Bed Wetting

I just wanted to second (third?) this. I have a 10 year old and a 5 year old, both potty trained during the day since age 3, who still wet at night on a regular basis. They both have a clean bill of health from the doctor and she says they will outgrow it. Some day. They both sleep very, very soundly and just do not wake up when they need to go. I know of at least two other boys in my older son's grade (4th) that still often wet at night (and these are just ones whose Mom's I know well enough to be discussing this with) so it really is more common than you would think. Not knowing what you are using, but maybe have him help you pick out the night time Pullups? They have Goodnights that look like boxers so they are less 'babyish' looking. Or maybe letting him pick the character on them?? With the day time wetting too, it could of course be a behavior issue and not just a physical issue, but for what it is worth . . . :) Good luck!

We went through this too. FD was severely sexually abused. I agree pulls ups (Goodnights are great) are the way to go. I personally believe that having him remove his sheets and help clean up is a good thing. NOT as punishment. Just a natural consequence of having wet/soiled sheets or clothes. I think it's a good idea because you mentioned he isn't really bothered by the bed wetting. (It's not that he should be bothered more a teaching tool that hey your not in any trouble but let's get this cleaned up together so we can get on with our day). Might be something to run past his therapist. It was something our fd therapist told us to do, and it helped make her more aware. :grouphug:

Does he drink milk? Even if it isn't something they drink directly before bed, milk can cause a hyperactive bladder. If he drinks it at lunch or dinner, you might try cutting that out too and see if that helps. I agree about it being common in that age though. I've had a lot of youth who are in 5th-6th grade who still wet the bed sometimes though. Sometimes kids are bedwetters. Good luck! Oh and the Good Nights that look like boxers are pretty cool. Those are what the boys in my youth group who needed them wore. No one who didn't "know" would have known.

We are having the same problems with our 7yo fd! Wish I had an answer for you. I too am washing sheets every day!

BTDT with several of our kids. Sad thing and not what you want to hear, but they will stop when *they* are ready. No amount of awards, loss of privelges, etc., will change that - took me many years to figure this out! :arrow: Of course, I am talking about those kids that do it for control as a result of being s/abused. Does your son wet himself at school, then? Have you talked with the school staff about what to do? My son's second grade teacher would ignore that he was wet and son would wear them all day. I had a meeting with the school staff and the therapist to come up with a solution. One was set times to take bathroom breaks and they were to call me to come with a change of clothes if he was wet {or keep an extra set at school}. I didn't like the idea that son was sitting in soiled clothes! Our now 10 year old recently stopped wetting himself. He joined our family at the age of 5, so it's been 5 LONG years. Our now 14 year old wet from the age of 7 until 10...three years. Our daughter wet from age 11 until 13. All three were s/abused. I guess what I am trying to write is that evidently they do stop. I let it become their problem...they were to clean the mess up. In the first year of dealing with this, I would clean it up. I quickly learned that was not the thing to do. They are responsible for taking the soiled bedding/clothes to the laundry room and remaking their beds. Oh, and I agree with the Goodnights. I had a couple, also, that will pull the Goodnight down to urinate on their beds, walls, etc. :eek:

My five year has accidents once or twice a week. Our pedi said it was completely normal. We put him in goodnights so that he isn't wet or embarrased about it. Eventually he'll grow out of it. Here is a great article: [url=http://www.keepkidshealthy.com/parenting_tips/bedwetting.html]Bedwetting - Parenting Tips for Children That Wet the Bed[/url]

My two bio sons wet the bed till they were 13!!!! I'm talking at least 3 nites a week. They were not SA, but bedwetting ran very strong in their dad's family. No amount of liquid restrictions, nite time pottying, etc. helped stop it totally. Dr. said that there is a hormone that your body produces that tells your bladder to SLOW DOWN at nite. They were not producing enough of this hormone. The medicine that they can give you is an artificial hormone that they would "squirt" in their nose. I was not comfortable with this, so we only did it if they were going to a sleepover. The boys just took their sheets down to the laundry in the morning, and I'd give their beds (covered with plastic sheet) a quick wipe to eliminate odors. There's just nothing to do about it but wait till they outgrow it.

Two of my bio children wet the bed until they were around 6-7 yrs old. Back then they didn't have such things as "Goodnights" or really big Pampers so I just dealt with the wet sheets. Now my 7 (almost 8) yr old adopted son is a bedwetter but I use the "Goodnights". They are expensive but worth every penny :clap: !! He isn't embarrassed by the fact that he wets the bed because I have never made a big deal out of it. One of my foster children (5 yrs old) will wet the bed if I don't take him to the bathroom before I go to bed.

Yup - totally agree with this! Our guy wet the bed from age 3 (when we adopted him) to age 8 or so. Pulling our hair out did nothing but give us bald spots! If he hates pull-ups - what about cloth diapers/pullups that may be softer and not scratchy?

There is also a new brand out called Underjams that are softer than the Goodnights. My older son said they are a lot more comfortable than the Goodnights. Unluckly they don't seem to absorb as much/as well as the Goodnights so he wets through them. He is older and a lot bigger though.

My BD had the problem of wetting at night and also some during the day. Here's what Children's Hospital told us: Some children do not produce a specific hormone associated with urine control/bladder. (Mine didn't produce it until she was almost 10 yrs old.) She took the drug desmopressin that provided what she was missing and it enabled her to not wet at night. She was also a deep sleeper and most kids missing this hormone are.The issue during the day was that she had to be reminded to go to the bathroom. She literally did not feel the sensation of a full bladder and so she had was on a timed bathroom schedule. This was worked out at school so all the teachers and administrators knew she must go every two hours. For $80 we could have bought a watch that beeps when it's time to go, but she didn't need that. I would suggest to talk to the teachers and make sure he goes to the bathroom every two hours. At his age, he is not old enough to know when to go and needs to be told by them. Kids that age can get so involved in things that they just don't go to the bathroom. As for taking the pullup off, he needs to have consequences if he does. Not related to the bedwetting, but consequences for doing something you told him not to do. He doesn't have a reason to take it off other than saying he doesn't like it. There are many versions of pullups. Find one that isn't too bulky that he will like.

My bio daughter STILL occasionally wets the bed, and she's 10. She's a very heavy sleeper and hs an immature bladder. I'm afraid I don't "get" the idea of making him help clean up...like it's deliberate or something? In my daughter's case she is usually very sleepy and confused when she wakes up wet, and I'd rather just be fast so we can all get back to sleep. My sanity saver is that I have TWO sets of sheets on the bed. Sheets, THEN waterproof pad, then another set of sheets. When she wets, we just strip off the top set and the underneat one is already to go - it takes about 15 seconds ('course I still have to do the laundry and remake the bed SOMETIME - but at least not at 3:00 am when we're all dead tired." I also bought a book called "dry all night" which takes them through a visualization excercise - it did cut down the amount of wet nights DRAMATICALLY - and it has other good advice in it too.

Thanks for all the ideas and posts. Looks like I'm stuck with it until he is ready. What my biggest problem is that he doesn't want to wear the goodnights because he's embarrassed by it. If he pees the bed at night, he will not get up and continue to sleep in it. Last night he was dry, I guess it a hit or miss type thing. Thanks again.

Oh, that seems a little odd. When Kiana wets the bed she's in my room immediately - because it's wet and COLD!

My older son will sometimes wake up dry several days in a row and then the next night wet through the Goodnight. Definetly hit or miss. Wetting through doesn't wake him up though. He doesn't realize he has wet through until he gets up in the morning. Maybe he would like the boxer style Goodnights better?