When should we be having dry nights?

[Lizzie4]

My Dd is now 3.5yrs. Afew months ago following a run of dry nights, we stopped putting her in pull-ups at bedtime and made a big thing about what a big girl she was. What followed was a period of restless nights and frequent bedwetting. Bleary eyed, we have reverted to pull-ups though she doesn't seem keen (and in hindsight I think we probably should have persisted). Friends tell me that they made the switch seamlessly (Grrr) but I can't help but feel apprehensive about our next attempt.

[titchy]

My dd wasn't out of night time nappies till she had just turned 4. Ds wasn;t until just turned 5. Other friends with dd's aged around 5 are still lifting or putting in pull ups so don;t worry about it. Go back to the pull ups for a while. And don't listen to friends!

[Weatherwax]

My dd2 is 5 and still wears pull ups at night and I take comfort from the fact that doctors don't worry until they are seven. I think its supposed to be something about a chemical in the brain and they can't help it. dd2 is getting there gradually and is hopeful but she knows it will work out ok one day. I've noticed that it gets worse when she is stressed so we try not to make it a stressful subject for her.

dd1 was dry at night before she was 3 although she wasn't during the day until after then! Yet more evidence that all children are different!

[MrsFio]

my ds is almost 5 and has only JUST become completely dry at night. he starts school in september but not once have I worried about it. It is completely normal by all accounts

[roisin]

I know some kids who were dry nights at 2.5 and some (like mine) who were not dry til 5 or 6. I also know some people who wore out their washing machines with extra laundry because they wouldn't accept their children was not ready to be out of nappies at night!

[LadyTophamHatt]

we've just potty trained ds3(he'll be 3 next month) and apart form the 1st nighttime nappy they have all been dry since....there is no way he's going nappy free at night yet though.

I'm not going to risk it until nearer xmas when he knows for sure how to controll it.

I aske dmy HV about it once and she said they only refer you for "help" if the child if 7 or older so don't worry about it.

[Ellbell]

3.5 is very young to go through the night. Dd1 was in nappies at night till she was nearly 5. Since then (she is now nearly 6.5) we have been putting her on the toilet last thing when we go to bed. Have just moved house and she's in a bunk bed, so have stopped doing that and she has gone through the night fine with no wet beds, so she's obviously capable of doing so. (I was a bit worried, as she sleeps very deeply, so I wasn't sure that she'd wake up naturally if she needed a wee.) Still putting dd2 (4.5) on the toilet last thing, although she was out of nappies at night earlier than dd1 (about 3.5) because she wanted to be like her sister. She's also a lighter sleeper, so I'd trust her more to wake up if she needs to go. But I'll keep on putting her on the loo for now, because it's no hassle and nicer than a wet bed. I know some people don't advocate 'lifting', but for us it has worked a treat. (Incidentally, I always talk to the dds when I lift them and tell them 'I'm just putting you on the toilet so you can do a wee' and they walk back to bed rather than be carried - they may not wake up fully, but hopefully they are aware that they've been to the loo (rather than just letting them do it in their sleep). HTH

[hermykne]

lizzie my dd stopped wearing a nappy at night at 3.5yrs, she just didnt want to wear it. so then we had a few accidents and i started to lift her around 11pm, she weed went back to sleep and alls fine since (occasionally wee in the bed). sometimes she wakes up herself and off she goes. shes 4 in oct. very little liquids from 7.30pm on

[stitch]

ds1 was dry at night at 5.6
ds2 is now 5.2 and still wets the bed every night. the pullups dont contain the wee anymore, so any suggestions appreciated
dd was dry at night at 2.11

doctors dont consider it a problem till seven. even then they simply monitor it.

[WigWamBam]

You won't get dry nights until she's physically ready for them - and they're all ready at different times. There's a hormone that suppresses urination overnight, and until the child is producing that hormone they physically can't be dry at night.

Pull-ups until she's ready will mean far less stress for both you and her.

[Itsthawooluff]

Hi,

My GP referred dd1 when she was 7 to a clinic, where a combination of drinking more during the day (to teach the bladder to hold more) and star charts for drinking (not for wet/dry at night)+ a bed wetting alarm, had the whole business sorted in 2 weeks. Hooray!!

But before then told us that the production of urine at night is suppressed by a hormone, and children start to produce this hormone at very different ages, so "training" usually works when it happens at a time the child is already starting to produce the hormone. When I asked how you tell when they are producing the hormone, she said you usually get the odd dry night even when wearing pull ups. If you haven't started getting these (and we never did) then your child might not be ready yet for training.

You can get more info on wetting on the ERIC website - sorry I'm completely pants at links, but it is www.eric.org.uk

[Itsthawooluff]

Aha, cross posted with WWB!

[Itsthawooluff]

Stitch,

Dri-nites pajama pants seem to have a bigger capacity, and go up to teenage size (mercifully not had to buy these yet!)

[Mandymoo]

dd is 3.5 and just this week we've put her back into pull ups after several nights of wet sheets!

She was getting upset about it and we were getting tired so we were all in agreement when it came to putting her back into nappies.

Good luck!

[hulababy]

DD has been dry during the day since 24 months, but is still hit and miss at night time, aged 4y4m. She has been out of bed pants since she turned 4, at her insistence. She is dry more then she is wet, but changes in routine knock her back again.

I don't worry about it. It'll happen.

[HappyMumof2]

Message withdrawn

[divastrop]

ds1 was 3 1/2 when he was dry at night,dd1 is 7 1/2 and still in pj pants which are so wonderful.i myself wet the bed till age 8,i now know it was a genetic thing as dd1 had tests etc as she keeps getting infections,my mum and i were both the same but when i was a kid u got shouted at for weeing the bed.im not worrying about it yet,i think it only becomes an issue at junior school age when they start going on field trips atc

[Elibean]

We've been getting some dry nappies in the morning ever since we started day time potty training with dd (2.8) a few weeks ago. I've wondered if that meant we should try...but tbh, don't dare; pregnant and tired, and don't have the stamina for lots of bed changing, plus she's starting nursery in two weeks and don't want to put too much pressure on her either.
Perhaps I'll just wait till she says she wants to try....??? I don't mind if its another year, personally!

[Lizzie4]

Feeling v. reassured and much relief, thanks to all. Shall worry no more! Elibean, I am pregnant too (30 wks)and working, so can relate to lack of stamina etc. Changing sheets daily (and sometimes nightly too) has little appeal right now so I plan to forget about this issue for a while.

[hulababy]

Lizzie4 - when you do decide to go ahead, can I recommend the bed sheets that Mothercare do. They are largish squares of protector material, rather than a full sheet. Much easier to get washed and dried in a day.