Older bedwetter and a weekend away without parents

[Fresh01]

DD 8 is a bedwetter. It is slowly improving but still at least twice a week. We are under the care of an enuresis clinic hence the big improvement.

She has the opportunity of a Brownie pack holiday soon and really wants to go but she is worried about the bed wetting. I have spoken to Brown Owl, who is one of those fantastic ones who has been doing it over 20 years, seen it all before and it doesn't worry her in the slightest! She will go along with whatever strategy DD is content with.

What are anyone's best tips for a bedwetter away from home without parents to help cover the tracks?

Should say we have tried Desmopressin and Ditropan and they have no effect on her. She is an extremely deep sleeper.

[Elvish]

Would she wear a pull up - the pj's ones? DD is 6 and not dry at night (trying desmopressin in the next few months) so still wears a pull up.

If she got changed for bed in private no one would know what she had on under her pajamas. It might be a less embarrassing option for her if she would do it.

[Fresh01]

She will wear a pull up when we are away eg. In a hotel. She accepts it isn't fair to wet their bed.

She can see how I can give her a large toilet bag and hide pull-ups in it and she can go to the loo and put it on. But she is concerned someone will see it at the waistline of her pj's or the slightly bulky look to her bum. I reckon they will all be too tired/excited to care. But it concerns her.

[tsonlyme]

Tricky, I had a bed wetter until she was 11ish (she didn't do many sleepovers before then!) so I totally understand your desire to minimise any embarrassment.

Could you get her to have a chat with brown owl before the trip so they can work out a plan together? How about making sure she has pyjamas with a longer top and where brown owl needs her to just help with something quickly just before lights out so they can pop to the bathroom and brown owl has the pull ups? Something similar in the morning when the rest of them are still half asleep?

How many nights is the holiday?

[tsonlyme]

And whilst I'm here, I spent a lot of time gnashing my teeth over the lack of bladder control which was during the day as well as night and my mum said "Don't worry, she won't still be doing it when she's 16". She wasn't wrong

[Wolfiefan]

She can sleep in a slightly less warm sleeping bag and wear tracksuit bottoms over PJs. That would hide pull ups.
Send a spare sleeping bag in case of leaks?
Put pjs and pull ups in a separate bag (dry sac) in her bag for privacy?
Change into PJs in toilets or after a shower?
Sympathies DS had medical issue and was wet on and off for ages.

[Wolfiefan]

Onesie? Can't see pull ups then?

[WeepingBicycleMonkeys]

Maybe a fleecy onesy instead of regular pjs?

[drspouse]

As a Guider I'm glad your Brown Owl is helpful! I'd say yes do send a spare sleeping bag if it's more than one night, ask Brown Owl to keep it herself if your DD would prefer, and maybe baggies/longer PJs and pull ups?

[tsonlyme]

A onesie is a genius idea! Shame they didn't exist when my dd struggled. Everyone's bum looks big in a onesie.

[Elvish]

Wolfie that's a great idea!

[Fresh01]

Tsyonlyme, we have had daytime issues too. These thankfully have pretty much sorted themselves out with a lot of work and routines. So I will hold onto your mums words for nighttime too😊

Fleecy onesie might be the go. I had been thinking of a cotton one she has as she is a warm body at night but you would notice it in the cotton one. You are right the fleecy one would hide it more.

It is 2 nights.

I have told her I have no issues with any wet stuff being bundled in a bag in her hold-all and I will deal with it when she comes home.

Brown owl has said if she doesn't want to keep the pull ups she can keep them and call her to her room at bedtime and first thing in the morning for "medication" But think DD wants to be in control of it herself.

[Jasonandyawegunorts]

But she is concerned someone will see it at the waistline of her pj's or the slightly bulky look to her bum.

Use Underjams, they are thinner and the waistline is cut lower to hide them.

[Klaptout]

Can she put a pull up inside her sleeping bag then wriggle into it before sleep then take it off in the morning? I'm sure brown owl wouldn't mind taking the old pull up out and putting a new one in.
I was a bed wetter, tried alarms buzzers etc, the thing that worked for me was amitriptyline, it worked the first time I took it, I'm not sure what age I was when I had it but it might be worth researching to see if suitable.

[sillyoldfool]

My dd wears pull ups every night at 8.5, she went away with school and brownies last year and the leader had the nappies and dd went to her room to put them on/take them off. None of her friends noticed/commented.

Wish we could get some help, she's never been dry at night thankfully dry in the day in the past year, in our area they won't refer you for any help until the child's 9

[3sleepingchildren]

I had this with dd2 and school residentials.

We tried the getting changed separately/being called out for help by her teacher so as to give privacy route.

Dd2 would often wet through a pull up, as she was a very heavy wetter, so that was an added bonus! I sent two (or 3, if necessary) identical pairs of pyjamas so that dd2 could just bundle up any wet ones into her case and not newer questions about why she had different pjs on.

I think dd2's friends ended up knowing, but there hasn't ever been any repercussions as far as I am aware.

[FastWindow]

Noting the discussion, my boy 5.5 is an habitual night time wetter. Thanks for the comments, and tips- i fear i have years to go.

[5BlueHydrangea]

Fastwindow not necessarily. My dd was 6 in November and has been dry (and brave enough to be without a nappy) at nights for 2 weeks. Only one accident so far. She got there in the end!

[FastWindow]

Thanks blue my boy is an enigma. Dry from September till exactly Dec11 this year, then sporadically after that. 8 dry, 25 wet. 3 dry, 7 wet. Currently on 3 dry. Kill me.

[PrimalLass]

I'm a Brownie leader and was at camp last year. I would definitely go for the 'getting "medicine" from Brown Owl' plan. The girls' stuff ended up all over their rooms so it might not be so easy to hide things in her bag.

Camp is hectic so no-one will notice if she disappears for a couple of minutes. We would have been 100% happy for a Brownie to come in and use our bathroom.

[IAmAPaleontologist]

Dd's beaver leader took her pull up when she went on sleepover and she wore a onesie. No issues at all. Dd refuses to ever go on another sleepover but that's because of the lack of sleep not the bed wetting!