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Bed wetting

lookinguptoo

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I have a rather unusual problem.  My son since about 4 months old naturally stayed dry throughout the entire night.  I never trained him to do this but he just did it naturally without any accidents.  However, now that he is basically potty trained at 3 years and 9months, all of a sudden he has started wetting the bed.  I restrict his liquids at night now and make sure uses the restroom before going to bed and I make him clean up the sheets when he wets but he continues to wet.  Before I never had to restrict his liquids.  He could drink as much as he liked but he still never wet the bed.  I wonder if anyone else has had such a problem and how you dealt with it.  For us it is a problem because he sleeps with us.
 

Gabriel

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My friend's daughter started doing the same thing.  It turned out that she was simply sleeping through the urge.  She was always dry before, never having to pee in the night, her bladder and body did not work together to wake her in time.

They paid nearly $1000.00 to a company that provided them with a mat that you cover part of with a pillow case, had her sleep on the mat and when a very small amount of water reached the pillow case an alarm went off.  They then had to make her turn the alarm off, go to the bathroom and come back and change the pillow case herself.  This woke her completely and trained her bladder to wake her before urination occured.  Sound wierd, like a pain in the butt?  It was, but it worked.  A couple months later they found that they could have bought the pad in a medical supply store for about $50.00.

You may try waking him in the middle of the night and making him go potty, if that doesn't work, try the pad thing.

 
 
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VOW

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FIRST thing you do is pay a visit to your family doctor. He could have an underlying physical cause for this.

If there's nothing physically wrong, then just relax. He's a boy, and sometimes boys are immature in potty training. It does seem odd that he has been dry and then started wetting again, and this could be a sign of stress. And if it is, the main thing is to not make a big deal out of it.

My son had bedwetting problems too, and this runs in the family. I'd seen how others handled it, and I was heartbroken at the reaction of some people. I even ended up scolding Gramma for trying to SHAME him out of it. And I don't believe in restricting liquids, either. Would YOU like to go thirsty in the evening?

Invest in Pull-Ups. If he's a VERY heavy wetter, get a package of Diaper Doublers.

If it continues, there's a nose spray that's available by prescription, and it is VERY effective.

But for the most part, just don't make a big deal out of it. Believe me, the kid feels bad enough as it is.


Peace be with you,
~VOW
 
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Lost

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Without a long explanation I agree with Vow! 

 
Also:  If he is overtired that could cause it.

Or:  If something has scared him he may be fighting leaving the bed.  Have you told him that it is okay to wake you up and that you will go to the restroom with him?

Mine are both grown now but I still remember.  LOL

(We had friends that used the pad also.  They had insurance that paid for it and said it worked great for them too.)

Good luck!  Let us know how it goes?

 
 
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lookinguptoo

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Thank you for the replies. I suppose I should explain my "liquid restrictions". My son used to drink right before he went to bed or would drink while I read him his night time stories in bed. I have cut all that out because before he could retain the liquid till morning but now he can not nor does he need to go to the restroom right after drinking. Nevertheless, he still wets. I was actually hoping for a cheaper solution than buying a pad. I guess we will just work with him and see what happens. As for prescriptions and doctors, that works in America but not where I am from. The philsophy here is much more laid back so a doctor would not be too concerned. For example, I took my son for a hearing exam, and the test was simply saying his name. My son heard and responded so he was declared okay. Eye and teeth exams are basically done in the same fashion. Now if my son were to continue this for an extended period of time when most children stop, then he would be properly examined but for now the doctors take a more practical approach saying it is common for this age so don't worry. I am really not worried either because I know kids wet until 6-7 years old, but since my son has never been a bed wetter and started suddenly, I was hoping to do something to nip it in the bud quickly. I guess there are not always quick solutions when raising children. Thank you again.
 
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VOW

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To Looking:

I'd STILL take him to the doctor. He could have a low-grade urinary tract infection.

As a hearing-impaired person, I find your "hearing test" is a real heart-breaker. Many small problems can be detected in a very young child and corrected so they do not cause huge difficulties later in life. I'm sorry that you don't live in a place where this is the norm.


Peace be with you,
~VOW
 
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LilyLamb

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I agree

My mom took me to see the doctor about my hearing - he took me for a walk around the hospital and brought me back to my mom ... he told her I was stubborn and heard what I wanted to ...

she insisted on a hearing test

they were shocked by the results and asked to repeat it in an hour

we went to lunch

repeated the test

same results

hearing loss 60%

I was fitted for hearing aides soon after that



Also - and I don't want to imply ANYTHING - just sharing with you something that we learned thorugh our foster parent training - a lot of the children in foster care who wet the bed do so to "protect" themselves from sexual abuse ....

please don't take that info the wrong way ... I thought I should say something in case someone lurking is reading this thread about bedwetting ...
 
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BeanMak

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The nose spray is DDAVP. It is a antidiuretic hormone (your body makes it) Often children don't produce enough of it until they are 6 to remain dry all night long.
I know it is a hassel to have a kid wet the bed, but as a former wetter there is nothing worse than waking up cold and damp. I would suggest some type of protective pants and don't make a 3 year old change the bedding. I have enough trouble with a queen size bed and I have been doing it for years.
 
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VOW

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To Bean:

I didn't make the 3 yo change the whole bed. He would strip the bed and help me carry the bedding to the washer, where he then would help me load the machine, put in the detergent, and start the cycle. We made the bed with fresh linen together. And there was NO scolding, NO shaming going on during all this. The entire attitude was very matter-of-fact: there's a problem, let's fix it.


Peace,
~VOW
 
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brewmama

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I also had very good success with the pad on my 4 yo son. The trick was to get him AWAKE right as he was wetting (hence the alarm). It actually was a sleep problem, which I didn't believe when the salesman first told me, but one night I tried to wake my son up when my husband couldn't find his wallet, and I could not get him awake. I tried for 10 solid minutes. We called the salesman back the very next day.

Incidentally, it runs in my husband's family, and my 14 yo nephew still has the problem, and they have tried EVERYTHING except the pad/alarm. I am very glad we did it.
 
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Blindfaith

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It may be that he sleeps so deeply during the night, that's causing the trouble.  My daughter had the same problem.

She would sleep so deep, that she'd wake up momentarily to realize she had to go to the bathroom, then go back to a deep sleep and dream that she was walking down the hall, and actually going into the toilet.  Viola!  A wet bed.  This happens more often than we realize.  Talk to your son about it, and see if that's what's happening.
 
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i had a bed wetting problem when i was little. all the way up till around 1st or 2nd grade. i was a very deep sleeper and just never responded to the urge or anything. my parents tried everything. and i mean everything. i visited so many doctors, had to go on certain diets, and so many other things. nothing worked. the only thing that did work was that mat thing someone had spoken about. there is no way on earth you could sleep through that alarm. it was like a fire alarm right next to your ear. that's just my $.02 from my experience.
 
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JOYfulbeliever

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My sister was a bet wetter - it happened exactly the same way. She was a dry sleeper until she was about 4 years old, and then started wetting the bed every night. She was taken to the doctor, who told my parents to remove all caffeine from her diet. Only caffeine free sodas, tea (she was a HUGE tea drinker, and 20 years later, she still is), were kept in the house, and they limited chocolate, etc. She still had caffeine on special occasions, or if she was away from home and had no choice, but for the most part, she was strictly caf. free.  It was a huge success. She still had minor accidents, but they were few and far between. When she was around 6 or 7, they started introducing the caffeine back slowly and she had no problems with it at that point. Actually, the family got so used to everything being caffeine free, all 4 of us still have very little caffeine intake to this day. I'm not a soda drinker, but my coffee and tea are both decaf, and if I do drink a soda, it is either a caf. free diet coke or a diet sprite...it's habit, but I guess it is better for you!  :rolleyes:

Just an idea that you may want to try - it's definitely an inexpensive treatment if it works!  I have no idea why it works, but in her case, it was a lifesaver!  ;)

Good luck to you!
 
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