4yo weeing through nappy every night

[FuriousDuckling]

My 4yo DD wees so much at night that by morning she has wet through her nappy (Pampers pull-up), pjs, sheet and sometimes duvet and pillow too. We had thought she just did a huge wee first thing, but last night I checked on her at midnight and she was already soaking, so we had to get her up and change everything.

We've tried restricting drinks at dinner - she just shouts all night that she's thirsty. In any case she has no drinks an hour before bed. We've tried asking/bribing her to go to the loo at night, but I just don't think she wakes up when she needs it. We've even had her checked for diabetes, it's not that.

I'm comfortable with not "forcing" her to go dry before she's ready, have done all the reading about the hormone etc, and just grit my teeth when friends make comments about their dcs being "fully potty trained".

BUT, I'm overwhelmed by the amount of extra washing, hate everything always smelling of wee, and most of all worried that it's affecting her sleep. Certainly she's often up early because she's soaked through.

Any advice on what we can do to move her in the right direction? Or failing that recommend a better night nappy??

TIA

[DwellsUndertheSink]

pull ups dont work for my nearly 4yo - we use Pampers night time nappies (green packet, with a little moon on them??).

We do limit drinks at night - he has drink with dinner and a beaker of milk before bed and if still thirsty, just offer water, which he wont drink.

ALso, Id get her up at 9:30/10pm and get her to wee on the toilet. That way, the big wee is in the loo, not the bed.

[scarletforya]

Some children produce a much bigger amount of liquid than others.

I don't think one nappy/pull up will last all night. I think you'll just have to change her more frequently throughout the night.

[GrumbelinaPicklebottom]

I'm no expert (my eldest has just turned two, not quite ready for toilet training), but I would have thought since pull ups are designed for children learning to use the toilet, that they aren't as absorbent as a normal nappy...?

Perhaps try, as PP has suggested, using a proper "nappy" overnight. it may not be ideal from your daughter's point of view, but may at least reduce the amount of washing you're doing.

My son still drinks quite a bit of milk, and half of his daily intake is had in the hour before bed. Every so often he starts waking wet (either during the night, or in the morning). That's usually a sign for us to go up a nappy size (for overnight use, anyway). We didn't have much luck with regular pampers ("baby dry"- green pack), but found the "active fit" (purple pack) much less likely to leak. Odd, because they're thinner, but they fit much more snugly.

[FuriousDuckling]

Thanks all. I had assumed that she "should" (whatever that means) be in pull-ups to at least give her the chance of going to the loo on her own, but clearly that isn't happening so I probably need to let go of that idea and tackle the wetness first.

I'll try the baby dry. I don't think the issue is with leaking so much as overflowing iyswim! But yes, take your point about pullups.

scarlet fair enough :)
Guess we just have to get used to waking her up at 10 for wee and nappy change.

[PinkAndBlueBedtimeBears]

I'd wake her for the loo when your going to bed. Is there anyway you can change her and she would stay asleep? That way if either you or dp are up in the night you can do a quick nappy change? We do it with dd, dps better at it than me so he normally does it, if I do it she wakes up and demands milk.. Talk about a waste of time! Aha. Give it a shot though? Also, have a look at inco sheets or puppy training pads to go under her? Might reduce your washing!!

[micah]

Nappies. Pull ups aren't really absorbent enough.

Also I wouldn't limit drinks at this stage. It isn't going to make a difference to her wetting, and actually helps "stretch" the bladder and form the biofeedback mechanism that wakes them when the bladder is full.

Bear in mind 1 in 5 under 7's still wet at night, so in one reception class there'll be at least 6 others not dry at night.

Being "fully potty trained" early has no link to intelligence or ability. It's not as if it's going to make a difference to their school/uni/job application!

[Itscurtainsforyou]

We have a very similar situation, even with night-time nappies. We decided in the end to stop using any of them as they were clearly a waste of time/money for us.
What we do now is take him to the loo when we go to bed (10-11pm) and usually he is dry in the mornings. Not always, but I can cope better with a wet bed 1-2 times a week more than I can if it's every day.

As I understand it, it's a hormone issue. When they make enough of the hormone, they will be more aware of needing a wee when asleep. I know some 10 year olds who still wet the bed (no other issues), but the vast majority grow out of it by 13-ish - and many others way before.

[micah]

Curtains- they are more "aware" of needing a wee when the bladder realises it's stretched and wakes up the brain. It can take a while for that mechanism to kick in too.

The hormone (anti-diuretic hormone) shuts down the kidneys at night so they don't make any wee.

It's a complicated thing, and definitely not a simple job of wanting to do it or any sort of training...

[FuriousDuckling]

Thanks again everyone. Sounds like waking her up for a wee and/or change when we go to bed is the key. We may be able to change her when asleep (it depends where she is in sleep cycle - if it's in the middle she could sleep through an earthquake) but will give it a go to see if she can try on the loo as well.

pinkandblue I use the square pads (like you get in hospital after giving birth) to protect the mattress, but have to put them under the sheet as she moves around so much in her sleep. We go through so many that Boots helpfully sent me their new incontinence range brochure in the post .

Anyway it's reassuring to know that it's fairly common. I don't mind her not being dry and know it can take till age 7 and beyond, but comments from friends who have supposedly trained their dcs to go dry do get on my tits...

[ireallydontlikemonday]

Another vote for nappies - pull up barely contain a small wee with my two and definitely not overnight.

[Howaboutthisone]

Not sure if you're still reading this but I find huggies dry nites great for large nearly 4yr old. Never got on with any other pull ups.

[elfycat]

I love the 'oh my child is dry at night' people who then run late because their DC's bedding needed washing.



I get 4yo DD2 to have a fair drink two hours before bed and then to have a wee just before bed. Sometimes the huggies dry-nights (in the bigger size) hold it. Sometimes they don't. We use the bed-sheets (?Huggies brand) which are HUGE and have sticky bits so they don't migrate. I still put it under the sheet for comfort and to prevent child removal.

I rarely have a mattress issue. I do get wet duvet issues. I use two thin singles that popper together to make a warmer duvet. That way I can fit one of them inside my regular washing machine at a time. It's a pain but it makes it manageable.

[Beky7889]

Hi, we have the same issue with my DS (3yrs 4months, but big for his age). He produces so much wee at night that even the largest nappies struggle to hold it all and his bed is usually wet in the morning. Thankfully he doesn't seem too bothered by being wet, but I feel bad for him. We accept this as normal for the time being and believe that he will grow out of it with time.

We have tried different nappies and are currently buying either Pampers or Huggies Pyjama Pants as they are designed for children who are 4 years+. We also have bought 4 mattress protectors from Dunelm (cost about £11 each) which ensure the mattress never gets wet, and although I have to change his bedding most days they have been a great investment, and having more of them means I have to wash them less often :-).