Tips for getting dry at night?

[BearFrills]

DS is 3.7yo and has been dry during the day since June last year but was still wearing pull-ups for bed.

For the last three weeks when he was going to bed he was waking up some time between 10pm and midnight "I need a wee!" and DH or I was taking him to the loo. During these three weeks he was waking up every single morning with a dry pull-up.

We put him to bed without a pull-up and he had four accidents that night :(

So we went back to pull-ups and had two weeks of waking up for a wee and a dry pull-up each morning. The pull-ups ran out and I forgot to buy more so for this last fortnight he's been going to bed with no pull-up.

Out of the fortnight he's been completely dry for two nights. He gets very upset when he 'leaks', as he calls it, but any mention of using a pull-up makes him even more upset.

At the minute he has nothing to drink after 6pm. He goes upstairs at 7:30

[blueberryboybait]

Dryness at night is a hormonal thing, they need a certain hormone which slows down urine production at night to kick in.

[BearFrills]

Arg, pressed send too soon!

Anyway ...

At the minute he goes upstairs at 7:30, washed, PJs, story, teeth, etc and then goes to the toilet to try a wee before getting into bed.

If he hasn't already woken for a wee then when DH and I go to bed, any time between 11pm and 1am, we lift him for a wee. He always does one and he is always dry/in a dry bed at this point.

Any time between 1am and 6am he will burst into our room, usually crying, and announce "I'm wet, I've leaked!". He's always warm and on at at least five occasions was still actively weeing when he ran through so he was aware, he didn't wee in his sleep and lie in it for ages IYSWIM?

We leave the bathroom light on for him overnight with the toilet lid up and his step in front to give him easy access. We also remind him that he can shout to us and we can take him to the loo.

Anyone got any advice or tips or can maybe see anywhere we're going wrong?

[BearFrills]

But when he was in the pull-ups he was waking up most nights for a wee and successfully getting to the toilet, he was also having a dry pull-up for three weeks followed by two weeks. It seems to be when he's not wearing the pull-ups that he has the issues.

[brettgirl2]

I reckon relax in my enormous experience (of one child). The pattern went:
Always wet
Usually dry but if not in nappy would not wake and be cold and wet in morning
Usually dry but if had accident woke
Always dry (has not wet bed since September)
The waking for accidents phase didnt last long so I reckom he's nearly there :)

[jennimoo]

I have no experience as not yet potty trained dc1, but wonder if he'd like the cloth training pants to wear as an interim? Soak up most of it but don't look like pull-ups...

Probably the wrong thing and just needs a little time though!

[BearFrills]

Thanks for the replies :)

We put underpants on him last night under his PJs and stayed dry all night. He shouted to me at 11:30ish for a wee. DD woke up at 3am-ish because she'd banged her head on the cot rolling over, when I was seeing to her DS trotted past me into the loo. I went back to bed to find he'd snuck into bed with DH (who spent the rest of the night worrying he was going to get wee'd on) and he woke up half an hour ago with the announcement "I haven't leaked!"

I'm wondering if when he was having the dry pull-ups it was the slight confining feeling that was helping him be aware of weeing/not weeing and that underpants have replicated that feeling? Not sure on that one but he's very proud of himself and we're going to try underpants again tonight.