Night Time Wetting - Lowell,MI

As another former bedwetter, and extremely heavy sleeper, what worked for me was an alarm system. It's a pad that you put under the mattress and as soon as it starts to get wet an alarm goes off waking you up so you can go to the bathroom. I think that the alarm only had to go off 2 nights in a row before I started getting up to go by myself...but know that the alarm is loud because it's meant to wake up heavy sleepers, so you'll be waking up along with him. Fun for the whole family! Here's a website I found that sells all kinds of stuff for the bedwetting dilemma. Good Luck!http://www.bedwettingstore.com/

My son is 9 and we have been having the same issue. I finally took him to a chiropracted and after 2 adjustments he has been dry for 2 weeks.

First I hear your frustration but your story did give me a bit of a chuckle, my know 16 year old was the same way, I would catch him trying to pee in the corners or hall and if he managed to get to the bathroom his aim was a whole lot off, but the funniest and probably grossest one was when he peed in the fridge, the best I can figure is that he was hungery and needed to go so he did, I was just thankful that he didn't hit the food just the edge. First make sure he doesn't have a medical issue going on, bladder infection urinary tract ect, if that isn't the problem then what worked for me, it did take a couple of weeks but what I did was wake him up completly sometimes this would take 5-10 min walk him to the bathroom, I would set my clock for every 2 hours and repeat the process, after a few days I went to three hours, and then a couple of days later 4 hours, if we had an accident we would shorten the time the next night, eventually he just got up on his own to go. I found limiting night fluids didn't really make a difference, but contollying the amount of fluids throughout the day helped. And also making sure he used it consistanly during the day made a difference. Good luck I can remeber the frustration!

Has your son been checked for a bladder infection? WhenI was about that age I started wetting the bed after being dry for years as well. It turned out to be a bladder infection. Just a thought.

Hi,
One of the possible causes of night time bed wetting could be artificial colors. I do know when we took our son totally off all artificial colors and flavors he stopped wetting the bed and I have heard of this two other times with children. I know one family that it was yellow 5 that caused the bed wetting for there son, he has since outgrown the problem. A lot of this is hereditary, at least the tendency to wet the bed. My son said he's dream of going to the bathroom and would wet the bed. As to why your son was not wetting is now wetting at night, not sure but children's sleep habits do change. Best of luck, we used night time pull-ups for quite a while as well as a bed cover.
S., homeschool mom to 13 year old boy.
http://www.YesToSuccess.net/S.
Helping families health and wellness for over 11 years

There may be some abnormal stress at school- or something that is just bothering him more now than for normal. I notice that with my son who is 7. We will be dry for months- then for a few days we are wet. I put him back in "night time underwear" for my sanity sake, and start all over. One week dry then no pull ups. They make them for kids over 100 lbs so I am sure we are not the only one- plus this is a question I have seen lots of the past week or so. Hang in there mom!

I would take him to see your doctor. The fact that he was trained and now is relapsing is a concern. My oldest son started wetting the bed after years of dry nights - we thought it was stress due to the fact that we were moving in a couple of months. He started wetting in March, we moved in May, and we found in July that he had diabetes. It may not be that serious, but doctors have lots of options that can help.

If you find anything that helps, please pass it on. I have a 7 year old boy who has worn overnight pullups since getting out of a diaper. Sometimes the overnights even leak from too much saturation. He hates it and is embarrassed, esp since his 5 yr old sister wears regular underwear at night. I've been told by peds that kids, esp boys, can wet the bed until age 12. And it can be a genetic thing - consider the age the father quit wetting. I just tell my son that it isn't his fault, his body has to grow and mature some more, and I keep buying overnights. Good luck, I feel your frustration. L.

My son used to do the same thing. In 25 years I've never heard of anyone having the same problem. My husband got him a little electronic device that clips to the shorts near where the shorts would get wet first. At the first dampness-
one drip -- would set off an alarm which was near his head, wake him up and he would get up and go to the bathroom.
Later the Ped gave him pills to help him hold it all night, I think like they give old people. The problem was too sound sleeping. He didn't seem to have any trouble thru high school but he took the little pills with him when he went to camp didn't want to take any chances I guess. When he was little totally asleep, he'd pull the door and pee in the toy box behind the door. He'd stand at the top of the stairs and pee all down the steps. Our daughter's room was next to his and if she started to hear the long zipper of the footed pj's she'd scream and wake him up. I always thought he'd be emotionally damaged by being awakened like that!

I have a 7yr. old who does the same thing. VERY sound sleeper, I've done all you have done and she still wets. I now make her go potty right before bed and that has helped a lot! I talked to my pediatrician about it and he said that with kids like this the only thing you can really do is get a bed alarm. It is a pad that goes on the mattress and when it gets wet the alarm goes off and is supposed to wake them up, and everyone else in the house I might add and then you can get them to the toilet and hopefully it will condition them to wake up on their own when they have the sensation to pee. I did not do this because she shares a room with her sister. She is 21/2 years younger and I didn't want to disrupt her sleep. Talk to your Dr. about it they can give you answers. Good luck!

It may be hereditary. If so, he will grow out of it by 12ish at the latest.

A good source of information on children can be found at http://kidshealth.org

Be supportive and let him know you love him regardless. Teach him to strip the bed when he's had an accident. It's not the accident that matters so much as how we handle the accident.

Also consider speaking to a pediatrician. There may be other underlying issues.

I just wanted to say you should check with his doctor as well. My nephew had the same problem and they put him on some medicine that he wouldl take right before bed and it helped - alot. I'm not sure what it was but I can find out if you need me to.

My husband and I had to take one of ours to go potty when we went to bed. For her that was enough because it was a sound sleep issue.
But you need to find out why this is happening. Could he be afraid of the dark now? Or rather, afraid that something is in the dark? Like maybe a friend, a story, or a show spooked him? If so, maybe a night light will help. Is he sleeping more deeply because he's getting less sleeptime, or because his body is growing or stressed? Has his activity level grown so that he needs more sleep and sleeping deeper is how it's getting it? An earlier bedtime might help.
Seeing his doctor might shed some light on it if it's a medical issue. Diabetes is sometimes shown in youngsters with frequent wettings.
Making him clean the messes he makes should stop this rather quickly if it's just a 'don't want to' thing. Having him remake his bed might make him more aware of how much work this is creating.

Good luck!
M. Mom to 4 girls

As a former bedwetter myself, the only thing that worked for me was making myself go to the bathroom right before I went to bed and limiting my fluid intake and then also going to the bathroom very first thing when I got up in the morning. I hope this helps that is my best advice.

I also had this problem with my son (up until the age of 7), he is now 8. I too was at my wits end, but none more than when he literally got up one night (still sound asleep), went into our bedroom and peed all over my husband. (Well, that was actually pretty funny, just between us.) To try to remedy the problem, I would cut his fluids atleast 1 hour before bedtime and made sure he used the bathroom (whether it was just a little bit or not) before he went to bed. I made a "dry night" chart and gave him little prizes when he would not wet the bed. I believe that it is something subconciously that they are doing, and the praise that he received led to less and less nights that he wet the bed. Also, I NEVER scolded him or made him feel bad for what he was doing, because as you said, they are not even aware of it at the time. My girlfriend who had a little more trouble with her son, bought some "night-time pants". This held the wetness closer to his body and would wake him up when he wet. After a very frustrating month, she started to notice that he would get up and use the bathroom and change the "night-time pants" on his own. If none of these tricks work, I would suggest taking him to the doctor because it may be something more complicated. BEST OF LUCK TO YOU!!

i can see where that would be very frustrating. especially at this age.
i would worry there was something medically wrong. maybe check that out first.
i have no suggestions sorry , since mine are newly potty trained and just getting the next one potty trained..
but i will remember this post and the answers for my future boy who just may do this peeing in the corner or frig..lol lol..loved that story!
boys.!! gosh,, "I don't knwo how you live with those things?" lol lol
*(if you are a 'seinfeld' buff you will understand my quote)

E. S,
I was a bedwetter until I was 14 years old I was just like your son and my parents became incredibly frustrated!!! There are a lot of theories about bedwetting. I would suggest that you do some research on line regarding this matter. When I was a kid (I am currently 39) they didn't have the big kid diapers or medication that they have now. My youngest sister was also a bedwetter and she used a nasal spray medication that made her stop wetting almost immediately. I would talk to your son's pediatrician too. Know that it is stressful for him as well and a child can feel very shameful. Know that he is not doing it on purpose and if he could control it he probably would. Good Luck!

Have you ever tried a potty alarm for waking him? The one my son's ped reccomended is the Malm. It's quite loud, the first tiny bit of pee that comes out, it goes off imediately. He wakes up and gets to the right place he needs to be. They are a little $$$, but well worth the price. You can also check ebay or craigslist for them too.

Good luck, honey. My son is almost 11 and still wets the bed at night, every night. The doctor says he will grow out of it. We use good nights and wait for the time when we don't have to use them anymore. Otherwise the doctor can perscribe a medication that slows the kidneys production of urine at night. I don't use it, but you might want to check into it.

I would take him to the doctor first to rule out any physical problem. Next, I would invest in an alarm system to help wake him up. I am sure this is as frustrating for him as it is for you. I have seen the alarm system work successfully for many kids. Good luck to you both.

I have had to deal with nighttime bedwetting just like you. I can only tell you what worked for me, my son just turned 9. The pediatrician said it was due to his deep deep sleeping.

1.Used goodnights..too time consuming to wash sheets (it helped me to not be so frustrated)
2.limited liquid and woke him up at 11 or midnight to go again
3.Really congratulated him when he woke up dry...boost his self esteem. Good luck..I remember how frustrating it was to be woke up in the middle of the night to clean up a mess.

You may want to talk to you pediatrician about other methods if these do not work there are: sprays that decrease bladder stimulation and alarms that help children become more aware of when they need to go to the bathroom at night and will wake them. Although my ped said some of these deep sleeping kids sleep through the alarm.