3 Year Old Starting Wetting Bed at Night

Hi there,
Also, a lot of kids will go through times when they wet the bed considerably after potty-training, because their little bodies take a growth spurt or are mid growth-spurt but their little bladders haven't caught up yet. It's pretty common, actually.

I would recommend the "good-nights" over pull-ups, because they are bigger sizes and look like real shorts, sort of! More so than a pull-up anyway!! Anyway, my little boy found them comfy while we needed them, and then when the growth spurt is over and the bladder has caught up, also known as "about the time you think you're at your wit's end!!" suddenly dry nights will start again!!

Just be supportive, he's probably embarrassed!! :)

Wow,your son has done really well with nighttime dryness for such a young child -- which has set your expectations pretty high.

Many children who are fully trained for daytime are not fully nighttime-dry for a long time, as late as 5, 6 or even more in some cases. So your son has done very well so far, and though it's inconvenient for you that he's started wetting at night, it's not unusual, I think. Yes, the change of having company can alter kids' routines, but this may be...anything. Company, stress over preschool or daycare (any changes there?), tensions or just new routines at home, new sibling or sibling getting lots of attention, new food in his diet, whatever. Or his body may just not be as ready as it seemed.

If there are no clear changes or reasons, I'd consider pull-ups at night for a while or if you don't want to "regess" to pull-ups (some children see them as a license to forget about using the toilet at all!), put two sets of sheets on his bed with a waterproof cover in between. He wets, you strip the top set and waterproof cover, he's on a fresh set beneath for the rest of the night. Multiple layers if he wets a lot.

Talk to your pediatrician if you remain concerned, to see if there are any physical problems. But I think that progress and relapse in potty training are fairly normal and don't always have a reason or a "fix" other than maturity. This could be as simple as physical growth outpacing his physical ability to "feel the need" to use the toilet; it could have nothing to do with his training or behavior. Good luck and congrats on how well he's done so far!!

Yes I have had this exact thing happen. My son was potty trained by 3 1/2 at day and night, but then when he was almost 4 he got the flu and after that wet his bed every night. I thought it was temporary and kept changing his sheets every night. After about a month, it still didn't stop so I put him in GoodNites, which made me feel awful because I felt like we were going backwards. Now he's 5 1/2 and still in Good Nites, but in underwear in the daytime. What I've read and and heard from his pediatrician, is that I shouldn't push a serious intervention until he is about 6 or 7 (school age,when socially it will become a problem for him). There is some kind of alarm you can get to help train your child to wake up and go to the bathroom when he starts to wet himself. You should talk to you pediatrician and make sure there is nothing medically wrong. By the way I don't recommend Good Nites that look like blue shorts--we had several leakages from those!

H.,
Like many other moms have stated, I also have a boy who has done the same thing. My son was potty-trained at three then all of a sudden a year lster, he started wetting at night. He is now 6 and has not stopped. I took him to the doctor to make sure that he did not have an infection and also made sure that he was not rebelling. The doctor said it is very common that, like one mom said, their little bodies grow but the bladder doesn't keep up. I just recommend the "good-nights" and make sure you get the ritual of no drinking 1-2 hours before bed (especially sodas), brushing teeth, and pottying right before bed. Make it a habit for your little ones. Not bad to start for them anyway! Please do not make comments since it is not something they can control. (My 6 year old does not like it anyway.) I wish you the best and Happy Anniversary!!!! A.

I would have him checked with his pediatrician IF you have a lot of confidence in the doctor. Due to the sudden frequency of the problem and the recent overnight company I'm thinking the worst and praying for the best. The sooner the better, find out why. Make sure you stop multitasking and COMPLETELY LISTEN for 'fearful thoughts' or 'sad stories' or a change in what is 'nice and fun', to "don't like it anymore". They are either pieces of your request- puzzle; or clues to what he needs but doesn't know how to ask...
Whatever the case, keep investigating even if bed-wetting seems to be getting less severe before you've understood the situation. feel free to contact me if you wish.

Hi Hilary,
I would consult his pediatrician just to make sure that they isn't a bladder infection or some such. Did he watch any scary movies lately? Has he been having bad dreams/night terrors? Those are common in boys of that age.
Just some thoughts.
M.

my pediatria said that it is normal until 7 years of age.

Hi Hilary

I had the same problem with my son years ago; he was four at the time and is now 15. You might be taking him to the bathroom a little too early. I use to wake my son around 2 am to take him to the bathroom. After a while, he would wake up and go to the bathroom on his own.

H.,

It looks like you already have some excellent advice! I would second the motion to have him checked by the doctor to rule out any infection issues, to be on the safe side. You are probably spot-on about the stress of having company over that could have set this night-wetting into motion.

I have a 3 1/2 year old girl who did a similar thing recently. She was fully day trained and had a rare accident at night, so we were about to make the switch from diapers to training pants at night when I took her away with me to attend a family wedding. I had her in disposable pull ups the whole time which seemed to encourage her to pee her pants a lot. I say that because at home both my kids use cloth diapers, training pants and underwear and aren't used to the non-wet feel of a disposable. Anyhow, when we got back from the wedding she was peeing during the day AND night with no concern on her part - ach!! First I just gave it a little time, figuring she'd just need a few days to remember what we do at home, etc. Nope - still peeing everywhere later that week. So I tried a reward chart where she would make an X on a box each time she would wake up dry (nap or night time) and she got to pick out a sticker. We explained that when her chart was full of X's we would go to the store to get her a special prize because she did such a good job. It worked wonders for us! For her, we did it over a period of 2 weeks and after the first few times she still wet the bed and did not get an X or a sitcker, she picked up on it very quickly. Having said all that, I was 99% sure my daughter's "accidents" were simply out of laziness which is why I took the reward-system approach.

Lastly, I would like to emphasize that some kids just wet the bed for a long time. I was one of those age NINE before I was totally accident-free at night (due to the biological/maturity issue)!! I would suggest to always use a waterproof mattress pad (we bought some at Target that are 'quiet' so it's not as embarrassing at an older age to hear the crinkle of the waterproof material). Your supportive and caring attitude will go a long way during this period in his life :) Also, you may want to consider using cloth training pants at night. Yes, it will create more laundry for you, but I felt that I was able to relax a little more with the cloth because accidents weren't as 'costly' (you peed in ANOTHER pull up??). www.cottonbabies.com is a great place to get some info on the choices in cloth training pants, how to wash them, etc. We use Kushies brand that has a waterproof outer layer on our oldest at night time and they work like a charm (be sure to buy a size up in that brand)! We still use disposable pull ups for all-day outings and travel to help with the stress and times when a bathroom is too far away.

Good luck!

Hi there
I had the same problem wiht my son at the beginning of the summer. (He will be 4 in Sept). I had two thoughts, and don't know the final answer but I'll let you investigate both avenues. One I thought he was overtired. He was spending tons more time outside, riding bikes and swimming and was more tired than usual and just was incapable of waking up to go. Even when I'd wake him up and bring him to the bathroom. So I started giving him some "quiet time" alone in his room in the afternoon. Sometimes he would fall asleep proving he was tired. The other thing is that bedwetting can be caused by allergies. My son has allergies to a few different foods and occasionally will break out for something that I don't know what caused it. So, I backed off on a few of the things that were new in his diet that he had been eating more of - melon, tomato and something else. And the bedwetting stopped. I did both of these at the same time which is why I didn't know what the answer was but he's not having the problem anymore. I'm not doing quiet time as much so I'm guessing it was the allergies. Who knows??? It's worth an investigation though. My pediatrician told me that milk is a common culprit for multiple complaints - i.e. bedwetting, bad breath, and constipation. Luckily that isn't our problem, but it lets you know that common foods can cause common issues that we wouldn't normally link. I hope that you get to the route of the problem. Make sure to talk to your son about it - he's old enough. Never scold him for wetting the bed. Just encourage him that if he feels like he needs to go he needs to get out of bed. I also offered my son a reward - stickers or whatever - for getting up on his own. Good luck!

be safe and take him to the doctor. I had a friend with similar problem and it turned out to be a UTI.