DD 11yo Bedwetting

[BaconAndAvocado]

DD was very late being dry at night, probably about 8yo.

She has recently begun wetting the bed probably 4 nights out of every 7.

When she was 8 the health visitor recommended that she drank 2 litres every day before 6pm. The theory being that her bladder needed to stretch to be able to hold the water during the night. This worked!

I've tried the same approach but it isn't working this time.

Before lockdown she was having ups and downs with her friendship groups in Year 7 but she's obviously not been at school for 12 weeks and said that there's nothing worrying her at present.

I've just ordered a new mattress and waterproof cover.

Any ideas about how to help her?

Phone the school nurse, this needs behavioural advice and checking out physically.

If she has been dry and just started again it would be worth getting her blood sugar checked as bed wetting can be a sign of diabetes.

There's a big difference in primary (always wet the bed since birth) and secondary enuresis (totally dry consistently for at least 6 months). In the first case you just need to wait for her bladder to grow-up (a delay is normal and common) or to let her reach a less deep "kids" sleep, or to let her body produce the right amount of hormone that regulates the urinary production at night. In the second case probably there's a medical reason(or a mix of medical reasons) and there's need for medical checks to find out that. The most common ones are diabetes, constipation, psychological stress, sleep apnea... It could happen also for UTI or bladder, pelvic floor or ureters physical problems but in these cases you should see effects in the daytime too. So, if she was dry for more than half year and you are sure there's nothing stressful that's going on in her life, I would look for constipation (be sure she eats a lot of vegetables and fruits) and eventually go to a urologist/have an urodynamic test. Maybe the growth of her bladder is not regular but she should have had frequent wet/dry periods in these years. My daughter is older than her, after many medical checks they figured out the main cause is ureters problems that added to other causes (weak small bladder, cold, anxiety...) result in pee accidents. Just to say if that's an occasional thing, don't focus on a single thing, it could be a mix of causes.
Unfortunately there's not a lot you can do to help her, medical check could be a solution if there's a specific cause and some good absorbent protection to keep her dignity, waking up in a bed soaked in urine is humiliating. If drynites are not enough look for adult pull-ups or even better regular adult nappies (maybe in small size) to reduce stress and addictional work in the morning. The biggest help is just talking to her, be supportive, explaining she is not the only one, it's not so uncommon (for real it is not uncommon), nappies are not only for babies and elderly, wash away the shame as much as possible and don't make a big issue about that.
Anyway I am remembering now I've read several times of something similar happening just before the first period, maybe this is the case, some hormonal imbalance... and for the most part bedwetting ends just when they hit puberty.

Thank you mary

We don't make it a big issue. DH has talked to her and explained that he was bedwetting at her age and that's it's very common.

I will see if I can make an appointment with the school nurse.