Making it through the night

[OnionPatch]

My daughter just turned four. She's been potty trained very well for a year and a half except that she has not been able to stay dry all night. We've been using pullups at night for awhile but decided it was time for her to learn to stay dry at night. I got the plastic sheets and stopped using pullups but every single night she still wets the bed.

I can't find anything very useful about nighttime potty training. Anyone have any tips? How did you get your child to stay dry all night?

[outraged2]

1. one thing

What worked for us is to make sure, very first thing in the morning, go to the potty - even if they don't have to go because they wet the bed. Seems obvious I know, but that was a big issue with my son.... he just wouldn't get out of bed - I had to drag him. I takes a little time to get little bodies programed right, but that was the main thing that helped us- besides no water/drinks right before bed time etc.

edit: added few words

[maddezmom]

2. limit fluid intake before bedtime

my almost 4 yr old has been potty trained for 1.5 yrs and in the beginning we didn't allow liquids after 7 pm...bedtime was 8-8:30. She only had a few misshaps...now she'll wake herself up to go.

Another thing we do is leave her bathroom light on and have a bright night light in her room. And easy to pull down PJ's.

Good luck :)

[OnionPatch]

3. Thanks

I guess we've been slack on the "no drinks before bed" rule. Maybe that will help.

[davsand]

4. Sometimes bladders grow slower than the rest of the kid.

I know it sounds odd, but sometimes those bladders grow a lot slower than the rest of the kid, and they wet the bed until it all catches up.

Something else that can be a factor is how your kid sleeps. If she is a very deep sleeper, she may not realize she needs to go--and just wets without knowing any different. (An alternative is that they dream they are in the bathroom!) Bed wetting is seen as a sleep disorder in many cases...

Something our Family Practice Doc told us was that it is not considered unusual for a kid to still wet the bed from time to time even after the age of six or seven. (Now, if your kid NEVER makes it thru the night dry--that is different...) he also said that if either parent had issues with night dryness the kid may have elevated chances of suffering with it too.

I know it feels strange--but DO talk to your Family Practice Doc (or her Peds Doc) about it. There is some nasal spray you can give her if it is decided she has a spastic bladder, and there are other things you can do. Most kids just outgrow it on their own, however...

Best of luck!


Laura

[Sabriel]

5. My kindergartener still wears a dipe at night

She's a very sound sleeper--crashes for 10 hours straight--and right now she's just not ready. My pediatrician said it just takes time, and everyone grows at a different rate. We try not to mention it too much and hope she never takes flack for it at school.

[lizzieforkerry]

6. I don't think she can "learn" to stay dry at night.

During the day, yes, but at night it just takes time. I think if you add the stress of actually wetting the bed on top of it, it could make it worse- IMHO. We don't allow any drinks an hour before bed and he has to go before he gets into bed, even if he went a half an hour earlier. He has to show me there isn't any pee in him- there always is a little bit. Good luck- this is so frustrating. Have you tried the good nights underwear? It might make her feel like she doesn't have a pull up to rely on but will still stop the leaks.

[OnionPatch]

7. Yippee

She stayed dry last night!
We tried to keep her from drinking too much last evening. (Not easy, the frig has a water dispenser on the door.)
Admittedly, we haven't pushed the night-time potty training real hard. The last thing I want to do is stress her out or make her feel guilty about it. But I think it made her feel bad last week when a couple of her friends stayed over and she was the only one who wore a pull-up to bed. I started wondering if I was doing something wrong.
Thanks for the advice. I'll try it and also keep in mind that she will get there when she's ready.