6 year old Boy still wet at night - any new advice?

[3BoysAndBusy]

My eldest son has been potty trained for years, but seems to sleep like the dead. Nothing wakes him.

We restrict fluid after 5pm and lift him at 10.30 (and he always obliges with a wee). However, he is still wet over night. We have tried just taking off the pull up pants but he simply wees on himself and rarely wakes up (even though he is cold and wet). He is really keen to do this and there are no obvious causes or problems or stress. He's a very happy boy.

I am beginning to feel very worried as he's now six. Will he still be wearing pull ups when he's 8??? We have tried bribery/rewards and I know he really wants to do this, but doesn't seem able.

Any suggestions very gratefully appreciated?

[tammybear]

Bumping this as I'd be interested too. My DD is exactly the same and I'm running out of ideas as well!

[Hobnobfanatic]

Lurking - same problem with DD who is almost 6!
I'd heard that lifting them isn't recommended, but if I don't do it, DD will wet.

[Turniphead1]

3boys and Busy - there was an author on Woman's HOur today called Alicia Eaton who has written a new book called How to Stop Bedwetting in Seven Days. No idea if it is any good but have ordered a copy. She also has a blurb about it on her own website. She is a hypnotherapist and NLP person.

Other than that - there are the alarms that go off when they wee. Studies show it has about a 50% success rate to use them.

My little boy is 4 and we have removed the pullups as I want to end them being used (blardy expensive apart from anything else). I know it is young comparatively speaking - but really think he could be dry at night.

I heard you should make sure they are properly awake when lifting otherwise you are reinforcing weeing in your sleep.

[babyblue3]

Hello ladies. I have 4 DCs, ages 11,10,2, and newborn. Both my oldest DCs wet their bed until they were 7 and 6 years old. We tried everything you have described (alarm clocks, restricting fluids, etc), and finally took them to see the doctor. She told us that a lot of the time, the childs' bladder is just not big/mature enough to handle the amount of fluid, and that the child just needs to grow. There is nothing you can do. In fact, focussing too much on the issue will just give your child self-esteem issues. We just used pull-ups and encouraged the children the best we could. Then one night, they were dry, just like that. I know its frustrating, and I am not looking forward to revisiting it with my second set of DCs, but thats how it will most likely go. Oh.. and doc said a lot of the time, bedwetting is hereditary. I was a bedwetter so I can hardly critisize!

Good luck!

[Blackduck]

Hmm I'd seriously doubt someone who claims to be able to stop this in 7 days. As bb3 said it is often a physical issue, not mental or psychological.... look at the ERIC.org website. It is not uncommon.

[Salsavita]

3Boys - DS2 (nearly 10) was like this and in fact does still have the odd accident.

He was dry during the day before he was 2 - his own choice, wanted to be like his big brother. But the night time thing went on for ever and ever. We did all the restricting fluids, lifting him every night before we went to bed, but nothing seemed to work. Like your son, he was in too deeper sleep and would sleep through being wet and cold. The last accident he had was in August. They are much much less frequent now, but I would say up until the age of about 7 and half he would be having lots of accidents.

We found putting the pampers bed mats under the sheets helpful as well as using a plastic matress protector under a normal matress protector. It just saved us constantly trying to dry the mattress out.

If you are very concerned, just have a word with your dr.

[nymphadora]

Dd2 is 8 ans still wets . She is seen by the enuresis clinic and is on medication but if she misses a tablet she will be wet.

Clinic won't see children for night time wetting until 7 but you can get on the waiting list at 6

[Turniphead1]

That's very interesting babyblue. Yes, maybe it is just something they grow out of and I shouldn't worry about it. I read a statistic that if you and your DP were bedwetters there is a 70% liklihood that your child will be. Neither DP nor I were - but his brother was until he was quite old.

Babyblue and Salasvita - did your DCs mind having to be in pullups/having accidents etc. I guess I am worried with my little boy that it will embarrass him when it comes to sleepovers etc.

[Sidge]

Try and ensure plenty of fluids throughout the core of the day, at least 6-8 good sized drinks, in conjunction with a good toileting routine eg every 2-3 hours. This trains the bladder and gives it a good workout by regularly filling and emptying it - a strong toned bladder can hold more, for longer, than a weak flabby one. It also send a stronger message to a sleeping brain when it's full.

You only need to limit fluids to about 1-1.5 hours before sleep.

Lifting reinforces the 'wee whilst you're asleep' message and whilst it helps to maintain a dry bed for some children it doesn't actually help them learn to be dry.

Avoid blackcurrant and other berry drinks, as well as tea, coffee, hot chocolate and milky drinks later on in the day.

If he isn't waking when he wees at night he may benefit from an alarm, you can buy them from ERIC or other online shops. You can always ask your GP if s/he thinks a trial of Desmopressin is worth trying - this is a synthetic version of the hormone that slows down wee production at night and some children are later to produce enough of it. If your child wees loads particularly early on in the night (ie within about 3 hours of going to sleep) then they may be low in the hormone and benefit from the tablet form of it.

[ardchoile]

The most important thing, I think, is not to let your child feel like they are failing for not being dry at night. So many children are in exactly the same position - it's just not something people talk about.

My DS1 was still using pull ups at night when he was 7. He slept like a log and just didn't wake up when he needed a wee.

I bought a bedwetting alarm, and slept in his room for the first week he used it so I could rush him to the toilet when the alarm went. He was getting up to use the toilet after three nights and has been ever since. Can't use it before they're 7 - but it was worth the wait!

[Flamesparrow]

DD (also 6) suddenly became dry over the summer - no reason for it.

I am a firm believer that it will eventually happen, and nothing you do can make it happen.

We had 2 washable bed pad things which she slept (and still sleeps) directly on top of, so that when/if she wet it was just a case of changing her and taking off the pad rather than sheets etc (she seemed to be quite good at having kicked off her covers beforehand!).

[Flamesparrow]

I can't answer the embarrassment question though - she has mild aspergers and doesn't tend to "get" why people are embarrassed. It never seemed to cross her mind to care that her 3yr old brother didn't wear pull ups.

[babyblue3]

My DD1 wet the bed until she was just past 7 years old. She used pull-ups and was very self-conscious about them. When she did sleep-overs, she would put them in a 'special bag' so no one would see them. Then she would wear pajama pants rather than a nightgown. Worked like a charm and none of her friends ever knew. When the sleepover was at my house, she would hid the bag of pull-ups in my room to avoid being found accidentally. I just reassured her that it was beyond her control and that she should just do the best she could. What made it hard, was that DS1 who is 16 months younger, was dry quicker than she was (about 6 years old).

Until they learn, the best thing is plastic matress pads! They were a lifesaver! The alarm didn't work for my DCs, since they would sleep right through it, and it would be ME who would have to turn the bloody thing off at 2am! LOL