Advice please on night-time continence in 8 year old

[Ichangedmynameonce]

DS has just turned 8 and until 2 weeks ago was never dry at night.

We've seen continence nurse who wasn't really any help and I began to suspect daytime urgency too. He had a scan on his bladder- all fine. Now we are waiting for a general paediatric appointment as he may have sleep apnoea which can impact night time continence.

But, out of nowhere a couple of weeks ago, he started being dry at night - literally nothing we did had changed.

He seems to be managing around 5 nights dry, then waking up wet, then a few nights dry again.

My other 2 DC weren't like this,-when it clicked, they were dry from then on.

I'm just wondering how to proceed? He's been wearing pull ups but last night he didn't and woke up this morning wet- but weeing in the night doesn't wake him.

Should I just dump the pull ups in hope it totally clicks? As he doesn't wake when he wees I'm uncertain.

Thank you

I would ring the continence guys and also have a look at the Eric continence website. Do you think he might be a very deep sleeper? If so then you could try a bed wetting alarm so he learns that the feeling of needing to go means that he needs to wake up.

Thank you. Yes, he's a massively deep sleeper!

2 of mine weren't reliably dry at night until they were 8. The other 2 were dry at night as soon as they came out of nappies, aged 2. I read it's a hormonal thing - something with the pituitary gland I think? Some of them take longer than others, but they all get there eventually.

Thanks @PeatandDieselfan 😊 I'm juay wondering how to go forward really, ditch the pull ups or not. I think an alarm could be wise

We did alarm pants inside pull ups but slept in with my son for 2 weeks and got up and took him to the loo as soon as the alarm went off. After a couple of nights he was sleeping through with no accidents.
We occasionally get one now but mostly when he has stayed up late and is really really tired.

I think our continence nurse said there was a pre-puberty hormone burst in mid juniors which often “fixed” the hormone related night continence issues. For my eldest it didn’t, but my middle child is that age and we only have accidents 1-2 times a fortnight now. The hormone levels vary - my eldest is nearly 13 and we’ve gone from flooding pull-ups 2/3 times a week (even with desmopressin) to accidents 1-2 times a month in the past 18 months.

i’d ditch the pull ups now though, but layer up the protective sheets. At least at this time of year they dry well outside!

We had an alarm for two weeks when my daughter was 7 and she clicked straight away . Good luck OP

My youngest was like this and refused pull ups around that age. We accepted we'd have more washing to do for a while. They would still have periods of more frequently wetting the bed until age 10 but remained dry most of the time.

I would recommend ditching the pull ups so they get familiar with the sensation of wetting.

Thanks everyone. Good point re the weather, definitely makes it easier
I think I'll ditch the pull ups for a few days and if he is wet several days, do the alarm

We dropped the pull-ups around age 4. Used to use a waterproof sheet with a 2nd sheet underneath, and spare PJ's and cover close by so we could get him sorted fast and back into bed if he woke up wet during the. during the night

Never used an alarm or any of the drugs. Seemed unnecessarily invasive for something that sorts itself, given time. Reading about the difference between primary and secondary bed wetting was helpful.