DSS wetting bed again at 4yrs old

[Tamzin125]

Hi All,

DSS was dry through the night since the beginning of this year. However lots of things have changed for him in the last 6 months - his Mum's given birth a few months ago, her partner (new baby's dad) has recently moved in, DP and I have moved towns meaning DSS now has a longer journey to see us and he's also started school last month. All of this has meant he's started wetting the bed again. We limit his fluid intake after about 6pm, make sure he goes to the toilet before bed and wake him up to go to the toilet around 10pm. But he still wakes up in the morning soaking wet. He runs to the toilet as soon as he wakes (usually around 6:30) and wees a lot but he's already soaking wet.

DP and I don't know what else to try. We're going away soon and wondering if it's worth putting him in dry nites whilst we're in the caravan? We've those fitted waterproof sheets on his bed at home but as he's still got a toddler bed, the sheets are no good for caravan beds. Would it be a really bad idea to use dry nites just for that one weekend? We're going with family so he'll be sharing a room and I'm concerned if we don't use dry nites how others will react to him wetting the bed.

at age 4 would normal pull ups not fit still?

Get some dry nites pull ups to get you through or the mats they do. It's probably a short phase.

How about bed mats for the bed. We used them for dd1, you can do several layers of sheets and bed mats so that you can discretely just strip off a layer and leave a clean bed underneath. You can put him in pull ups, but with my dd she refused once she got to a certain age, so to force him might further affect his self esteem.

discreetly

Thanks all.
Ilove - no idea, I just assumed drynites would be best? Where can we get the mats from? They sound like a better option than drynites / pull ups.

you can get disposable ones and washable ones. Pampers and Huggies make disposable ones. Supermarkets and places like Boots should sell them

Op you can get them from Tesco they are quilted with a backing and sticky strips. It says to use under sheet but I use a normal protective waterproof under sheet and I stick this on top.

pampers bed mats

huggies bed mats

DP bought drynites and a cheap waterproof sheet. I would have rather have got the bed mats but never mind. We're away now so DSS wore his drynites and this morning when he got up he told me he woke up in the night and needed a wee so just went in the drynites. So frustrating! I'm wondering if he just does that normally, wake up and just can't be bothered going to the toilet. If that is the case though, how on earth do we get him to stop doing it?

Or perhaps not. This morning DP asked him if he was dry and he said yes even though he was soaking. Asked him if he woke in the night and needed a wee he was adamant he hadn't.

I can't understand how he was dry before through the night and now sometimes he doesn't even wake up. Do we continue trying to get him to go to the toilet in the night knowing he will just wake up with wet sheets or do we put him in drynites until he stays dry again?

he may be sleeping heavier now he is at school and may be more tired so he is missing the signal from his bladder that it is full. My dd went through a phase of wetting again and we used to take her to the toilet when we went to bed - you have to wake them enough to make them aware they are doing the toilet or you are just teaching them to wee in their sleep.

www.eric.org.uk/Parents/info_bedwetting_wetting_parents

I wonder if that's the issue. We always take him for a wee around 10pm but maybe he's not awake enough to realise what's happening and then when he needs a wee later on he's just going in his sleep. Will try waking him up a little more next time.

I wonder if you are in danger of over-stressing this, OP. In my experience, the more you make some kind of deal of a toileting issue and the more you draw attention to it, the longer it will go on and the harder it will be to sort out.

I can understand that you are concerned, but ... as you say in your original post ... he has had a lot of changes in his life lately. Lots of children have a 'lapsing' period in dry bedtimes during times of change. It's no big deal.