For those who have dc that have overcome bed wetting.

[Momto4kids]

My ds ages are listed below. All 3 wet the bed. Not sometimes not most of the time, EVERY night. I need ideas for how to get this under control. We have tried no drinking after 5 pm. My boys only drink water. We have totally cut out all other fluids.

Thanks

[Jennifer in MI]

Two of my boys wet the bed. One wet until he was 9. One still wets occasionally (once/every other week).

With my oldest, we noticed that when we put his Pull Up on, he was wetting it before he went to sleep!! He just didn't want to get out of bed and use the toilet. So, we started leaving him in his underwear. We would have him go to the bathroom before we went to sleep at 11 pm or so. He was dry for the most part within a couple weeks (with the occasional accident here and there).

With the next one, we just stopped putting him in a pull up this winter. We woke him up and had him go to the bathroom at 11 or so. We put a plastic sheet on his bed so it wouldn't ruin the matress. If he wets, he knows he is to strip the bed and take his sheets down the the laundry. Not a punishment, just a consequence. It took him a bit longer and he still wets occasionally. But, he's now dry for the most part.

I think I was lucky with my kids. My brother wet the bed until he was quite old- maybe 11 or so? I remember my mom working with him on it very hard. I think some kids are just not ready to hold it all night until they are older. I also think it runs in families.

I wish you luck. I do understand!!!

[qfbrenda]

We've had good success with our potty alarm. Our three yr old just sleeps in diapers. I'll use the alarm when he's old enough.

[Brenda in FL]

My oldest stopped a couple of years ago. We were in the habit of getting him up to use the bathroom before we went to bed, to prevent any accidents. It's easier than changing sheets every night. (Yes, his problem was every night as well). I never had him use pull-ups or goodnites. If he spent the night at relatives, I made sure they knew to get him up as well. Thankfully, by the time he started spending some overnites at friends homes he was over it. But he had friends who spent the nite here who had to bring one - it wasn't a big deal to them (no one would know).

But I think it was prayer that changed him :). It's the obvious things that takes me the longest to say - "Why don't I ask God to just take care of it?" Literally - he stopped wetting the bed right away. (The same thing with potty training - things went much better after I asked God to help him.)

Someone on the board has mentioned eliminating peanut butter, Jennifer or Karen, maybe? Perhaps they'll pop on and give their two cents.

[Mandamom]

did this until they were between 10/11 years old. They have both stopped.

I use to worry about it because it seemed to go on forever no matter what we did to stop it. The trick was time and it worked really well here. The one thing I learned later that I wished i could have tried on them was honey (google for more info) before bedtime. My younger children so far haven't had the problem although I haven't ruled out my youngest.

I do remember telling dh that as soon as they were done we were getting new mattresses for them.

[nestof3]

I have tried everything. I bought little waterproof pads and put them in underwear. I woke them up each night. I was still washing sheets all the time. I got to the point where I couldn't care if they wore pullups for the rest of their life (just kidding) -- I was tired of washing sheets.

My Dad wet the bed until he was an early teen, my husband till he was an early teen as well. I have read so much about this, and have come to the conclusion that bedwetters will stop being bedwetters in their own time. My boys never intentionally pee in the diapers. They don't pee in them because they are too lazy to get up.

I have waterproof sheet on the matresses, so the matresses are still fine.

[Ellie]

and finally her ped prescribed Tofranil. Never had another problem.

[Staci in MO]

I have a nephew who wet the bed into his teen years. He's in his twenties now (and is wonderful man, by the way). My poor sister changed sheets every night for years. (this was before any sort of pull-up or overnight underwear was invented). This same sister was a bedwetter, as was her husband.

Most kids just have to grow out of this, some do sooner than others.

[Patty Joanna]

Dear Megan,

We used the potty alarm and it worked. But alos, please make sure your kiddos are getting enough calcium. Cheese and a banana before bed. That helped us, it seems.

Kind regards,

[WTMindy]

I have tried everything. I bought little waterproof pads and put them in underwear. I woke them up each night. I was still washing sheets all the time. I got to the point where I couldn't care if they wore pullups for the rest of their life (just kidding) -- I was tired of washing sheets.

My Dad wet the bed until he was an early teen, my husband till he was an early teen as well. I have read so much about this, and have come to the conclusion that bedwetters will stop being bedwetters in their own time. My boys never intentionally pee in the diapers. They don't pee in them because they are too lazy to get up.

I have waterproof sheet on the matresses, so the matresses are still fine.

I agree with this. I have tried a few different simple things with 9.5yods (honey, no peanut butter) and it didn't make a difference. I let ds choose whether he wears a pullup or not. He is now dry about half the time and he used to wet every night until this year. If he wets his bed, he takes off his sheets and puts them in the wash. We do not make any big deal out of it all. He isn't lazy about it, he just doesn't have control over it. I don't want to go to the trouble of an alarm or medication, so I figure he'll grow out of it eventually. No worries!

[Momto4kids]

Thanks so much all of you who posted with replies. It (bed wetting) runs in my side of the family. I am going to chill out about it and try some ideas that were given.

[nestof3]

Does anyone know what bedwetting medicines do? Do the children have to continue taking them?

[Mrs Mungo]

Have you looked into it being a possible physical problem? I have two friends whose kids had to have surgery due to kidney reflux.

[Momto4kids]

Hmmm, we have not looked into it. I will talk to their Dr about that.

[JaniceO]

My oldest wet the bed until this past November (around that time; he was still 9). My younger 2 boys still wet the bed (8 and 6) on and off. I had talked to the doctor and she had said it was common and refused to help me do anything about it.

What worked for my oldest DS? My 8 year old told the entire bus that his brother wet the bed (apparently he didn't care if his brother told the same about him). Not something I'd recommend, but it worked.

[Annie G]

We had two bedwetters. Both wet until age 11 or 12, but since it runs in the family we didn't fret too much about it. When they were 9 or so, we started using a nasal spray when they really needed to stay dry for short periods of time such a a 5 day camp or a similar length stay at Grandma's. The spray worked for short periods only for our kids, but it was a blessing.

[Basketmaker Amy]

We had GREAT success with this program. www.hargitthousefoundation.com My parents bought the program for my then 9 year old youngest. It was a lot of work making sure he ate the right foods, but it worked! He is SO thankful that he did it. I didn't realize how much it was affecting his self esteem. I would encourage you to take a look at the website and look it over. (My parents saw it in a Dear Ann Landers or one of those ladies columns.)

We found out that it really it is a function of deep sleep.

e-mail me if you have any questions.

Good luck,

[~Tara~]

With my oldest, we noticed that when we put his Pull Up on, he was wetting it before he went to sleep!! He just didn't want to get out of bed and use the toilet. So, we started leaving him in his underwear. We would have him go to the bathroom before we went to sleep at 11 pm or so. He was dry for the most part within a couple weeks (with the occasional accident here and there).


That sounds about like us with our Eldest. We had taken him to the chiropractor wondering if it was that kind of issue. After a couple of adjustments that was ruled out. NOT the problem.
Soon after that was when we noticed his 'laziness'. He sat right there during our family worship time and peed in his pull-up!!! :o (he was around 7 or 8 at the time ??) That was it. No more pull-ups and he RARELY wet after that. Only a couple very minor accidents.


Up until that point we hadn't been too worried about it as late bed wetters runs in dh's family. But then we heard about chiropractic care for it and thought it was worth looking into, I was going for my sciatica at the time anyway.
We just had him taking care of the 'mess'. He was responsible for getting himself cleaned up and changing his sheets. We did have a waterproof sheet over his mattress. We weren't demeaning about it or anything, it was all just a matter of fact..this is what you do, you have to take some responsibility, even if you cannot control it.

But for us, taking away the pull-ups is what did it.

[dirty ethel rackham]

What worked for my oldest DS? My 8 year old told the entire bus that his brother wet the bed (apparently he didn't care if his brother told the same about him). Not something I'd recommend, but it worked.

I DEFINITELY don't recommend this either. My mom put my sheets out to dry for everyone in the neighborhood to see with the hopes that shame would provide an incentive to stop. (Like the daily berating wasn't incentive?) So, of course, all the kids at school found out. It did not stop the bedwetting. It did make my life a living hell for the next 5 years! I stopped around age 10. Have no idea why.

[Blue Hen]

One wet until he went through puberty---thankfully it came early at age 12-1/2yo We tried food choices, we tried no liquid, we tried taking him to the bathroom in the middle of the night, in the early morning,...... we tried bed alarms,..... we finally just bought stock in GoodNights and he wore two every night to cut down on how many bedsheets I would have to wash. Finally one night he was dry, then it was two nights, then it was....... Now it is a distant memory.

The other one was dry up until age 7yo then started wetting every night for 2 or 3 yrs. We found with him that he was very sensitive to carbs, not a diabetic but if he had carbs by themselves he would wet at night. If he had milk with dinner he would wet at night. If he had cereral for breakfast he would wet at night ---- we found through trial and error that he had to have protein and complex carbs together; never, ever simple carbs. But now for him too it is a distant memory.