2 - Ditto that these situations are often hereditary. You may never know who else in your or DH's family had to deal with this themselves because they may be too embarrassed to mention it, or it was so long ago they have forgotten. My brother wet the bed, and my DH's 80 year old aunt remembered that she did as well. Ask DH's mother if he ever wet the bed. Your son is definitely not the first one in the family to have to deal with this issue.

#3 - My DD2 wet the bed as well. Either the bladder is not developed to the point where they cannot contain the liquid throughout the night, they are in such a deep sleep that the signal doesn't wake them up, or the muscle function that allows any of us to sleep through the night without urinating isn't mature yet. (There is a hormonal/physiological function at work there, but I cannot recall the name of it).

I didn't allow her any liquids after 6 p.m. Not just pure liquids, but items like popsicles and soup as well. That was helpful, but not a cure-all. I also set my own alarm clock for around 2 a.m. (quiet music so my DH didn't wake up). I woke up DD to use the bathroom, then she went back to bed. Also not a cure-all, because interrupted sleep is tough!

She also outgrew this by the age of 8. We never, ever reprimanded her for it. She was more upset by it than anyone else could be.

#4 - GOOD NITES! They came onto the market when she was about 6 or 7. They were a tremendous help. At first she told me that she's not a baby..."I'm not wearing diapers!":mad:

I explained that it is a special kind of underwear for night time. She put up with it, was grateful for the helpful item, and was very happy when she no longer needed them.

Hang in there JMM74. Put a waterproof mattress cover on DS's bed, keep extra clean sheets and p.j.'s handy, buy those GoodNites, and this too shall pass.

[JMM74]

Thank you all very much for the commiseration and support. I really appreciate it. I've read all that you've said and am taking the advice. :)


Thanks. :)