My daughter has been potty trained since she was 1 1/2, but now she is sleep walking and peeing in the floor. I thought she was just so sleepy that she isn't waking up to go. So I have been making her go right before bed time and before I go to bed I wake her up and make her go again. And she is still peeing in the floor, sometimes she will be in the bathroom, her room, and she has even come down stairs and peed in my room and the kitchen. She always wakes up after she pees because she and her clothes are wet. My daughter is not doing this on purpose and I am starting to worry. The only other thing I can think of is she has a large water bottle she uses during school but she goes to the potty before bed and again before I go to bed? Should I take her to see a doctor for this or could this just be a phase? This started when she started school this year.
Thanks for your your time and advise!!
It's more a sleep issue than a potty issue. Google "sleepwalking, treatment" or "sleepwalking in children" or similar key phrases for lots of information.
Here's one link: http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/children/par...
Sleep walking is a condition that many people have.
It can come and go. It can be caused by all sorts of things stress, illness, medication and other times it is hereditery..
I would take her to the doctor just so they can check her and document this.
I would also make sure to place a gate at the head and bottom of the stairs to make sure she does not fall down them during these episodes..
Also I have a very good friend that started sleep walking about 3 years ago and found herself in her CAR with the ignition on one night.. she has no memory and does not know how long she had been out there..
She also walked out of her front door one night and sat in a rocking chair on her porch.. She said she has no idea how and why.
Her doctor told her to take precautions in her home so that she cannot easily hurt herself or get out of the house. Her husband sleeps very soundly and has never awakened during these episodes.. So they now have all sorts of different types of locks on different doors.
I did this for a while a couple of years ago and I'm almost 30!! We kept finding wet spots on the floor and thought that the roof was leaking. My daughter caught me one night peeing in her closet!!!! This lasted for about a month and then suddenly stopped. It was weird. I still have no idea what caused it, but I have not sleep-peed since then, nor before in my life.
My daughter did this and then it stopped... no rhyme or reason that I ever figured out. But she was also 5 years old. I know that is no real help, but just to let you know others out there have been there and done that.
I would put her in overnight pull ups for a while until the behavior stops. My son wore them until he was 8 and finally stopped wetting the bed.
The behavior though... It does seem rather unusual and a little worrisome. I would take her to the doctor.
i bet it's just due to the stress of the new routine. my advice is to get her some nighttime pullups and DON'T make a big deal about it. also, if she's sleepwalking, make sure she will be safe, lock all doors, block stairs, etc. if you stress about it you'll make her stress about it and it will not help her.
my stepson did this, and we changed his bedtime to a half hour earlier, and it stopped. Not sure why he would do it, but it was the weirdest thing. We would find him in our bathroom, our room, or the other bathroom. This went out for several months, and then when we changed the bedtime, it hasn't happened since. we never woke him up to go before we went to bed, as we typically are going to bed, within an hour of the kids being in bed. My husband is up at 5 for work every day, so we are in bed early.
Yes, I would take her to the doctor just to be certain. Many have mentioned that it is most likely more of a sleep problem than a potty problem and that may be, but on the flip-side at 5 she should be able to hold it all night. If she is going once before bed, once before you go to bed, and then again in the middle of the night, that seems excessive. I'd talk to a doctor to be certain. She could have some sort of blockage issue and it would be best to rule that out. You don't ever want to mess around when it comes to the kidneys.
It could also be a blood sugar problem. Close adult family member does this occasionally and it is always when their blood sugar is off. And they seldom wake up, if they do, it's after the fact.
My son is a sleep walker and when he gets up he usually has to pee. Do you wake up when she is doing this? If so then just guide her to the bathroom then tell her to go back to bed. My son will do the craziest things when he sleep walks. Just make sure she is safe. Maybe you could put some kind of alarm next to her at night so if she does get up you can wake up with her and guide her to the bathroom. I would not wake her before you go to bed. That just messes with her sleep cycles.
