I have a 4 year old daughter whom has been potty trained for almost a year. She was still wetting regularly at night until about 3 months ago. We stopped using pull-ups at night when she went 3-4 nights in a row with dry pull-ups. Since then she has had a few accidents, but would go for weeks with none. This week she had had accidents every night (currently on morning 5 with wet sheets & soaked PJs). We have tried no liquids 1-2 hours before bedtime and she does goes on the potty just prior to bed. I hate to go back to Pull-ups, but washing sheets and morning baths everyday get the family off to a frustrating start. She cries and is upset when she wakes up wet. Not sure how best to help her and appreciate any advice.
I also agree with chiropractic adjustments for bed wetting. My daughter is also 4 years old and has been wetting the bed for a long time. We started having her adjusted about 3 months ago and it totally works! Good Luck!
Has anything changed in her daily routine? Is she nervous or upset about something? It could also be organic, i.e. bladder infection. Not much help I know but some ideas to consider.
Maybe have her checked for a bladder infection...
Hi L.,
I have been told that a child is not actually nite time trained until they stay dry for 4-6 months consistantly. So I would go back to pullups for now. The doctors also say that it is perfectly normal for children not to be night time trained until they are 5 years old. I would also expect regression when the new baby is born. That is normal too.
Let her know that she's not naughty that she just had an accident and when her body is ready she will stay dry. We keep a baby monitor in the room and our son knows that if he has to go potty he can tell me in the "radio."
Another idea is to wake her up when you go to bed or set an alarm for the middle of the night to go to the bathroom.
Good luck,
S.
My youngest son use to sleep so deep that he would have trouble with bed wetting also. Since they had bedtimes of 8pm and I wouldn't go to bed until 11, I would wake him up at 11 to go potty. It took just a week or so of doing that before his body got use to waking up to go potty during the night and he would wake up on his own, never having trouble again.
We are in the same boat, the only thing I can tell you is that we got cloth diapers last week and that seems to help. They feel wet sooner and there is less expense and waste. Next thing we are going to try is waking our son up in the middle of the night to pee. I hate to limit liquid intake at any time because of the dehydration factor.
GOOD LUCK!
L. - believe it or not bur chiropractic adjustment works for bed wetting. It has to do with the nerves in the back and the alignment of the spine. I highly recommend 2 different chiropractors - one in Lakeville and one in Eagan. Let me know if you would like their contact information.
I have a 3 1/2 yr old girl and newborn boy. You, your husband and your daughter will have enough stress and changes in your family to adjust to when your baby arrives. So I would go back to the pull-ups for now, if she has dry pull-ups for a couple weeks, then take them off. My daughter still wears pull-ups to bed, there's no reason at this age to be in a big hurry and who has the time to wash sheets and give a bath every morning? good luck and enjoy your new baby!
L.,
My son turned four in March, and we stopped using Pull Ups at bedtime at Christmas. When he went through a bedwetting phase it was usually just because he was super tired. I started waking him when I go to bed (and on occasion when I am up with the baby) and taking him to the bathroom. Lately he's been waking on his own again. I suggest that you try getting her up at 10 (or when ever you go to bed) and maybe that will help her make it all night.
For me, getting up with the baby anyway, it was easy to add a bathroom break for my four year old during the middle of the night.
Good luck with your new baby!
jessica
My oldest didn't fully stop wetting the bed until he was almost 8. Her bladder just isn't mature enough to make it thru the night all the time, and she's probably too heavy of a sleeper (like my son) to wake up and go. It sounds like you're doing everything you can. Nothing to do now but wait for her bladder to mature.
If you haven't already, I would put a waterproof sheet under her fitted sheet to protect the mattress. To make her feel better tell her she is NOT the only child in the world who wets the bed and it is not her fault that she's a heavy sleeper =)
My 12 year old daughter suffered from night time bedwetting off and on for years. Just when I thought we were past it - it would happen again. At first, I was so frustrated. I talked to her pediatrician about it and her response was "she's not going to walk down the aisle to get married and still be wetting the bed - what's the big deal." That really put it into perspective for me (we did make sure there was no medical reasons for the bedwetting). Up until that point, we too had tried limiting liquid intake, getting up in the middle of the night, alarms, etc., which really never stopped the bedwetting. So, I just let it go. She wore nighttime underwear (that's what we call them), every night until she was 11, and, at that point, she said she didn't need them anymore, and she was right. That stopped the embarrassment, the laundry, and the stress for both her and I. I think the only "negative" outcome was that she didn't do alot of sleepovers because of it - but, she wouldn't have anyways if we were simply letting her wet the bed and washing the clothing the next morning.
So, the moral of my story is - don't sweat the small stuff :) Good luck!
Has anything else changed? Has she started drinking alot, lost any weight, extremly thirsty, begs for water when you put her to bed? My 6 year old DD, out of the blue started wetting the bed, peeing during naps, had a yeast infection that would not go away and very thirsty. I knew something was not right, I took her to the doctor. Thinking it was simply a UTI. She was diagnosed with Type one diabetes. If she has any of these other symptoms, get her to her doctor ASAP.
My son goes through periods like your daughter, dry for a while and then a period of wetting again. I discovered his last "wet" period was when he was very nervous about starting kindergarten. We had gone to the orientation (why is it in April- 5 months for some kids to worry????). When we finally addressed his concerns, he basically stopped wetting the bed again.
Look into what is going on with your daughter, it may have something to do with her being nervous, upset etc. I know many say bed wetting is a function of the bladder and how deep a child sleeps, but on this last episode, it stopped when he stopped being scared...
Good luck.
Kristine
My 4 1/2 year old daughter just started going through the night dry (suddenly) after being daytime trained since she was 2 1/2. It was terribly frustrating at times, and I did say things to her that I regret (I sometimes nagged her, that if she would just go to the potty in the night when she needs to pee, we wouldn't have to put this diaper on.) But I have learned from years and years of parenting that some things are best waited out. I don't know what took her so long. If I had wanted to invest hours of time, tons of money, and gobs of stress, I could have asked doctors and/or other professionals. Then I might have understood more what was going on (or not), but the best course of action would probably have been the same. I don't know why they clear certain training milestones at such different ages, but I know it's not about you--it's about them. So just bending with their unique physical make-up is the least stressful way to go. Having a baby due any day now surely has something to do with it, and after the baby comes may be a terrible time to try to address it, too. I would really recommend just going back to Pull-ups or whatever makes it easiest and waiting until she just goes back to dry nights. It will happen.
It's normal for a child to have a relapse, especially if she is overly tired (did she have play dates that week or did she play outside more than usual to make her more tired than usual?) Summer is not an unusual time to start wetting again, the fresh air seems to make them sleep more deeply and start wetting again. Also, she may be nervous about the new baby, are you doing more to prepare for the baby? It may be her way of gaining your attention to remind you that she is still there. Little children don't have any control over their lives, but they do have control over their bodies, and many times will express frustration or upset by wetting (sometimes even pooing in their pants). If it's not the fresh air, you might find out what is bothering her, the new baby, school/daycare if she goes, etc. Talk to her, find out what is going on with her, make it a safe environment and just wait out the wetting. It will settle down on it's own soon enough. Three months dry isn't a very long time to be totally in control, relapses do happen for seemingly minor reasons. Good luck to ya hun!
I would also suggest using the pull-ups for a while longer. Rule out any medical conditions first and then have a heart to heart with your kid to see if she has an ideas. It may be due to the stress of the new baby coming or trying to get some negative attention right now because she does not know what is going to happen once the baby comes. Also try a reward system too so she gets recognized for waking up dry. I like the other posters idea: once the baby comes and you are up anyway, see if you can wake her up to go potty. Right now i would choose pull-ups over the caos of wet sheets and wet kid every morning.
If she can sleep in wet clothes and sheets, she must really be a sound sleeper. I wouldn't sweat it. Put the pull-up diaper on and take the stress off. It will come back.
