DS (5.5) still in night nappies

[CoffeeChocolateWine]

My DS is 5.5 and is still nowhere near being dry at night.

Last summer we had him out of dry nites for maybe 4-6 weeks (although using bed mats) and he was doing pretty well. We had maybe a couple of bed wets a week but he was dry much more often than he was wet. And then it all went downhill again and he started wetting himself every single night, I couldn't cope with the washing and put him back in night nappies again.

This did coincide with the run-up to him starting school, so I put it down to a few anxieties and thought that once he had started and settled in we could have another go at ditching the night nappies. But 9 months later we're nowehre near being dry. I can't even remember the last time he woke up dry.

I know it's not a big deal as he's still young and I'm not treating it as a big deal, but I know it bothers him. Every now and then he gets really upset about it and he doesn't want to wear 'stupid nappies' anymore. He wants to start having sleepovers with friends but is self-conscious about it.

From my understanding, it is a hormonal thing and when he starts producing a certain hormone he will be able to hold it while asleep or at least sense when he needs to wee while asleep, is this right? He does still like to have a drink of milk in the evening which probably doesn't help matters, but I only give him a bit and try and make sure he has it at least an hour before bed and that he has a wee.

I really don't want to go down the lifting him during the night route but is there anything else I can do to help him become dry at night? Is there anything that could help trigger this hormone?? At what point do I consider taking him to the docs?

No advice to offer i'm afraid, but i'm watching with interest as DS is also still in night time nappies at 5.4

He's also started having accidents in the day, most days since starting school, after being dry in the day for over a year. We've been to the docs, and he said it's within the normal range, age-wise and not something he's overly concerned about. He did a blood test for a urine infection, but it came up clear.

Bump :)

Thanks Wiggley.

Hoping someone comes along with some words of wisdom...anyone??

DS is now 8.5 and still not reliably dry at night - we get about 1 wet bed a week now though this is only a recent development. Probably not what you want to hear!

There probably won't be any medical intervention until the child is 7 but if it is worrying him it is worth getting in touch with the school nurse and talking it through with her (I went via the health visitor as I wasn't sure who to talk to). DS only started to be a little bothered about a year ago so that was when I did something.
The advice we got was:

• Get a GP's appointment to rule out urinary infection
• Take him out of nappies and use bed mats - possibly the same reasoning as not using nappies when toilet-training
• Drink LOTS during the day (this gets the bladder fuller and makes it give the 'full-up' signal more often so the body has more practice at recognising it - at least that was how I understood it)
• Don't drink fizzy or blackcurrant drinks for at least an hour or two before bedtime as they can irritate/stimulate the bladder
• Do 'wee, teeth, wee' at bedtime to make absolutely sure the bladder is empty

We did all of this and it has sloooowly got better though really I think the hormone is just kicking in. If we do get a wet bed now it is often just a dribble so it does seem as though his body is getting the idea.

I wouldn't bother with lifting him as, unless he is fully awake, he will just be wee-ing when asleep which is what you are trying to avoid!

Good luck and hope it works for you and DS soon.

This isn't advice as such, more 'this is what we did', in case it is useful. DD, age 5.1, has only been out of night-time pull-ups about 6 weeks. Like your DS she no longer wanted to wear them at night and wanted to go on sleepovers. We weren't overly worried, but we did give it a go around a year ago, without lifting, and she was wetting twice a night. This coincided with us living in a temporary flat for a few months while we were having work done on our flat and DH and I were pretty stressed. After a week we couldn't handle the constant getting up to change bedclothes and we put her back in nighttime pull-us.

This time around she was still nowhere near dry (pull-ups v. wet every morning). However, I suspected it might be more to do with habit of knowing she could wee while asleep and also that she is a deep sleeper.
We decided to try lifting and after a mixed first week of a few accidents and having to get up to lift around 2 a.m. (obviously not practical) as (initially) any earlier and she was wetting again, she has now got used to it and we are lifting her around 11.00 (although we have done 10.30 a couple of times when DH wanted to go to bed earlier (I'm pg so out cold by about 9.30 most nights!) and that has been fine).

We are not really restricting liquid in the late-afternoon/early evening - although with DD's agreement she only has a small drink - as that makes her miserable, but we have had not a singe accident since the first week or so. I know there is a school of thought that advises against lifting, and I understand why, but this is working for DD, DH and I, and my brother also did it with his girls. He is still lifting the 5 yr old and has recently stopped with the 7 yr old and all fine there.

We are all really happy with the fact that she's dry now, with no accidents and can really hold it in the morning. Whereas before she would kind of wee simultaneously with waking up, she stopped doing that within less than a week, which pretty much convinces me that the nighttime wetting was at least in part habit. And as no one has to wake up to lift her it's just a nice straightforward routine and she goes immediately back to sleep.

Sorry, very long post!