5.5 year old boy having MORE accidents at night

[kep]

What on earth! We are using Pull-Ups at night, because I got tired of changing the sheets. He has been potty-trained since 3, and has not had an accident during the day for years. And what's worse, the accidents have been increasing in frequency over the last two months. I know boys take longer to nighttime train then girls do, but this is feeling ridiculous. :shake: Give me your best advice for older boys.

Should we go could turkey to underwear at night, and maybe limit fluids after dinner? Do I need to be waking him up during the night to potty? (I have been encouraging him to use the bathroom if he wakes during the night, but it's not consistent or even every night.) Help!

[JBaxter]

We went through that phase. No liquids after 8 ( bedtime was 9) He HAD to pee before bed and if he fell asleep before hand we woke him up and stood him at the toilet till he did pee.
When he wet the bed he had to get up at what ever time I found him and take a shower. He did NOT like 6am showers. I also put a night light in his room and left the bathroom light on. He had told me it was to dark to go pee. our phase lasted about3 months

[writermama]

My 5.5 year old still uses goodnights (pull-ups) at night. As a baby, she was a light sleeper, but at about age 4.5, she became a very heavy sleeper. She also is even more tired as she adjusts to all-day kindergarden.

Your DS could be going through physiological changes that are making him sleep heavier. If he gets plenty of liquids other times of day, you might try restricting them at night time, or you might try just waiting it out a little longer and see if it self-corrects.

[happymomma]

My DS wasn't potty trained till about 5. He would wake up every morning with a full diaper. But when we did potty trained him at night, we started limiting his liquid and we also would wake him up at around 12am to pee. He actually was still sleeping but we would just put him infront of the toilet and he would do it. Now, at 5 1/2 he wakes up a couple times at night to pee. But I did hear that boys take longer. Mine just has a small bladder. Good luck!

[tny915]

No advice, but just sharing that DD is still not nighttime trained. I decided a while ago to just wait till she's ready and not push. We chose to not restrict liquids. We tried waking her at night and it didn't go well -- she was cranky, didn't always pee, couldn't even remember the next day that I woke her so I didn't think it was useful.

Just recently, she's been waking every couple nights to pee all on her own, so I do know it'll happen someday.

[alexsmommy]

Developmentally this is within normal ranges - especially for boys. You can try limiting fluids after dinner, but really, unless he is physiologically ready, it won't help that much. Most specialists won't consider any other interventions at this age. It's frustrating, but chances are he'll stop night wetting within the next year. There is a reason for those "looks like underwear" pull-up for big kids. The market finally realized just how many kids still need something at night past age five.
As far as him being more wet - he is getting physically larger and he could be going through a growth spurt and sleeping that much more soundly.
When my DS was still night wetting at 4.5 I took an attitude of I would look into interventions if it was still happening at an age where it bothered him - i.e. going to sleep overs etc. Until then I would suck it up and buy the pull ups and not make a big deal of it. Right around his fifth b-day I noticed the pull ups were only wet about 1x week or less so we took him out of them and put a pad down on his sheets. He had to shower and change pjs when he wet but we never made it seem punitive, just matter of fact "this is what a person does when they have an accident." Now he only has accidents every other month or so, and usually that is when we forget to remind him to go potty before bed. Last month, for the first time, I actually heard him get up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom. It was glorious. Good luck.

[o_mom]

Developmentally this is within normal ranges - especially for boys. You can try limiting fluids after dinner, but really, unless he is physiologically ready, it won't help that much. Most specialists won't consider any other interventions at this age. It's frustrating, but chances are he'll stop night wetting within the next year. There is a reason for those "looks like underwear" pull-up for big kids. The market finally realized just how many kids still need something at night past age five.
As far as him being more wet - he is getting physically larger and he could be going through a growth spurt and sleeping that much more soundly.
When my DS was still night wetting at 4.5 I took an attitude of I would look into interventions if it was still happening at an age where it bothered him - i.e. going to sleep overs etc. Until then I would suck it up and buy the pull ups and not make a big deal of it. Right around his fifth b-day I noticed the pull ups were only wet about 1x week or less so we took him out of them and put a pad down on his sheets. He had to shower and change pjs when he wet but we never made it seem punitive, just matter of fact "this is what a person does when they have an accident." Now he only has accidents every other month or so, and usually that is when we forget to remind him to go potty before bed. Last month, for the first time, I actually heard him get up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom. It was glorious. Good luck.

:yeahthat:

The urologist here won't even see them for night wetting until age 7 or 8. DS1 is just a few months younger and no end in sight. He has never had a dry pull-up in the morning except when he was really sick and dehydrated. The only thing we are actively doing is weaning off the sippy cups at night.

[Corie]

It took my daughter forever to stay dry throughout the night. Our
pediatrician said it is very common.

She slept in Pull-ups for a very long time. I wouldn't worry about it.
I would put him back in Pull-ups.

I have a really hard time limiting my child's water intake. I can't imagine
telling my daughter that she can't have anything more to drink if she
is thirsty. (my opinion)

[Meatball Mommie]

I don't really have any advice either, but I just wanted to chime in and say that I'm in the same boat. I have a 5.5 yr old who, out of 14 days, was dry 5 mornings :( We've had him in Pull-ups until recently. 2.5 wks ago he had a MAJOR meltdown at bedtime and was saying stuff like "Babies wear diapers and I'm NOT a baby!" and "I've been wearing them for so long, I just want to stop.." We felt so bad for him that we decided to give going to bed in underwear a try. I have had to wash not only the sheets, but the comforter, blanket, pillows and sheets almost every time he wets...(9 out of 14 days). I feel terrible, but we told him that he has to wear a pull-up again - I just can't keep doing that much laundry! He does it grudgingly. During this time, we restricted fluids after dinner & made him use the toilet before going to bed. One night he wet his bed, so I brought him in with us and he wet our bed too!!!

He is an extremely deep sleeper and he also has large volumes of urine. I'm using my younger son as a comparison on the second part. I have a 3 yr old who wakes up with a dry pull-up more often than my 5.5 yr old :(

I found this link to be useful (puts things in perspective, imo):
http://www.med.umich.edu/1libr/yourchild/enuresis.htm

So, no real suggestions...it's my personal belief that maturity will take care of things. We have no plans to seek help until he's 7 or 8...

[Corie]

Last month, for the first time, I actually heard him get up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom. It was glorious. Good luck.


Seriously, the sound of the toilet flushing in the middle of the night is the
most wonderful sound. I never thought I would see the day when my
daughter could wake herself up to use the restroom.

:)

[happymomma]

Seriously, the sound of the toilet flushing in the middle of the night is the
most wonderful sound. I never thought I would see the day when my
daughter could wake herself up to use the restroom.

:)

What, yours flush in the night? DS never flushes at night for some reason. I wonder if he is just half awake.

[alexsmommy]

What, yours flush in the night? DS never flushes at night for some reason. I wonder if he is just half awake.


LOL. Mine flushes, but you may want to be careful about sitting down on the seat after him if he's half asleep.