Nappies at night at 4

[ammylovesolivia]

This has prob been asked a million times......sorry...........

DD is four in april and is still in nappies at night. I'm not worried, DP is not worried- we dont think she is ready to be dry at night yet personally.

However everybody else does!!!!!!!!! It seems to bother family and friends far more than it does us. And they even confront DD about it!!!!!!!!!!

She wakes up with a sodden nappy in the morning because she likes to sip water in the night (shes a snorer) and my friend thinks even this is wrong and she shouldnt be drinking after 5pm

However we do realise that she cant stay in nappies forever. We dont want to take rough humiliating steps to force her out of nappies. But does anybody have any tips for gently encouraging her towards being dry without dehydration??!! We thought bed mats might be an option but they are so expensive and small, I dont think they will help. I dont want to give into pressure from anyone but I do want my daughter to potty train confidently and be aware of what she is doing.

Can anyone offer advice or experiences??

lift her and put her on loo when u are going to bed (11pm orso) and see what happens.

its old fashioned but it worked with my dd. she didnt want the nappies on her once she was day trained.

Ignore everyone else and their criticisms!

Night time dryness comes with time and you can't do a greatd eal about it. It's all to do with some hormone that can kick in sometime after 18 months and generally before the age of 7.

Do a search on MN on this topic and you will find loads of children this age still bed wetting, and lots older too.

Re bed mats - for DD we have reusable bed mats from mothercare. We have two, they cost about £15, and very easy to use and launder. They are big rectangles of bed mat material which goes on top of the sheet, so means less sheet washing, etc.

We have also tried everything and not much makes a difference. If trying lifting you should make sure your child is awake when they go to the toilet, or they don't learn.

The one thing that may make a difference to my DD is juice. We think - still testing out theory - that if she has drinks such as blackcurrant juice in the afternoon/evening, it appears to make her more likely to wet. Not sure if it, but worth trying out for us.

Bed mats from mothercare sound a good idea. Bit greener as well.

Thats interesting about lifting- unfortunately I think if we wake her wel have a fight on our hands.

I just wish people would keep their opinions to themselves. My 'friend' even tells me that olivias only problem is my laziness

Yes, everyone always knows best don't they?! Grrr! Wetting at age 4 is really common, more than many of us realise as so many epeople won't admit their child does it. MN is fab for that - just search, it will put your mind at rest.

Her son was dry day and night at 2 and a half.

Would love to rub a morning nappy round her smug face

your daughter looks beautiful in her pics. very cute.

It'll happen when she's ready. DS (4) doesn't drink in the night but his nappy is soaking in the morning and about twice a week it overflows onto pjs and sheets.

Thank you

Well, DD was dry at 24 months - almost entirely self led and within 3 days; night time however - whole different story there. But, not concerned at all. She is getting there and getting more consistent with age/time. Your DD will too.

Ph and withdrawing drinks at bedtime is a no no too. Something to do with needing drinks to enlargen bladder enough to trigger the "need to wee" feeling, etc.

I'd rather she drank a little at night than had a little dry husky smokers voice from snoring all night! I have heard that before I think about needing drink to stretch the bladder muscles.

My DD1 is 4 in July and is nowhere near being dry at night. My 2 friend's DC were 4 last September and are not dry at night. My nephew only got dry at night by the time he was nearly 7 but still has accidents. Like you, I am not worried-but my Out Laws are hence DH being worried and DD1 as they keep saying things to her She is getting a phobia about it but I tell her it doesn't matter at the moment.

Me and my friends have heard that 'lifting' is not the done thing as you are emptying their bladder for them so they are not feeling the full bladder hence the need 'to go' IYSWIM.

All I would say is panic ye not

only thing I will say is you don't necessarily need to wait until they have a dry nappy in the morning. My dd was 3.6 in september and sort of took the lead herself as she would wee in nappy till 5am and then take it off without telling us as it was so uncomfortable(it was always really soaked in mornings!) then end up wetting bed. So my only option in the end was to just forget nappies, used disposable/reusable waterproof mat things layered between sheets so could just whip off top layer in night(pampers bedmats were great but are v expensive!). within about 3 weeks she had cracked it. although for first few months potty was by her bed during night. She used it quite a bit at first but last 3 months or so she can go right through till morning so potty back in storage! Its a pain at the time to have to keep getting up in the night, but worth it in the end. You could just give it a try!

Thanks ellasmum potty next to bed also sounds a good idea. This sounds daft but I had considered what she would do if she got to the stage of getting up in the night for a wee and was bit worried bout her stacking it downstairs!!

My son is 6 in July and still in night nappies. I am not worried. We have tried restricting drinks and also lifting. Neither make any difference. His nappy is still wet in the morning. If he gets to 7 and still not dry, then I will worry.

My son was lifted and restricted drinks but nothing worked his bed was still wet in the morning.
As a last resort I spoke to him at bedtime after reading him a story and kissing him good night saying " mummy isn't going to wake you for the toilet, if you want to wee wee you must get up and go to the toilet" he answered me "alright mummy" in the morning his bed was dry and he never wet it again.
I read an article after my daughter was born that said when toilet training one should take their child out of nappies day and night the same time. It is believed by putting a nappy on we are telling our child it is alright to wet it so the brain will not wake the child to ask for a potty or toilet. Having had problems with my son I desided to try this method. When my daughter was 21 months I took her out of nappies day and night once she had realised what the potty was for. I can honestly say she never wet her pants or her bed and she never wore another nappy. Perhaps I was just lucky or perhaps the theory is right. I do pass this on to parents to try for themselves as some of them like me may be lucky.

Dd finally dry at 5yrs 2 mths. She now wees in the loo last thing at night and first thing in the morning. I had started to wonder if it would ever happen but never made an issue of it, then after 3 dry nights in a row said goodbye to nappies on new year's eve. Good luck with your dd.