Take 5yr old ds out of nighttime nappies???

[msjollyhat]

Can anyone give me some advice - my ds is 5years old, has been out of nappies during the day since he was 2, but stil wakes with a soaking nappy from his nighttime sleep. My problem with waiting is that he is so tall for a 5yo (and does such huge wees!), that the nappies barely fit him and his bed is often wet anyway (from his huge wees!).
Should I just go for it and take him out of nappies, even though he still wakes with a heavy nappy???

DD1 is 4.6 and the same, even when the nappy is whipped off first thing to avoid a 'lazy wee in nappy' scenario

Which makes me think she's not ready to go nappy-less. Does a wee before bed, too

Apparently it's hormonal, when a certain hormone is released it reduces the urge to wee nocturnally (can happen anytime between 1 and 7yrs)

If the nappy is still wet, then they're not ready to be changed. If the wet bed is causing problems, you might try lifting him (or changing him?) when you go to bed.

Being dry at night really is hormonal/genetic, not something you can hurry - and I say this as someone whose two DSes were both dry at night by the age of 3. Not through hard work or skill on my part, but through dumb luck.

my ds always woke with a full nappy-but eventually confessed that he would get out of bed when needing a wee in the night and stand with his legs apart to do the wee in his nappy so that he wasn't uncomfortable and then go back to sleep!
I would probably take his nappy off and see what happens!

Yes, go for it. It will be a swimming pool for about a week and then you can air and flip the mattress and start again!!

And........I can give you an excellent piece of advice. PUT the pull up pants on but OVER his pants.

It will be really uncomfortable for him, but it will contain the flood. A little, in his case. Poor you!

The hormone is Vasopressin, manufactured in the pituatary gland; it inhibits the production of urine at night. Bernard is right in that until the body has matured and vasopressin is produced, the nocturnal prodution of urine will continue, and soaking wet nappies/beds are the result.

Treatment is available, usually from age7, although the continence nurse we saw for DS1 was surprised that Dr had not referred us earlier .

Waited until bang on 7 - sorry didn't make that clear

My DS has just turned six and is still sopping wet every morning. We use huggies pyjama pants which come in age 4-7 and then 8-11. He occasionally leaks, but not often. It's no coincidence I'm sure that our local supermarket is often sold out of boys ones, but there are lots of girls ones in stock.

I spoke to the HV about it and my GP who have reassured me about it being hormaonal and that it should resolve itsefl by the time he is seven. he is starting to get embarrased about it though and I worry that the stress of that is making him worse.

Even newborns produce the hormone vasopressin. It regulates kidney function.

Have you tried waking him before you go to bed yourself and taking him to pee?

Well I'm going to go against the grain here and say just give him a go without.

Like your ds, dd was dry in the day just before her 2nd birthday and I too was waiting for nappies to be dry in the morning before I tried without at night, but I read on here that wet nappies wasn't necessarily a sign that they weren't ready to go without.

We gave it a go a few months back and had a load of wet beds, so went back to nappies. Then just before dd's 5th birthday we tried again and bingo! And her nappies had been sodden in the mornings right up to the point at which I ditched them.

It just happened - she was just ready. I haven't had to lift her, restrict drinks or anything. The only thing I have to do is make sure she has a wee or at least tries last thing before she goes to bed.

My DH does not produce vasopressin due to a childhood illness which attacked his pituitary. So not all children will produce it. It is required for life so he has to take a supplement twice a day called desmopressin an artifical vasopressin. This regulates his kidney function.

You should see your GP and ask. DH has been taking it since he was 3. I agree that bed wetting is often a physical thing not something that can be helped.

this leaflet downloadable from eric

lackaDAISYCal - sorry for my ignorance here, but these Huggies pyjama pants - are they bigger/ hold more wee than 'normal' nappies/ pullups? my ds is in Pampers Pullups and he just seems to wee right through them at night!

DS1 is 3.5 and still in a nappy at night, so no real advice, just wanted to say we use a nappy wrap (designed to use with cloth nappies) or even training pants over a disposable, and this keeps his mattress dry as he does huge wees at night. Might be worth trying if you keep him in a night nappy....

msjollyhat, they have been specially made for just the problem of late bedwetters and are quite thirsty, more so I;d say than standard pull ups. they are much bigger made than standard pull ups which are about as much use as toffee and barely fit over my DSs bits now.

On the occasion when we haven't been able to get pj pants (they also do a boxer shorts type as well, but ime they are more prone to leaks).

In stores they are generally separate from the nappies, with the swim pants and bed sheets etc. Huggies will send you a free sample here.

oops got sidetarcked by free samples. That should have said:

"On the occasion when we haven't been able to get pj pants (they also do a boxer shorts type as well, but ime they are more prone to leaks) and have used standard pull ups, DS has woken up in the night with the bedding soaked through"

lackaDAISYcal - thank-you!

Hi msjollyhat, have you considered terries, it works better for us and cheaper.

Having similar problems, msjollyhat. I'd wondered about trying a wrap or training pants over the top, as Pannacotta suggested, but there seem to be so many to choose from. Any suggestions for a 5yr size please?

reiver how about an extra large nappy wrap for your 5 yr old? Think Motherease do them in this size.

I use ordinary terries on my 6 year old, it's much cheaper than buying pullups and pyjama pants.

Pannacotta - thanks for the suggestion. I'll give it a try!