What are your thoughts on helping a 4.7-yr-old sleep without a nappy at night?

[Pruners]

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My ds1 is the same. He's 5 in October and still wearing pull ups at night. He wakes with it full and the few nights we've forgotten to ask him to put one on he's wet the bed. He just doesn't seem to wake up to wee.

I haven't worried about it yet and am just waiting for when he wakes dry, or wakes to have a wee. The only time he wakes to go to the loo is early in the morning, so from about 5am and I guess this is down to sleep cycles.

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Hmm, maybe he just isn't ready yet? I do think that it's a biological thing as well in that the sensation of needing to use the toilet isn't strong enough to wake them from sleep.

Look on the ERIC website?

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DS is 5.3 and has only just, this week, started having dry nights. Like your DS he always had a soaking pull up in the morning and sometimes we even had to change it in the night as it was so full!!
I was like yourself and in two minds what to do. I kept reading about this hormone kicking in but then I'd think that maybe we should try him but in the end he really has just sorted it out himself!

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There is no reason he should have a sense of shame really, Pruners. It is not unusual not to be dry at night at this age; it is not considered unusual until the age of seven or thereabouts.

My understanding is that it's not something you can train; if he doesn't wake up for a wee, there's not a lot you can do about it. The hormone is definitely part of it - check out the Eric website gagarin suggested for more about that, or google "anti-diuretic hormone".

I tried big washables for dd once but she hated them - they made her hotter and more uncomfortable than disposables. She was over six when she became dry at night, having been dry in the day for over three years; wasn't an issue for us and I didn't feel it was worth making an issue of.

Would the Pyjama Pants shorts be any cooler for him around the testes? Might be worth a shot.

My dd is 5.1 and not dry at night. We have had the odd morning recently when she has woken up dry so I'm hoping that it's coming now. We use reusable nappies (totsbots size 3 with Motherease wraps) which only just about fit. I was thinking of getting some larger sized ones but will see whether we can last out with these.
We will just wait until she is dry.

I think that some children are very deep sleepers. heres a link on the subject hth

you could try entirely bare bottomed. ds seemed to get confused in pyjama bottoms and wee, while he didn't at all when naked on bottom half. anyway worth a try while we have weather for it.

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prune, if i were you id try bare bottom at night, and setting your alarm every 2 hours to lift him to the loo

you could try these pampers bed mats, they are just as absorbent as nappies but they lie on the bed flat

woudl solve the temperature worry

how are you btw?

or if you dont want to use disposible mats you could use a towel and a waterproof undersheet

i have a spare one in the cupboard actually that i still use for sicky nights, but they dont happen tooo often so you can have a shot

its machine washable

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My ds is 4.5 and is still soaking every morning - he's stubborn too!

I have been a bit concerned as dd was dry at just over 3.

i would be too
i understand your concern about the temp thing though

but apart from that i dont see a problem

let me know if you want to borrow my waterproof sheets

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Pruners, why do you feel you need to get him out of nappies? IMO I wouldn't attempt to get rid of the nappies until you are getting at least a less wet nappy in the morning, or at least the occasional dry one. Will it not make you ds more aware that there is a problem if he is wetting the bed, rather than just letting the nappy do the job for the moment?

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I am pretty sure testicles recover from these things - they make sperm fresh all the time, and he's not making any now ...

Seriously, I would leave it be, I think it's all hormonal.

(And I say this as someone with two boys, both of whom were dry at night at 3. Not through training, but through hormones aka dumb luck.)

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Pruners, you say he doesn't know to be embarrassed ... he shouldn't have to feel embarrassed. It's very much within the normal range to not be dry at night at his age; something like one in four 4-year-olds and one in five 5-year-olds aren't.

Leaving him bare-bottomed may work; equally it may not. My daughter was desperate to be dry at night, but leaving her bare-bottomed (and being wet three times a night) just left her upset and feeling wretched. We layered the bed, which made things a little easier for us, but she was simply not capable of being dry, no matter how much she wanted to be. We let it be her choice when she tried, but each time her distress meant that she couldn't carry on with it and went back to PJ pants within a few days.

The age at which a child is dry at night is partly genetic, so the fact that his uncle wasn't dry until late may well be a factor. If either you or your dh, or even any of your parents, was late being dry, that adds to the likelihood.

ds is 7 in September and we have only just stopped him wearing pull ups at night.
I was told by a nurse that regular water intake and weeing during the day would help get him dry at night and I have also found that stopping him drinking squash has helped. we have had a couple of accidents at night but partly because I didn't lift him which I have started doing again.
The nurse also recommended taking him out fo pull ups for a week to see how he got on because boys can be lazy and knowing they have them on just do a wee to save them getting up and going to the loo