DS (5yo) promises not to have pee in bed - but always does - any tips?

[TracyK]

ds who has just turned 5 has managed 2 dry nights in 17. I think he wees just before he wakes up as it is still warm.

Tried this morning to wake him 5 mins early and whisk him to loo - but he had already done a pee.

He refuses to go back to nappies - and I'm fed up washing sheets etc every day.

I don't want to bully him or give him a row - or bribe him - in case he genuinely can't hold on.

Is there any kind of terry pants that you can get? or terry pj bottoms?
I've tried lifting him at 10.30pm - but no wee comes out.

It's quite possible that he is not physically able to go through the night, even at 5. My first two were 6 before they could do it. We lift DC2 (4) before we go to bed and wait until he wees even if it takes a while, but you may just have to insist that he goes back to nappies or pull-ups.

As I understand it, being dry through the night depends on your body being able to produce the correct hormones which can happen at very different ages, so until that happens he doesn't have a chance of being able to go through.

Sorry, don't know about terry pants or similar.

I think you will need to look on cloth nappy websites for absorbent pants. Or try the disposable night shorts by dri nites which are for bedwetters and go up to older age groups, and are intended to look less like nappies.

I used to wake my son before I went to bed to go to the loo, but if you do this the child must be fully awake and walk to the loo themselves, otherwise they are still weeing in their sleep which won't help. You could limit drinks after tea, as long as he drinks well during the day. Try to avoid fizzy drinks from afternoon onwards, and caffeine-containing drinks like cola and hot chocolate, which stimulate the kidneys to produce more urine. Ultimately, you will need to wait for the anti-diuretic hormone to kick in, when the kidneys reduce the amount of urine produced and concentrate it, so that it should be possible to last the night. Of course, the child also needs to recognise the need to go while asleep, and wake themselves, but this should come when he wakes in the morning with a full bladder. Things may improve in the summer, as losing moisture by sweating while asleep will reduce the urine produced to be stored in the bladder.

I understand that you don't want to upset your DS, but he will have no idea at 5 how much work it is to keep changing and washing bedding, so you need to reach a compromise. Explain that his body isn't ready to be dry yet, that it's not his fault, that's just the way it is, and the same for many other little boys and girls. Say you would like him to try these special bedtime pants, emphasizing how much more comfortable they will be than a wet bed. If he protests, point out that he will have to strip his bedding, put it in the wash, and re-make the bed himself if he doesn't at least try them. His choice.

I picked up some pairs of trainer pants from Mothercare today. He wasn't at all happy putting them on - they were a bit rustly - and he kept saying they were like nappies.

I don't want to go down the disposable route - to much ££ - would prefer washable ones. If I could only find non rustly ones.

I might try and get terry material and sew a thick layer into his pj bottoms. Sometimes he doesn't do enough wee to actually get through to the sheets - so I don't really need 'waterproof' as such - just a thicker pair of bottoms. iykwim.

What about trying cloth nappy booster pad inside a pair of underpants, with pyjama bottoms on top?

Thanks girly - I might try that. The trainer pants were a dismal failure - £10 down the drain.

They held no wee and pjs and top sheet were wet again.

I might just wrap his bottom half in a towel when he's asleep!