DS nearly 5 and still in nappies at night. Any thoughts?

[ElaineCA]

Hello, just looking for some info really. My DS is 5 at the end of March and is still in nappies at night. They are absolutely soaked in the morning, so I'm fairly sure he is weeing more than once each night. I haven't tried lifting him as he was nearly 3.5 when he slept through the night for the first time and I am loathe to wake him up in the night for any reason now that he sleeps soundly!! He has a drink with his dinner at around 5pm then nothing other than a glass of water at the side of the bed which he rarely touches, it's just part of the bedtime routine to have it there really. Spoke to HV and she said that he would just suddenly be dry when he's good and ready. Anyone else had a similar experience and got any bright ideas to help him on his way? Your thoughts will be appreciated.

My DD is 5 1/2 and still wears pullups at night (she's been dry during the day since age 3). Pullups are sopping by morning. My HV said that there is a hormone that stops the production of urine while they sleep and if this isn't present in their body, there is no way they can be dry. Apparently it isn't an issue until they get beyond 7yrs.

I have asked several mums at school and DD is by no means the only one still wet at night.

Hope that puts your mind at rest.

I understand your not wanting to take him to the loo if he's had a history of not sleeping through - but I really think you might have to try it.

If you lift him, still asleep, and take him into the loo without the lights on (leave a landing/stair light on so you have enough light to see what you're doing) you'll hopefully find that he'll wee without fully waking up. I would sit him on the loo to wee at night, rather than standing him up.

This worked with DS2 who was also an unsettled sleeper as a toddler.

Good luck!

Loads of 5 year olds aren't dry at night.

Not something to worry about imo.

My ds is nearly 6 and still not dry at night. We have some good phases but they don't last long.
Lifting him does work and it may be worth trying as you'll probably find that at that age he will just go straight back to sleep again. Not sure if it helps solve the underlying problem though.
When I mentioned it to the doc she seemed pretty unconcerned and said that it was nothing to worry about for at least a year. Apparently it's linked to a hormone that the body starts producing anytime from 3 - 7y, so maybe not much you can do but wait.

If you went round his class I bet you would be amazed at the number of children still in pull ups at night at his age. You can't train a child to be dry at night. They're not dry, then they go through a particular stage of neurological development and then they are dry. Just leave it until he's ready.
My friend's dad is a urologist and often put these things into context for me by reminding me that the normal upper age level for becoming dry during the day is six. Late, but still perfectly normal.
Save yourself the stress and leave well alone.

Just to reassure you - there are probably very few other boys his age, who are reliably dry every night.
I agree there is very conflicting advice. I personally don't agree with the lifting idea.
My DS, has just started attending a eneuris clinic, specially for this problem. You can't even get a referral until they are about 7 or 8yrs old I think.
The specialist told me it could be either the lack of the 'hormone' that everyone talks about - but that seemed to be affecting boys who had little leaks during the day too. Or it can be the size of their bladder!
My DD is 4, and in pull-ups at night. She drinks milk just before bedtime, and apparently this is making things worse.

Wow, thanks everyone, I am reassured that I'm not alone. It sounds like the usual thing of getting the impression (without anyone actually saying for sure) that every other child we know has been dry for ages. I was interested in what Mrs Boo said about little leaks during the day as he has only just stopped having these too, so maybe as these are disappearing the night time thing will follow in its own good time. Thanks everyone, I feel much better for him now.

My ds1 is nearly 7 and still in pull ups at night. Lifting does not work. He has been dry in the day since he was 3. It is not unusual. I asked the GP and she was not worried. In contrast, my ds2 was dry in the night at 3 and never wet the bed once since.