please can someone advise how I can get ds to be dry at night before I go out this afternoon and buy another pack of nappies?

[wannaBe1974]

DS is 3.9. He has been dry during the day since he was 2.5 but has still been wearing nappies at night. I decided that we really should try to get him to be dry at night, would esp like to achieve this before I go on holiday in 5 weeks as would save me having to carry the nappies he wears at night.

So since Saturday night I have tried:

no drinks after 5:30 at night
getting him up before I go to bed (approx 11:00 pm) sitting him on the toilet to have a wee
told him that when he gets up in morning he must go straight to the toilet and have a wee, and then I put a potty in his room so he didn't have to go as far as the bathroom.

The first night he didn't make it, subsequent nights he has got up and gone on the potty but he's still been wet so has obviously been at some point in the night but not woken up.

Please does anyone have any pearls of wisdom that I have not yet tried. I'm on the verge of going out to buy another pack of nappies for night time use, I'm not stressing about it after all it's night time and ultimately if he's asleep then he can't help it, but as he's 3.9 and has been dry during the day for 18 months really shouldn't he be dry at night by now?

all wisdom gratefully received

Both mine decided just before they were 4 and haven't looked back. There isn't really any should about it he has to be physically ready and motivated. Sods law dictates that whenever he si ready you will haev just bought and opened another pack - Princess pull ups anyone ? You could try Pampers mats or a washable sheet layer for accidents instead for a bit

You CAN'T do anything about it - some hormone has to kick in apparently and it can vary when it happens. DS1 has just turned 5 and has just started to "get the hang of it" as he puts it himself - but still has the odd accident. There are loads of old threads on this and they ALL say the same thing! You'll just have to keep buying the nappies/pull-ups (or try reusable ones.)

DS1 was 7y3m before he was reliably dry at night, so I really don't think you can 'train' them. Your son will probably be ready long before then, but 6 and over is not uncommon. I think many children become dry at night between 4 and 5.

Wannabe my ds is 4.2 and (i'm sure I'm about to jinx it ) but we've just had 10 dry nights in a row. This is our fourth attempt at getting night dry. Like your ds ours has been daytime dry since 2.6. He has asked (and sometimes begged) to have no nighttime nappy for about 6mths now, but each previous attempt failed. Again like you we lifted him before we went to bed, and then in the morning, but if we didn't also try to lift at @ 2.30am being wet would be hit and miss - mostly miss . Each time we'd try for 2 weeks, but he's just such a heavy sleeper that he wouldn't notice any accidents at all. This time I think he was just 'ready'. Following advice I read on an earlier thread we did try the chart thing again and he's getting a treat for being dry every 3 nights in a row, like a new bedtime book, a trip to the farm, a swimming trip, and I'm sure these have helped immensely too . We'll gradually start increasing the number of days before the treat this week until we've been going a month and feel confident that we're home and dry so to speak.

With regards to your son I'd say try for a couple of weeks, and if it's not working he's not ready, leave it for a while and then try again...nothing had changed for our ds (i.e. still absolutely sodden nappies every morning, no waking) I think he was just ready this time - oh and the rewards thing hasn't hurt either

GOOD LUCK

Do you still lift him, teabelly?

As KTeePee says, a hormone will kick in, anywhere between the age of 2 & 7, until then they just wont wake when they need a wee. I am still waiting with DS, he is 5.6 now.

Yes when we go to bed, and we were also lifting about 6.30 when I get up, but yesterday and this morning he woke by himself about that time, came in to tell us he was dry and was off to the loo and then promptly trotted off to the toilet... So now we're going to just lift before we go to bed. Then gradually the plan is to bring it forward 5-10 mins every night and see how he goes, fingers crossed it won't be too long and it won't be necessary. But even if we still have to do a before bed lift for a few months yet that's no hassle.

ds is 5.6 and we are still working on it he was out of nappies in the daytime at around 2yrs maybe a bit before.... i purchased a good mattress cover and just wash the sheets everyday cos he was really not wanting to wear nappies or pull ups anymore so we lift him around 11pm and hes getting better we have more and more dry nights now.....i got myself in a tizz about it all at one point but when the hv told me it was normal till 7/8 yrs to still have accidents it made it all a bit easier......
he has bunk beds so we make them both up with mattress protectors so if he does have an accident he can go on other bed without too much fuss... xxxxxx good luck and dont worry..

dd2 will be 5 in november and still wears nappies at night. She is not ready and I am not too worried about it!

DS1 was dry daytime at 24 months. He was nearly 5 before he was dry at night.

DS2 was dry daytime at 24 months. He was about 6.5 before he was dry at night.

Wait til he's ready - otherwise all you'll end up doing is creating a lot of extra laundry for yourself.

it is very variable. A friend mentioned the other day her girls were both night dry by just after 2. My DS1 was about 3.5, but my twins DS's are nowhere near (even still do poos at night often) at a bit over 3.5. I would love to lose the night nappy because they keep taking them off and I have to go in and put them on when they are asleep before they we the bed - but I don't think it is going to happen any time soon.

I think each child is different. ds1 was dry at night from 2.6, only 2 weeks after succeeding in the day. ds2 on the other hand was dry in the day from 2.3 and desperately wanted to go without nappies at night but due to lots of night time waking by him at the time and ++ sleep deprivation for us we kept him in nappies. Big mistake. We cracked the night time waking problem so well that now he doesnt wake up even if he has an accident. He's 4.4 and has been out of night time nappies since 2 weeks before his 4th b-day. Our best run of dry nights has been about 7 but then we'll get a run of wet nights. He just comes in in the morning and solemnly announces that he's had a wet night. We've tried all of the same things, lifting, restricting pm drinks, nightlights to guide him to the loo etc but its a hit and miss affair. Looks like dd is keen to try at only 20mo, and have decided that if she wants to lose them at night too then we'll cope witht he wake-ups!

3 sounds amazingly early for a boy.
Roisin, I was pleased to read your post to see that I'm not alone. My DS is still not dry at night. He will be 7 in Sept. He does not wear nappies or bedtime pants as they all leak - he must do really big wees.
DH and I decided to give up on the bed pants as I was still up at 3am changing the covers every night. So now we save heaps of money and I'm still up at least once a night!
He did go through a dry phase but soon lapsed again.

Because of this I held back in taking the nappies off DD1 until she was 5. There is 20 months between DS and DD1. To my relief she has not had a wet bed yet. I thought that maybe DS would be competative with DD and try hard not to wet. Not the case, so I really think he is just not ready.

I am very tempted to get one of those bedwetting alarms.
Bedwetting is hereditery so I can only blame myself as I was very late in that department. I was cured in the end with an alarm.

I wish you all the best in your attempts but please be aware that boys do tend to be a bit later than girls. I do know of some bys that have just got on with it and never looked back though.

I would have to agree with eveyone above who says that at the end of the day they do it when their own bodies are ready, and no amount of lifting or limiting bedtime drinks etc will help - sorry! My ds was dry in the day aged 23 months but continued to have sodden nappies at night (not just the occassional accident, but sodden every single night) until he was nearly 6. My GP and HV were supportive but nothing really worked until one day he was dry in the morning and has been ever since and has had no accidents (yet), which supports theory that it just happens when their body is ready. In contrast, thank goodness, my ds removed her nappies in day aged 2.5 and refused to wear one at night either 3 days later and has never had an accident in the night (yet - don't want to tempt fate). So, I'd say, good luck, but don't push it and def take the nappies away with you.

wannabee ds1 was about 5 and a half

My ds1 is dry at 3.3 and I have done nothing to encourage this, I wasn't even expecting it for another year. This surely adds some weight to the theory that they do it when they are ready and not before, and no amount of "training" makes a jot of difference.

he had his first wet night last night, actually. but has been dry for a month.

It's drinving one of my friends up the wall, she is trying to bully her 4 year old into being dry at night, it's really sad, but ds1 is only just dry in the day too!

Colditz my ds1 was the same - dry by day at about 2 yrs 9 months and then dry by night within a month or two at max. I didn't push anything - it just happened. Mind you he does have a cast iron bladder.

He will do it when he is ready. I don't think there is much you can do about it. That has been my experience anyway. We don't even take them out of nappies at night until we have had 3 dry nights in a row. Earliest was just 2yo(completely dry) and the latest was 8yo and even then not totally reliable. Nothing we did had any effect, they just came to it in their own time.

With my daughter she was wet every morning in her nappy but one day said she didn't want to wear a nappy that night. So I sneakily put a waterproof sheet down and a towel under her sheet and took the chance. One month on and no accidents... but a number of broken nights, or worse still finding her asleep on her potty...

Maybe I was lucky. I think with all this potty training malarky like everyone says don't push it and don't worry. Daytime is what matters really once they get to school.

dd1 was dry at night within 2 weeks of being dry in the day. dd2 has been a whole other story. still letting the odd dribble out during the day right up to 4. and still nowhere near dry overnight at 4.3m. I just keep hoping one day we'll wake up to a dry pull-up, not sure I can be bothered to do anything about it. The only time it bothers me is when a particular friend with a dd the same age makes comments about they "ought" to be dry by a certain age. bunkum. actually it's not "it" that bothers me - it;s my friend!

DS1 dry during day at 2.8 eventually dry at night 4.4. It took us about 8 month to get it, he had chicken pox at one stage and was quite poorly so we put him back in 'pull ups' or 'pyjama pants'. Then his brother cames down with chicken pox so we contiunes with pull ups, then it was Xmas and we were going away and I didn't fancy doing it then . so eventually we did it.

We would have a couple of weeks of OK then some accidents but all is well.

DS2 dry during day at 2.10 , then dry at night at 3.6, just contiunes dry nappies in morning so we wipped it off. The odd accident but very rare.

each child is differnt. HV , school nursees don't seem to be bothered about dry at night until they are about 7 yrs.

Plenty of time.

Do recommend these from Jojo mamn bebe. Used to take it away with us just in case of accidents esepcailly when staying with grandaprents.

No good at links but cut and paste

www.jojomamanbebe.co.uk/detailfash.php?type=FASH&code=A6816&branch=IF&category=FPT62

My son was dry during day at 2.6 but night times were a different story, for years we 'lifted' him before we went to bed and once in the night if we woke up. When he started school we still couldn't trust to have a dry bed, the school nurse was brilliant, and said that lifting them was no use, the child has to be awake so that they know they are going for a wee, this was pretty hard work waking him, as he is hyperactive and when he's awake he's awake, but when he's asleep nothing can wake him as he's burnt all his energy throughout the day he sleeps so deep, it could take 15 minutes to wake him enough for the tip to work, but in the end it did, he's 11 now and we still have occasional problems, but it's because he sleeps so deeply! but generally the nurse's advise did work! I also have 2 and a half year old twins, they are nearly always dry at night, but I still use pull-ups for conveneince.
Good luck

thewomanwhothoughtshewasahat

I should change your friend, who needs them like that, there is always one, I had a friend when my son was 2.5 commenting how old my child was to still be in a pushchair, just because her son was walking everywhere when 18m old, and she left me a long list of do's and don'ts when I looked after her little boy as a favour, phuff! that was 8 years ago, but I still remember those friends that verbally dig unnecesarily at you, high 'n' mighty purfect mothers. Thank you, I will now get down off my pedestal!

Even if by some miracle he does crack it in the next 5 weeks, I know people who put really quite old children into pull ups at night when they are on holiday. So I don't think a holiday is a good thing to aim for.

my girlies were all dry at night early on, but the boys still aren't yet and DS1 is 6.2yrs and DS2 is literally just 4. I think it comes when they are ready, and not before.

in DH's family tho all the boys have needed alarms and med to get them dry at night, from my DH, his brother and his brothers two sons, so I am not holding out any hopes right now that mine are going to be ready any time soon!!

that said, DS1 is now wet only every other night now, as opposed to every night and sopping wet. he is also only wet enought for it to be just the one wee now too, so I think he may in fact be 'getting there'.
DS2 has always only been wet four nights out of seven, and very rarely is he doing more that the one wee.

we have tried lifting them tho, and both react as tho they are having a bad nightmare, so tis not worth it.