My kids are dry during the day but at nights, have accidents even if I wake them up in the middle of the night to go pee. What do you use? Keep in mind, I have TWO beds to change daily, lol... and I only have one mattress pad each bed. I wonder if there is something I can buy that can go over the sheet somehow and easy to replace ~ sometimes, kids go to sleep on our bed AFTER they have accidents and then have accidents ON our bed! LOL!

So can you keep this mama sane? ;)

You could try using a vinyl table cloth between two sheets and just pull the top one off (and the table cloth) when there is one so you have less to do on those days OR

You could have the kids wear pull ups `night time type something' (if it is often)

Hopefully they will grow out of it someday soon.

Forgot to mention... they refuse to wear Pull-ups! LOL! They say they're big kids and yada yada... you know how they are ;)

Accidents ~ usually every night for both kids... but just one accident. Never thought of the vinyl tablecloth ~ will it be uncomfortable? But still a smart idea! :D

I made DD a really large PUL mat and on top of that lay a flannel-topped piece of burly knit terry. I didn't sew the PUL to the "soaker" because I wanted it to last and to not take forever to dry. My dd is a 6yo and a very heavy night wetter, so even if she wore pullups, we get leaks. *sigh* just not at the point to take meds from the urologist for it...yet~LOL I know how frustrating it is!

honestly? lol ~ i'd tell them they aren't big kids & they need to wear them at night only b/c it's hard for mama to change the sheets so often, etc...

willa pees at night & i was just using a sposie on her, but she would ask
why do i still wear diapres?" & that made me feel bad...so we got her some pull ups which we call night time underwear & she is thrilled. :happy:

honestly? lol ~ i'd tell them they aren't big kids & they need to wear them at night only b/c it's hard for mama to change the sheets so often, etc...


Yep.
I told Vidura, ok, if you're big then you can get up, take the sheet off, put a new one on and do the laundry in the morning. On the third day he asked for pullups, lol.

Justin is another "big kid" who wears a diaper to bed. Pullups just weren't holding all of his pee, and I was changing the sheets daily. We were just saying today (dh and I) that we should try those Goodnites, so that he can put it on himself. We called Pullups "nighttime underpants", and I felt bad putting him back in a diaper, but he just pees too much for pullups.

When is it not "within normal limits" for them to wet the bed nightly? He has NEVER had a dry night. He's 4 1/2.

He's still way within "normal" limits, Michelle.
IIRC, my uro doesn't get concerned with boys until 9, and girls until 6-7. Right now she is having me wake Caelyn between 10-12pm (when I'm going to bed) and have her potty then, no drinks after 6pm also (hard for her). Sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't. Because she's 6 and not always helped by night waking, she wants to try meds. I want to give her a bit longer.
My older 2 were night-dry by 2 and 3 respectively, so it is easy for me to get feelings of annoyance w/ this. I don't want to upset her, so that's why we don't force the diaper issue... she seems happy to jump in the shower right away in the am. Personally, I think it's gross to sleep in pee...but she's more comfortable w/ that than pullups or dipes.

Wanted to add that genetics plays a roll..my DH and his sister had night wetting problems until they were 12 or so. :drop: I was really shocked by that, but our dr said it has alot to do with nerves and how deep a child sleeps. I reaaaaaallllllly hope I'm not dealing w/ this still at 12!!!!!

Joshua reverted back to night wetting last November and refused to wear Pull-Ups, so I just waited until he was asleep and then put the Pull-Up on him. He sometimes fussed about it in the morning, but I always explained that until he could be dry all night that this was what we were going to do. He finally stopped wetting about a month ago and I think we're both happy to be done with those!

You could also try a waterproof mattress pad over the sheet. They aren't really all that absorbant though.

We bought one of those plastic mattress jackets... the ones that go all the way around the mattress and zip. I think they are like 5 bucks at Walmart. I just keep a stack of sheets in his closet and a soap and water spray bottle with washclothes in the bathroom. So, when it happens, I just pull the sheet off, spray down the plastic mattress jacket, wipe it off, and throw a new sheet on.

Si is 7... he is sporadic about nighttime accidents in that he'll go a while without wetting, and then he'll do it for awhile no matter what we do. I do notice that it tends to happen during growth spurts,,, with him being 4 foot 5 inches at age 7, he has a lot of growth spurts, lol.

Nelle

yep - if you are a big kid - then you pull all the wet things off your OWN bed yourself, do the laundry and re-make your own bed yourself. If they aren't willing or able to do that - then they have to wear cloth diapers or pull-ups to bed. Actually for Maddy - cloth pull-up training pants is what she wears. My mom made them for her and I put a pull on cover over. For Michael and Melissa - I had Bummis waterproof training pants they wore to bed. I do put a plastic cover on the mattress under the sheet anyway though because some of mine have been known to wet the cloth training pants/diaper and then take it off in the night and then go back to sleep with NOTHING and wet the bed again. :rolleyes:

This is what I did: plastic zippered encased thing for mattress, had the kids to go to bed without bottoms on, and had them sleep on folded towels. A couple of towels folded in half are a lot easier to wash than sheet sets and mattress pads. If my boys would have an accident (and they do still occasionally happen) then they are responsible for taking off the sheets.

We've dealt with this too, I think it's definitely genetic. my oldest did it till 8, then it just stopped. My dd#2 does it now, she's 6... it would happen every night no matter what. We just use pull ups. I'm hoping she's done at 8 as well, but the ped said it's fairly common, especially among siblings. Thankfully my son at 4 hasn't had a problem since he was potty trained.

sorry but they 'refuse' to wear pull-ups?
if they are wetting the bed, they need to wear pull-ups.
give me a break.
Here is what we've done: if it is an occasional accident, or a sometimes light accident then i have used a bath towel folded in half, that has protected the sheets while my 6 year old was set on not wetting at night. He made sure he peed right before bed and didnt drink too much after dinner. he has done very very well, once *he* decided he could do it/was ready to do it. i did not ever *make* him, i did suggest he 'try' and see every once in a while and those were the nights we used the folded up towel. then if he did wet, he would wake up and we'd just change the towel.
Ultimately, if they are not ready and they are too old/big for diapers insist on either a pull-up or rubber pants. you have enough other things to do then wash bed linnens every day simply cause they are not yet ready to potty train at night.
hth

sorry but they 'refuse' to wear pull-ups?
if they are wetting the bed, they need to wear pull-ups.
give me a break.

Hey... you parent your way, I'll parent my way. ;)

ps. as I said before- pull-ups don't always do the trick, not willing to traumatize my kid over something that leaks anyways. :rolleyes:

My daughter "won't" wear pull-ups either. It isn't like she folds her arms and says, "No mother, I refuse", and then I say, "Well, you're the boss dear"! LOL! She just gets so upset about it, I don't want to traumatize her either. She has always had a rash from disposables, and if left in a pull-up too long, (all night, wet) it makes her uncomfortable. I have tried putting it on her even though she was upset, and then later find it on the floor next to her bed. She hates them, and I have given up. I am not the type to say, "do it or else" anyway. It's so tough. Then again, I suppose I am a whimp. I don't enforce a bedtime either, or make them fall asleep alone in their rooms. I don't let them speak disrespectfully, or hurt others, but well, I just don't have the heart to let them cry themselves to sleep, and that sort of thing. I guess what I am trying to say is that you have to find a gentle way of handling this, because you seem like a kind hearted Mama. Unfortunately, some people aren't understanding of this.

"pullups" dont' have to be the disposable kind. Yes - sometimes they will leak too - but you have to find a solution that works for your family - many different things have been listed on this thread. For my kids sleeping on a towel wouldn't work because they are really active sleepers and move around too much. Plus wrap themselves in blankets sometimes too - so it works for us to use cloth. I always do leave an extra cloth "pullup" nearby so that if they do wet it and wake up they can change it (though as I said -before - that doesn't always happen so we do have the waterproof mattress cover on the sheets).

editing to add -
i think it also helps to have not played up the "big girl/big boy" aspects of regular underwear up to a big level (I don't push potty training) and to talk from the beginning of potty learning about how we wear what my oldest called "night time panties" at night so the sheets don't get wet if there's an accident at night. They also have 1 set of special character sheets and if those get wet they get the plain "spare" sheets until the sheets get washed, line dried and then they re-make their own bed. So there's been motivation to actually WEAR the cloth pullups. So it doesn't have to be "wear this or else" - but you can actually explain why and make it more advantages for them TO wear it. ;)

I have 2 regular mattress pads - pad, sheet, pad, then sheet

so at least in middle of night you only have to pull off top layers

luckily, i've only done this about 3 times

as for "refusing" my 4 yr old refuses to wear anything with buttons, snaps, zippers, etc. & there's is nothing I can do about it. She'd leave the house naked if I didn't give her something else to wear. So I understand refusing.

But that doesn't have to mean that doing the sheets is your job.

sorry but they 'refuse' to wear pull-ups?
if they are wetting the bed, they need to wear pull-ups.
give me a break.


Sorry, but this comment was uncalled for. You have your children and I have mine ~ if mine refuses something, they're stating their opinions. I am not going to force them on the ground and make them wear pullups if they don't want to. But then, I'm not letting them sleep on dirty beds either. Mine are pretty good kids but like the other mama posted ~ her child doesn't like snaps/zippers/etc. If my children is like that, I'll just let them wear whatever they want as long as they are comfortable.

The reason why they don't like wearing pullups is because they don't LIKE it. I think it has to do with the feeling (since they've been cloth diapered) ~

Thanks for all of your opinions! :heart: I guess I'll have to "double" their beds (mattress pad, sheet, mattress pad, then sheet) and just pull out and wash...

Another mama recommended in a PM to put a Gerber training undies on and sneak on a rubber pant afterwards ~ I might try that too!

PS My kids are only 3 years old ~ so it's expected for them to have accidents overnight, yk?

For my 7 year old, we don't do pull-ups or nighttime diapers or anything like that because it would be embarrassing to him. If you have a younger child, or if it isn't embarrassing for them, then I think that if it works for you, then go for it :) However, Si's going into 2nd grade, and he knows his younger sisters wear diapers and I know it would hurt his feelings if I insisted he wear them. Could I make him? Absolutely. I'm the mama and what I say goes. But, why would I do that? There are a few things I'll go to the mat on. He doesn't get to eat dessert if he hasn't eaten enough of his regular meal. He speaks respectfully, etc... But I guess for me, if it comes between him feeling good about himself and me having a bit of extra work, well, I bet you can guess which one I'm going to pick. Wetting the bed, for Si at least, is not INTENTIONAL. It is not something he's doing to disobey me... that's why it's called an accident :) JMO though... everyone's entitled, lol.

I do like the idea of the towels though. That might just work. That I don't think would bother him. Maybe towels on top of a pee pad (I found the material by the yard at JoAnn fabrics :) )

Nelle

Nelle

I only have one child who is dry at night. I have a 9 yr old in Goodnights, and 6 and 3 in pull-ups (or whatever brand we feel like getting at the time). My 9 yr old (dd2) wanted to try without goodnights recently so I let her. She knows she has a cover on her mattress and was told to make sure she had a spare set of sheets and clothes handy just in case. She's old enough to take care of it herself. My dd4 (3 yrs) on the other hand is too young, IMHO. She will wear pull-ups (she gets to pick which design she wants) but if she didn't, we'd do something similar as dd2 with a spare set of clothes but maybe instead of the sheets I'd have her sleeping bag on the floor in case she needed it. Obviously it's genetic since 3 of my kids are considered "bed wetters" (dd1 is dry and dd5 is 10 mos).

As a former bed wetter I can tell you what doesn't work:
avoiding evening drinks - this only makes for a thirsty, cranky kid
waking up in the middle of the night - the child becomes dependent on you, not their body cues
blaming the child - hmm, don't need to go into that I don't think

What works:
giving the child time to let his/her body mature
assuring the child that it is normal, because, well, IT IS

Did you know...
10% of kids entering school wet the bed?
1% of high school graduates still wet the bed?

My dr isn't concerned about my kids at this point, even the 9 yr old. For most school age bed wetters, puberty is the turning point. Good luck, mama, and follow your heart!

ETA: My 9 yr old is more embarrassed about a wet bed than wearing a goodnight. They give her the freedom to go to camp and sleep over with friends. She just changes discretely in the bathroom and no one knows! :)

ETA: My 9 yr old is more embarrassed about a wet bed than wearing a goodnight. They give her the freedom to go to camp and sleep over with friends. She just changes discretely in the bathroom and no one knows!

And I'm glad that works for her :) It just isn't what works for my guy. I'd love it if he'd feel comfortable with it... but he's not so that's that.

Nelle

I haven't read all the replies...this is non-cruncy but we use pull-ups and good nights for our bed wetters

we put a polar fleece blanket on the bed over the sheet. It is comfortable to sleep on, repels water, pee wipe off of it with a rag, washes and dries in a flash...

I don't like the plastic thing. Fleece is not expensive or hot or noisy...........

and, yeah..they are big kids, which has nothing to do with the fact that they still have 'accidents'

:smirk:

And I'm glad that works for her :) It just isn't what works for my guy. I'd love it if he'd feel comfortable with it... but he's not so that's that.

I hope you didn't take it wrong, mama. Just showing how kids are different. I would have loved Goodnights back then. However I can totally understand why a child wouldn't want to wear them as well. I love reading all the suggestions posted. I hope that we don't have to deal with this forever. ;)

Thanks for sharing your inputs as well! Sue, thanks for the informative post! I didn't know all that! WOW!

Linda ~ is the polar fleece "hot?" As in, holding in heat and making kids sweat, etc? Or is this the breathable kind? Thanks!

I did not mean for this post to turn into a bashing post ~ just trying to think of suggestions to not wash the sheets everyday... not what my kids can/cannot do, etc. This is in no way criticizing parents who use Pullups/Goodnites, etc. Everyone's child is different... :D

My daughter "won't" wear pull-ups either. It isn't like she folds her arms and says, "No mother, I refuse", and then I say, "Well, you're the boss dear"! LOL! She just gets so upset about it, I don't want to traumatize her either. She has always had a rash from disposables, and if left in a pull-up too long, (all night, wet) it makes her uncomfortable. I have tried putting it on her even though she was upset, and then later find it on the floor next to her bed. She hates them, and I have given up. I am not the type to say, "do it or else" anyway. It's so tough. Then again, I suppose I am a whimp. I don't enforce a bedtime either, or make them fall asleep alone in their rooms. I don't let them speak disrespectfully, or hurt others, but well, I just don't have the heart to let them cry themselves to sleep, and that sort of thing. I guess what I am trying to say is that you have to find a gentle way of handling this, because you seem like a kind hearted Mama. Unfortunately, some people aren't understanding of this.

:bow: thank you Wendy.
We're still working on what works here, too... but what I refuse to do is to shame my child over something of which she has no control. :mad: I wish she wanted to wear a pull-up, that would make my life easy... but if it makes her feel bad about herself I'm not going to wrestle her to the ground to make her put it on. WTH message does that send?! Yeah, I DO have better things to do than extra wash, but I'm not sure some people understand that it's not a matter of "potty-training" them at night...THEY CAN'T #$%^& HELP IT!!!

Rfamhere- you are SO right about the not drinking and night wakings. They suck and we usually end up w/ a wet bed anyways. It's more hassle than changing her "pee pee pad" LOL I'm done with that tonight... thanks for your BTDT advice :)

but what I refuse to do is to shame my child over something of which she has no control. :mad: I wish she wanted to wear a pull-up, that would make my life easy... but if it makes her feel bad about herself I'm not going to wrestle her to the ground to make her put it on. WTH message does that send?! Yeah, I DO have better things to do than extra wash, but I'm not sure some people understand that it's not a matter of "potty-training" them at night...THEY CAN'T #$%^& HELP IT!!!



I so agree with you ~ my life would be a lot easier if they are willing to wear SOMETHING (diapers, Pullups, Goodnights, etc.) but I am not going to fight them. There are other things to reason with them but this is something that goes beyond my control.

My best friend does this (the same way I did) for all 3 of her kids ~ but they're 2 years apart so much easier on her... I guess I'm asking for it with having twins go through it at the same time! :hahaha:

Well, I don't know of many options that won't have you washing sheets each time there is an accident without some sort of protective underwear, be it a pull up or thick training pants with a pull up diaper cover on top.

My dd was dry from 2yrs3months during the day, hardly ever an accident. Nighttime was a whole different story though- she wet every night, with few exceptions. We tried the whole no diaper/pullups for a few weeks, but it was too stressful for me with a new baby & washing sheets every day. So, back to pull ups.

On her 4th bday, we threw the pull ups away, and she has been great since then. She has had a few spurts of wet nights, sometimes two times in one night, but that was I think twice or so. Anyway, what we do whenever we change her sheets is first a mattress protector. On top of that, we use a wool blanket folded just in her wet zone, so, from pillow to about halfway down her bed ( twin bed). It is about 4-6 layers depending on how we fold it, and very absorbant. We don't use it on top of the sheets, just because it is more comfortable for her under the sheet, plus it doesn't move around that way. We also have a large flannel crib protector, I think it is two layers of flannel sandwiching a waterproof layer, if the wool blanket is in the wash.

I don't know of any comfortable solutions aside from protective underwear to not change sheets everyday.

THis is what has worked for us (no - my 12yo - the 11yo- didn't like wearing pull-ups either, but she did her own laundry!), and what we do for the potty training 3yo.

Protective mattress pad is a must. Then only bottom sheet, and a blanket. Less to wash.

For undies - Gerber training pants don't hold squat - I would look for something with more cotton in them (I think Hanna Anderson's are all cotton - even the absorbant part, or maybe a sewing mama could make something for you). Also a "puddle pad". Either wool, or cotton fleece and PUL sewn together will work well for them to lay on - make sure it covers most of where they lay. If you have more than one for each bed, you wouldn't have to worry about washing it to get it back on the bed that night either. We don't do the cover over the undies - the undies absorb most of it, and the puddle pad catches any dampness from that. Then all I have to wash is the pad, jammies and undies (and maybe the blanket if that got wet) - and I DON'T have to remake the whole bed usually. And my 3yo thinks she's a "big girl" still :)

I'll add in here that my MOM hand painted with fabric paints/markers - blue's clues paw prints, Dora the Explorer, Nemo, Maddy's favourite stuff rabbit onto the pull-ups she made her - so that makes them more inviting to wear. Possibly special character regular undies in a size up with an absorbant doubler (something like a trifolded prefold?) sewn in for "night underwear/nighttime panties" might work for going on without feeling baby-ish. Also agreeing about not so many blankets on the bed if they'll go for that. I give my kids sheets (waterproof mattress cover over) and a lightweight fleece blanket and in the winter just have the heat up when they are in that stage.

Hi mama, I know your frustration, we are just now getting a break from it ourselves, after ds turned 6 this summer, he has been able to stay dry most nights since starting school ... I don't think that had anything to do with it *except* he is gettig up earlier ...

I noticed when changing his bed in the am it was still warm, like it just happened, if he is up by 6- 6:30 he can make it to the potty, if he sleeps late (weekends) he doesn't always make it .. he just sleeps too soundly, and a lot of kids are that way

he would wake me up and ask me to change his sheets, I always did and tried 99 % of the time to not show disappointment, anger, disapproval, etc. b/c I knew he was not doing it on purpose, it wasn't his fault his bladder wasn't big enough or strong enough to go all night and he sleeps too soundly to wake up, heck, I get up and go 2x a night, and wish I slept so soundly!

His Big Ben clock wakes him up if the sunlight doesn't so now we are doing okay.

For making the bed, I did put an allergy cover on b/c in the spring I was told he might have dust allergies. The covers are waterproof and easy to wipe down. I had a fleece/plastic type of crib pad I centered on his bed, about 36" long. I laid a big thick bathtowel on top of that to soak up lots of pee. Then went on a flat sheet. No fitted sheets! too much of a pain. Go buy some cheap flat sheets at w-m, they are about 2.50 each. I got plain white ones. Then another flat sheet to sleep under. So, mattress zip around cover, plastic/fleece crib pad, bath towel, then flat sheet, then flat sheet. It's easy to roll it all up an toss it in the wash. The crib pad (from WM) is all I could find in a size big enough for what I wanted (36" long), he tosses and turns and could end up anywhere on his twin size bed. I never tried the polar fleece, sounds like a good alternative - his pad is not noisy b/c of the towel on top and sheet on that, and as far as I know, it is not hot, or does not seem to bother him.


I kept a duplicate set of everything next to his bed. Easy to throw on the fleece, the towel, the flat, let him get in bed, then a flat over him. Don't used fitteds! They will kill your back! My ds tosses and turns, but the flats just hang over the edge and don't come off, heck I don't even tuck the bottom one in, but you could tuck it under if you wanted.

Try earlier wake ups, and look into the potty pager, that was going to be our next step, I lost links to it, but go to dr. sears website, he talks about it there.

also, I don't agree with waking them up, (even though sears does) a lot of peds and parents say it works for them, but to me, they have to be able to listen to their body, and until they reach a certain point of maturity, their brains are just not going to get the message.

waking them up, to me, only exhausts you and may or may not work .... you need sleep .. if they don't mind sleeping in a wet bed, it's not going to kill them ... might be gross, but at least you won't be cranky from being up ....

If they wake you up, try to take deep breaths and remember, this too shall pass. And they are not doing it on purpose. They are leaking urine, they are not lazy or inconsiderate, they just cannot control their bodies yet. Yes, they *do* love you! lol! even if they are making mountains of laundry!

Keep in mind, the more it becomes a power struggle, the more you will be on the losing end. Kids, they have a will of iron! Let them wear what is comfortable. I don't think taking a punitive stance is a good idea (not saying you are, just saying, I don't think it works, and believe it backfires and makes the problem worse/ longer lasting.) They are still young yet, I tend to agree with what RFamHere wrote.

Good luck! try my flat sheet idea with the crib pad and bath towel. If you are having an odor problem, try Out, the pet neutralizing spray, it smells pretty good and works great b/c it uses enzymes.

take care,


:)

For my 7 year old, we don't do pull-ups or nighttime diapers or anything like that because it would be embarrassing to him. If you have a younger child, or if it isn't embarrassing for them, then I think that if it works for you, then go for it :) However, Si's going into 2nd grade, and he knows his younger sisters wear diapers and I know it would hurt his feelings if I insisted he wear them. Could I make him? Absolutely. I'm the mama and what I say goes. But, why would I do that? There are a few things I'll go to the mat on. He doesn't get to eat dessert if he hasn't eaten enough of his regular meal. He speaks respectfully, etc... But I guess for me, if it comes between him feeling good about himself and me having a bit of extra work, well, I bet you can guess which one I'm going to pick. Wetting the bed, for Si at least, is not INTENTIONAL. It is not something he's doing to disobey me... that's why it's called an accident :) JMO though... everyone's entitled, lol.Nelle

I have an almost 6 yr old who wets at night too. We managed to talk her into wearing "goodnights" (which work really well, and are much more absorbant than pull-ups) for a short while, but she quickly started to be embaressed about wearing them. She felt like she was a baby wearing a diaper. Wetting the bed is completely unintentional for her. She sleeps so soundly she isn't even aware she's done it. In fact, most mornings, she will wake up in new pj's with new bedsheets, from us changing her in the middle of the night from wetting, and she won't even recall it all happening. I don't want to force her to wear something she feels extremely self-consious and embaressed about, just to make life easier on me. So we just deal with wet beds. We use a plastic mattress cover, and then when she wets, we wipe off the plastic cover, and put on a new sheet. We don't use a top sheet for her bed since we change it so often, and we keep clean comforters handy for middle of the night changes. Dd's gotten much better over time, and now instead of nightly wettings, she is doing it only a few times a month (with no predictability). I am guessing with age we will see it disappear. Until then, we'll just keep helping her change her bed and clothes at night. And if she decides that wearing "goodnights" is something she wants to do in the future, to make nightime changes easier on "her", then we'll do that.

We had a really nice custom night time underwear made by Karen at Superdupas - Patrick picked the PUL and the inner fabric. We're in Pullups now, but that was a great nighttime undie (we also had Biobottoms nighttime underwear, and they could hold loads of water, but the poly irritated Patrick). Otherwise, no advise except maybe to make several thick flannel pads for on top of the sheets that can easily be tossed in the wash? I was about to do that when DH talked Patrick into Spiderman pullups. Which, I have to admit, makes my life a zillion times easier.

Thanks for sharing your inputs as well! Sue, thanks for the informative post! I didn't know all that! WOW!

Linda ~ is the polar fleece "hot?" As in, holding in heat and making kids sweat, etc? Or is this the breathable kind? Thanks!



no, the polar fleece isn't hot at all. I've slept on it quite a bit when I was figuring out dd's nightime diapering system. It is really cozy. And it sticks to the bed, so it doesn't shift around much and get all lumpy(although, I use flannel sheets...). You could use it as a mattress pad under the sheet, but it was easier for me on top of the sheet. Works great if you have kids who are throwing up. Can lay them on the couch or floor covered in fleece...

PArenting is one huge problem solving project, isn't it?
:)

and an FYI~dairy is a bladder irritant. So you could try to limit dairy products(as opposed to cutting it out)...like none after lunch time to see if that helps.

OR you could try digestive enzymes like the ones at
www.houstinni.com
They help break apart the proteins in the milk, which would make it less irritating(if you discovered it was an issue at all)

I hope you didn't take it wrong, mama. Just showing how kids are different.

Heck no... didn't take it wrong. That's why I used the :) icon. If I was mad, I would have used the :mad: or :vent: ones, :lol:

I too am getting lots of good ideas though. It goes in cycles for Si so we don't have to deal with it ALL the time thank goodness. But, when he does start up, it's usually several weeks of it, sometimes 2-3 times a night. I'm pretty sure it's related to his growing... when he goes through a growth spurt he seems to sleep deeper.

Ok, back to bed. Baby's done nak.
Nelle

Katie still wets occasionally. She refuses Pullups or any other as they do rash her up pretty bad - she has always been sensitive to sposies, never able to wear them. My ds wears Pullups or Goodnights but rarely wets anymore - just when he does, it's a doozy.

For Katie, I took a big piece of Windpro fleece and sewed about six prefolds together in a long line, overlapping the thinner edges so that it made like a big long prefold as thick as the middle - but I left the edges flapping open underneath for ease of washing. I sewed one edge of the line of diapers to one edge of the Windpro fleece. So I have a pad that has prefolds on top and a bigger piece of Windpro fleece on the bottom. I set this on the bed; she sleeps on a full and it's long enough to tuck in at the sides. When she pees it usually goes onto the diapers, then I just strip the pad and wash. She only goes once at about 2 am so I have taken to staying up till midnight, waking her to go, then going to bed, and that works.

She rolls around and moves so much that we had to have something to cover the whole width of the bed.

Two more things: definitely get a mattress pad that is waterproof so you don't ruin your mattress. BB&B has a good one that is PUL lined instead of hot, noisy vinyl.

And check out Dry All Night by Allison Mack. Very good book if you have an older (6 & up, I'd say) child who still wets and who wants to stop wetting. If they don't care, it's less successful. It relies on their own motivation. But it is really, really well done. I got it at bookcloseouts.com for $4 or so.

Wow, I'm learning so much from you experienced ladies! Thank you, thank you! :heart: I hope this thread gets saved somehow and moved somewhere so when people search for it, there are a lot of info in this post!!

My kids are VERY active in bed ~ moving around, etc.... so I'll do some suggestions you have given me! Amazingly, last night, NEITHER one of them had accidents in bed! :hahaha: I didn't wake them up as I've learned from you all here... and dh said he heard the potty being flushed twice last night but he couldn't see who did it. LOL! But I'm expecting accidents... just want to help them be comfortable. I don't want their mattress pads smelling like pee, yk? :)

Can you get those zip on mattress savers for a full/double bed? DS has a big bed, and I need something to help save his mattress.

We use those gerber undies with the padding and sometimes the gerber ones with the plastic on the outside for night time. Usually, when we use those, DS is dry all night, if left in reg. undies, he pees the bed A LOT!

I have thought about putting a chux pad under him at night. I have a bunch left over from when my ILs needed them a while back.

My DS won't sleep on a towel. If I put one down, he will sleep up on his pillow or on top of the comforter b/c sleeping on towels is uncomfy.

Also, how do you safe the comforter? DS's is being washed for the 3rd time this week.

Thanks ladies for all your advice! I too have bed-wetters. Mine are wearing goodnights now though because they were waking up so miserably. Ds told me this morning though that he hates the new ones I bought him (generic). He said he would use them until they were gone. I feel fortunate that he will wear them.

The Op's children are three? Have you ever tried to "make" a 3 yr old do anything???? lol. 3 yr olds are notorious for doing everything they can to get their way. I KNOW lol, I have one here.

As for night wakings and withholding drinks. I HATE that. Marcus doesn't even wake up when I drag him to the toilet at midnight and he cries if he can't have anything to drink. Withholding water, imo, is mean. So I don't do it. MIL does it though and it makes me grrrrrrrrr.

My brother was a bed wetter until after highschool. I know that it bothered him A LOT. But it taught me lot. I will never ever shame my boys for wetting the bed. I remember crying as I listened to my dad (who otherwise was an awesome father) doing it to my my brother. Night waking didn't work with my brother either- we would wake up and find him sleeping in the bathtub after my mom had awakened him to go pee....

My boys are 3 and 6 and still wet the bed. Goodnights are keeping me sane for the moment. Hopefully those mamas with kids who won't use them will find another form of sanity... i am rambling lol. Sorry. It is just good to know that there are so many mamas who know what this struggle feels like. I would never have guessed it would be so many!

Hyland sells bedwetting tablets. You might see if they help. They are only for short-term use though. :)

As for night wakings and withholding drinks. I HATE that. Marcus doesn't even wake up when I drag him to the toilet at midnight and he cries if he can't have anything to drink. Withholding water, imo, is mean. So I don't do it.

We don't withhold drinks either. It seemed a mean thing to do to me too, so dd takes a water bottle to bed with her at night and drinks when she is thirsty.

You're received plenty of great advice to your troubles. I just wanted to say that I'm a "sneaky" diaperer if the need arises.

I'm one of the moms who changes her little one after he is asleep. I don't have bedwetters, but not one of them was interested in diapers after they decided to wear undies during the day. In the beginning stages of potty learning, they were all bed wetters.

I put the diaper on after they were asleep. No hassle, no worry. I probably wouldn't do this with an older child if it became an issue. My experience with resistance to diapers has mostly been because the child is tired and he likes his undies. It could quickly turn into a power struggle.

I also do double bedding. I make the bed twice. Then, if it happens, just whip one layer off and you're good to go.

I love Mamabears bed cover advice. It is excellent!

ETA: I think the witholding of water entirely is inconsiderate, but there is no harm in allowing only a small sip. I'll often ask them just to take a sip so they won't have to go potty in the middle of the night. If night wetting is a problem, allowing free access to a cup might not be a good idea.

My oldest only wet the bed for a while - and it's funny, but it would only be a little bit. Like he just needed to let some pressure off.

I second and third and forth the layering. We always did that when they were babies.

Also, just throwing this out since no one has. Do you think you could make a deal with your babes to try the goodnights for three nights and then decide if they like them better or worse than what is happening now.

Not like forcing them or shaming them. More like a cheerful: "Let's see what works better for us. You have the choice, but we can't really decide until we try everything! Can we make a deal?" Maybe if they feel like they are in control, they would be willing to try. And maybe if they wake up without a wet bed, they will like it better! Or not...

Does that sound stupid?

My kids are dry during the day but at nights, have accidents even if I wake them up in the middle of the night to go pee. What do you use? Keep in mind, I have TWO beds to change daily, lol... and I only have one mattress pad each bed. I wonder if there is something I can buy that can go over the sheet somehow and easy to replace ~ sometimes, kids go to sleep on our bed AFTER they have accidents and then have accidents ON our bed! LOL!

So can you keep this mama sane? ;)
I coslept so when my kdis would stir during the night I'd wake up and ask them if they had to go pee. They'd get annoyed a lot of the time but Haley started pottying at around 19 months old and she's only wet the bed a few times.

Forgot to mention... they refuse to wear Pull-ups! LOL! They say they're big kids and yada yada... you know how they are ;)

Accidents ~ usually every night for both kids... but just one accident. Never thought of the vinyl tablecloth ~ will it be uncomfortable? But still a smart idea! :D
When my kids are pukey we put a big change pad type vinyl thing under the sheet. It's not uncomfortable but at least it doesn't ruin the bed. Doesn't help much with not having to change the sheets though, of course you'd still have to do that. They'll learn eventually :)

Justin is another "big kid" who wears a diaper to
When is it not "within normal limits" for them to wet the bed nightly? He has NEVER had a dry night. He's 4 1/2.
I think it's perfectly normal to pee during the night hours. I mean for kids it's like 12 hours!! I go every hour at least. I could never hold out all night. My kids both go pee during the night, just not in their beds. They've always been the type who wake up often though and being cosleepers I wasn't too keen on having wet sheets so I just "taught" them to get up and go pee when they have to. I used to have to help because Haley was very small and couldn't get on the toilet herself lol, but now they do just fine. I also pee during the night at least once every single night. (just not in the bed lol). I think it's expecting too much to want kids to hold their pee all night long. It's much easier emotionally to teach them to deal with their bladder than to try and control it in a way that's unnatural.

sorry but they 'refuse' to wear pull-ups?
if they are wetting the bed, they need to wear pull-ups.
hth
Yes, how did the population ever exist up until the invention of the pull-ups, what oh, 10 years ago? What a dire need :rolleyes:

I coslept so when my kdis would stir during the night I'd wake up and ask them if they had to go pee. They'd get annoyed a lot of the time but Haley started pottying at around 19 months old and she's only wet the bed a few times.
Just wanted to clarify that I did not make my kids go pee, did not bring them to the bathroom, did not wake them up and force them to go. I was there, saw they were not sleeping as soundly and asked. A lot of the time the answer was no. Sometimes it was yes. You do still learn to listen to your body. When I wake up I think, why am I awake? Do I have to pee? I imagine the kids do too.

Our youngest is the only one with bed wetting problems right now. I still have her in dipes at night, and she doesn't mind at all....says she's going to be my baby forever :rolleyes: It's cute, but honestly I don't want to be making her adult diapers, lol!

I send every kid to bed with a water bottle. Here in AZ you need to stay hydrated. I don't wake them at night because it doesn't seem right. I never woke them to nurse either.

The fleece is a good idea. I'm hoping to get a wool pad made up for my dd before she turns 4 so she can get the heck out of diapers! The problem is that she sleeps with her sister and moves around a lot. Somehow I'll have to figure a way to keep her from moving too close b/c I know there would be problems if she got her sister wet!

Wow - lotsa comments I don't have time to read, LOL! I bet you've gotten plenty of great advice, but I'll share what we did anyway. I didn't want to BUY pull-ups, so I made a pad that went over dd's sheet. It was waterproof rip-stop nylon from Walmart ($1 a yard) and sherpa serged together. (sewing would be just as good) and that Nylon is VERY waterproof. :)

Have they ever had a period that they were dry at night? If so, you might want to see a chiropractor. My dd started wetting the bed after being dry for a long time. I did some research (and talked to my mom - my little brother had a wetting problem) - there is a specific subluxation that directly relates to bedwetting. It controls the urge/feeling of needing to use the bathroom during the night.
A couple of easy adjustments and my dd has been dry ever since. My brother also had wonderful relief through chiropractic adjustment.

Also, just throwing this out since no one has. Do you think you could make a deal with your babes to try the goodnights for three nights and then decide if they like them better or worse than what is happening now.

Not like forcing them or shaming them. More like a cheerful: "Let's see what works better for us. You have the choice, but we can't really decide until we try everything! Can we make a deal?" Maybe if they feel like they are in control, they would be willing to try. And maybe if they wake up without a wet bed, they will like it better! Or not...

Does that sound stupid?

I am going to buy the Goodnights as soon as dh gets home and then reason with them tonight. Is this a Huggies or Pampers product? And nope, not stupid at all! :D

When my kids are pukey we put a big change pad type vinyl thing under the sheet. It's not uncomfortable but at least it doesn't ruin the bed. Doesn't help much with not having to change the sheets though, of course you'd still have to do that. They'll learn eventually :)

Right... they have mattress protectors/pads for their mattresses ~ just have to keep changing sheets. That's the fun part of it :p

Yes, how did the population ever exist up until the invention of the pull-ups, what oh, 10 years ago? What a dire need

ITA! :D

Our youngest is the only one with bed wetting problems right now. I still have her in dipes at night, and she doesn't mind at all....says she's going to be my baby forever :rolleyes: It's cute, but honestly I don't want to be making her adult diapers, lol!



How old is your youngest? That's so cute! :D

Wow - lotsa comments I don't have time to read, LOL! I bet you've gotten plenty of great advice, but I'll share what we did anyway. I didn't want to BUY pull-ups, so I made a pad that went over dd's sheet. It was waterproof rip-stop nylon from Walmart ($1 a yard) and sherpa serged together. (sewing would be just as good) and that Nylon is VERY waterproof. :)

LOL ~ if only I can sew! :D That sounds wonderful... thanks for sharing your ideas!

Have they ever had a period that they were dry at night? If so, you might want to see a chiropractor. My dd started wetting the bed after being dry for a long time. I did some research (and talked to my mom - my little brother had a wetting problem) - there is a specific subluxation that directly relates to bedwetting. It controls the urge/feeling of needing to use the bathroom during the night.
A couple of easy adjustments and my dd has been dry ever since. My brother also had wonderful relief through chiropractic adjustment.

It's RARE that they're dry at nights ~ sometimes one will be dry and the other wet, most of the times, both wet... and it's unusual for both to be dry at the same time. They're learning ~ but if they stay dry all night and suddenly have accidents, I'll keep your advice in mind! I have a wonderful chiropractor that I won't mind sending the kids to if a need arise!

Ooh, Sonya, good advice. I am going to take my dd to a chiro as soon as we get moved.

Wanted to add something. "Dry All Night," the book I mentioned, says that constipation contributes to bedwetting - so that it is actually *very* important that kids drink a lot during the day. In fact, one of the recommendations is to drink a big glass of water in the afternoon, all at once, while reading the book. This helps stretch the bladder gently. Then they do recommend limiting fluids after 5 pm so that they are less likely to wet, only at first - and remember this is limiting, not totally forbidding, and it's for 6-7 and up in terms of age, so the book is actually suggesting this to the children, not the parent (ie they do not say to the parent "make sure your child doesn't drink after 5 pm - not at all - it's directed to the child and they say "try not to drink too much after 5 pm but if you need to, that's okay").

We did 2 things. We bought a bed pad from One Step Ahead -- it's expensive but it fits over the sheet and its small. It goes on top of the matress and tucks under on both sides. You just pull it up and toss it in the wash. If your kid is really squirmy, he may move off the pad, but James stays on it most of the time.

The other thing we did was actually cut down on his before bed drink to dixie cup size. It really helped a lot.

Astoria

Also, want to update this ~

Not only do my kids not like pullups anymore (they were cloth diapered and then went into Pullups for potty training) ~ they don't like the feeling of Pullups anymore and don't even want to come near it. It's because they ASSOCIATE it with potty training during the day... and now that they've accomplished it, they don't want to go back. They want to move on...

So since others have mentioned Goodnights as more of an underwear shape, I am going to get it. DH is home now, so I'll be leaving in a bit to buy them.

I failed to mention this part... did not think about it until someone brought it up at another board.

Thanks for your valuable opinions!!!

For my 7 year old, we don't do pull-ups or nighttime diapers or anything like that because it would be embarrassing to him. If you have a younger child, or if it isn't embarrassing for them, then I think that if it works for you, then go for it :) However, Si's going into 2nd grade, and he knows his younger sisters wear diapers and I know it would hurt his feelings if I insisted he wear them. Could I make him? Absolutely. I'm the mama and what I say goes. But, why would I do that? There are a few things I'll go to the mat on. He doesn't get to eat dessert if he hasn't eaten enough of his regular meal. He speaks respectfully, etc... But I guess for me, if it comes between him feeling good about himself and me having a bit of extra work, well, I bet you can guess which one I'm going to pick. Wetting the bed, for Si at least, is not INTENTIONAL. It is not something he's doing to disobey me... that's why it's called an accident :) JMO though... everyone's entitled, lol.

I do like the idea of the towels though. That might just work. That I don't think would bother him. Maybe towels on top of a pee pad (I found the material by the yard at JoAnn fabrics :) )

Nelle

Nelle


My 6 YO DS is OK with pull-ups only if I say they are nighttime pants then he puts a pair of boxers over them so he wore "big boy-or he calls them "daddy pants" to bed also. DH was a bedwetter until he was 11. I think he may be in nightime pants for awhile! I am glad I found something that keeps evrything dry and lets him feel like a big boy at the same time.

Jen

Also, want to update this ~

Not only do my kids not like pullups anymore (they were cloth diapered and then went into Pullups for potty training) ~ they don't like the feeling of Pullups anymore and don't even want to come near it. It's because they ASSOCIATE it with potty training during the day... and now that they've accomplished it, they don't want to go back. They want to move on...

So since others have mentioned Goodnights as more of an underwear shape, I am going to get it. DH is home now, so I'll be leaving in a bit to buy them.

I failed to mention this part... did not think about it until someone brought it up at another board.

Thanks for your valuable opinions!!!


I don't know about others experience or their child's size. With Evan the goodnights didn't work at all, the pee just leaked out of the leg openings. Evan is very trim so that might be why, he did meet the weight on the package. My advice is if you have a thin child Goodnights might not work too well.

My sons ages 6 and 4 still wet the bed EVERY single night. My 4 year old I'm pretty sure it is because he drinks to much close to bed time. BUT, my 6 year old I believe has enuresis SP? (sleeps to deeply to wake up to pee). If he falls asleep in the car if we try to wake him to walk inside he really falls completely over. I think he may have a sleep disorder. He falls into unconciousness when he goes to sleep. He will be covered in sweat because he has the blanket wrapped to tightly around himself, yet won't wake up.

So they both wear pull ups at night and nearly every night they wet thru them anyway. I get SO sick of washing blankets all the time. It really ticks me off when they wet thru their pull up, but don't tell me about it until it is time for bed again...

I really hate this problem. My dd was night trained by 3 years.

so we got her some pull ups which we call night time underwear & she is thrilled. :happy:

wonder if savannah would go for this..and wonder if that would hold her nighttime wets.

doubleblessed...we are trying to figure out what to do at night for savannah too..she cries when i put a diaper on her at night b/c she wants to wear "big girl panties'

what exactly are 'goodnights'?

and...motherease makes a bedwetting pant...anyone tried those?

mother of eden makes an overnight training pant too...hmmmm

I'm getting the MoE overnight undies in a trade, but don't have them yet. Right now w/ ds we put him in Bummi training pants with an extra Fuzzi bunz insert in them. We call them nighttime underwear. Also we try to have him pee as soon as he wakes up. He has some Bumkins trainers in prints (most white though), and he likes to choose the pair himself. Sometimes they aren't absorbant enought, sometimes they are. The MoE Training pants are not absorbant enough for night.
I've just been very clear with him that these are for night time, and only "just in case".
For naps I just try to make sure he uses the potty right before naptime. Maybe a towel on the bed would work for that time.
Of course the zippered plastic mattress pad is a must have! Also an absorbent regular mattress pad is a good thing. We have 2 sets of mattress pads and sheets. I don't use a top sheet or blanket. DS just uses a loose blanket on his bed. He has a comforter too, but that's more for looks and is at the foot of the bed while he sleeps. So even if we change sheets, it's not all that much work since there's not much bedding.

what exactly are 'goodnights'?

Basically pull-ups for bigger kids. It's a brand name.